# 1955 West Riding County Council election

The 1955 West Riding County Council election was held on Saturday, 2 April 1955. The election took place in the administrative county of the West Riding of Yorkshire, which excluded the county boroughs of Barnsley, Bradford, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Rotherham, Sheffield, Wakefield and York. The whole council of ninety-six members was up for election, with each county electoral division returning one councillor.
After the election the composition of the council was;
* Labour Party: 44
* Conservative Party: 37
* Independents: 13
* Liberal Party: 2

## Results by division

The winning candidates in each division are shown in the table below.
| Division | Party | Councillor | Majority |
| Adwick-le-Street | Labour | T. Baynham | Unopposed |
| Aireborough | Conservative | W. Hudson | 643 |
| Askern | Labour | M. Thompson | Unopposed |
| Aston | Labour | C. T. Broughton | Unopposed |
| Baildon | Conservative | P. Oates | 2,154 |
| Barnoldswick | Conservative | A. H. Clegg | 445 |
| Barwick | Conservative | F. G. W. Lane Fox | 1,728 |
| Batley No. 1 | Independent | M. G. M. Newman | 472 |
| Batley No. 2 | Independent | L. I. Fitzpatrick | Unopposed |
| Bentley | Labour | S. E. Keers | Unopposed |
| Bingley | Conservative | H. Whitehead | Unopposed |
| Birstall | Independent | W. A. Ogilvy | 348 |
| Brighouse North | Labour | H. Womersley | 41 |
| Brighouse South | Conservative | M. D. Middleton | 556 |
| Castleford No. 1 | Labour | G. East | Unopposed |
| Castleford No. 2 | Labour | C. Dews | Unopposed |
| Colne Valley No. 1 | Independent | H. E. Eastwood | 697 |
| Colne Valley No. 2 | Labour | R. Redfern | Unopposed |
| Conisbrough | Labour | J. Prendergast | Unopposed |
| Craven | Conservative | A. K. Fitton | Unopposed |
| Crofton | Labour | W. Henry | Unopposed |
| Cudworth | Labour | J. Berry | Unopposed |
| Dalton | Labour | H. Harrison | 1,530 |
| Darfield and Thurnscoe | Labour | H. Clarney | Unopposed |
| Darton | Labour | F. Morris | 1,022 |
| Dearne | Labour | J. F. Oldham | Unopposed |
| Denby Dale | Independent | R. K. Beever | 330 |
| Ecclesfield | Labour | E. Ratcliffe | 514 |
| Edlington | Labour | J. Yorke | 866 |
| Elland | Independent | H. Cockroft | Unopposed |
| Featherstone | Labour | E. Rowley | Unopposed |
| Garforth | Labour | R. B. Holt | Unopposed |
| Goole | Independent | E. L. England | 343 |
| Harrogate No. 1 | Conservative | R. Martin | 1,234 |
| Harrogate No. 2 | Conservative | J. C. Hunter | 1,657 |
| Harrogate No. 3 | Conservative | J. S. Tennant | 2,871 |
| Hatfield and Stainforth | Labour | R. Kelley | Unopposed |
| Hebden Bridge | Independent | H. H. Sutcliffe | 651 |
| Heckmondwike | Conservative | C. Thackray | Unopposed |
| Hemsworth | Labour | H. Miles | Unopposed |
| Holmfirth | Independent | N. Denton | 1,539 |
| Horbury | Labour | H. V. Bennett | 1,425 |
| Horsforth | Conservative | H. E. Thackray | Unopposed |
| Hoyland | Labour | Sir Thomas Tomlinson | Unopposed |
| Ilkley | Conservative | N. Geldard | Unopposed |
| Keighley No. 1 | Conservative | A. W. Tack | 878 |
| Keighley No. 2 | Liberal | M. E. Rhodes | 945 |
| Keighley No. 3 | Conservative | L. Hardaker | 454 |
| Kiveton Park | Labour | W. Holmes | Unopposed |
| Knaresborough | Conservative | A. C. Crowther | Unopposed |
| Knottingley | Labour | J. Blackburn | 1,190 |
| Kirkburton | Conservative | J. A. Stephens | 633 |
| Maltby and Tickhill | Labour | T. Cheetham | 1,428 |
| Mexborough | Labour | G. M. Hanson | 77 |
| Mirfield | Independent | G. M. Hanson | 643 |
| Morley No. 1 | Independent | J. Rhodes | 188 |
| Morley No. 2 | Labour | H. Rankin | 511 |
| Normanton | Labour | W. E. Metcalf | 3,538 |
| Ossett | Independent | H. Smith | 478 |
| Otley | Conservative | H. Guy | Unopposed |
| Pateley Bridge | Conservative | Sir John Barran | Unopposed |
| Penistone | Conservative | A. Goldthorpe | 226 |
| Pontefract | Labour | G. Wright | 778 |
| Pudsey No. 1 | Conservative | J. Fuller Smith | Unopposed |
| Pudsey No. 2 | Conservative | J. O. Cowgill | 1,371 |
| Queensbury and Shelf | Conservative | A. Craven | 456 |
| Rawmarsh | Labour | J. E. Payne | Unopposed |
| Ripon | Conservative | E. B. Eccles | Unopposed |
| Ripponden | Conservative | S. Stott | 610 |
| Rossington | Labour | W. A. Morris | Unopposed |
| Rothwell | Labour | T. S. Dawson | Unopposed |
| Saddleworth | Conservative | E. E. Smith | 1,554 |
| Sedbergh | Conservative | W. Illingworth | Unopposed |
| Selby | Conservative | C. E. Anson | Unopposed |
| Settle | Conservative | F. J. Cornthwaite | Unopposed |
| Shipley West | Conservative | G. Waddilove | Unopposed |
| Shipley East | Labour | S. Derbyshire | Unopposed |
| Silsden | Conservative | N. Fortune | 1,099 |
| Skipton | Independent | J. W. Atkinson | 291 |
| Snaith | Conservative | J. Martinson | 548 |
| South Elmsall | Labour | G. Guest | Unopposed |
| South Kirkby | Labour | H. Ebery | Unopposed |
| Sowerby Bridge | Labour | F. Barker | 538 |
| Spenborough No. 1 | Conservative | F. Morton | 2,016 |
| Spenborough No. 2 | Conservative | J. Smith | 1,212 |
| Stanley | Labour | J. E. Howe | Unopposed |
| Stocksbridge | Conservative | H. E. Green | 483 |
| Swinton | Labour | A. Newsam | Unopposed |
| Tadcaster | Conservative | D. W. Atkinson | 1,345 |
| Thorne | Labour | G. H. Nicholson | Unopposed |
| Todmorden | Liberal | J. de Ville Mather | Unopposed |
| Wath on Dearne | Labour | W. Cutts | Unopposed |
| Wetherby | Conservative | D. A. Crockatt | Unopposed |
| Whitwood | Labour | A. Pickersgill | Unopposed |
| Wombwell | Labour | J. W. Mellor | Unopposed |
| Worsborough | Labour | C. W. Boland | 1,741 |