# 1963 Leeds City Council election

The 1963 Leeds municipal elections were held on Thursday 9 May 1963, with one third of the council to be elected.
The Liberals significantly expanded on their prior year's record showing of 10 candidates to 18 candidates this time, obtaining them post-war records in votes and vote share. This hidden a disappointing result for them, seeing swings away from them in the wards they'd fought previously, with Far Headingley the only ward they managed to retain second place in (as well as gaining second place on first standing in Wellington).
This Liberal advancement again mainly hurt the Conservative vote, helping Labour achieve a 2.3% swing to make six gains – reversing all but one of the gains the Tories made in their 1960 victory (the exception being the usually reliable Conservative ward of Harehills, which Labour managed to narrowly gain in 1957). These gains doubled Labour's majority of councillors – with their overall majority now at 28 – as the party made widespread gains nationally to capture a record number of borough seats.

## Election result

Leeds Local Election Result 1963 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Labour | 19 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 67.8 | 45.0 | 57,636 | +1.1 |
| Conservative | 9 | 0 | 6 | -6 | 32.1 | 40.2 | 51,513 | -3.5 |
| Liberal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 13.9 | 17,865 | +2.6 |
| Communist | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 1,167 | -0.2 |
The result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:
| Party | Party | Previous council | Previous council | New council | New council |
| Party | Party | Cllr | Ald | Cllr | Ald |
| | Labour | 47 | 16 | 54 | 16 |
| | Conservatives | 37 | 12 | 30 | 12 |
| Total | Total | 84 | 28 | 84 | 28 |
| Total | Total | 112 | 112 | 112 | 112 |
| Working majority | Working majority | 12 | 4 | 24 | 4 |
| Working majority | Working majority | 16 | 16 | 28 | 28 |

## Ward results

Allerton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Bernard Lyons | 3,815 | 63.6 | −0.2 |
| | Labour | Gerald Bloom | 1,147 | 19.1 | +4.4 |
| | Liberal | Julius Blum | 1,034 | 17.2 | −4.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,668 | 44.5 | +2.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,996 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -2.3 | |
Armley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Sidney Lee | 2,542 | 55.4 | −4.9 |
| | Conservative | Robert Rowland Beal | 1,289 | 28.1 | −11.7 |
| | Liberal | Graham Rowlands | 759 | 16.5 | +16.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,253 | 27.3 | +6.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,590 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.4 | |
Beeston :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | A. Beevers | 3,453 | 47.7 | −1.1 |
| | Conservative | A. Farrell | 2,974 | 41.1 | −10.1 |
| | Liberal | H. Passmore | 730 | 10.1 | +10.1 |
| | Communist | M. Moore | 84 | 1.2 | +1.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 479 | 6.6 | +4.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,241 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +4.5 | |
Blenheim :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ernest Morris | 1,612 | 69.8 | −1.4 |
| | Conservative | J. Jenkinson | 696 | 30.2 | +1.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 916 | 39.6 | −2.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,308 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.4 | |
Bramley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | M. Chadwick | 2,732 | 46.9 | −6.7 |
| | Conservative | C. Dean | 2,198 | 37.8 | −8.6 |
| | Liberal | M. Stevens | 891 | 15.3 | +15.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 534 | 9.2 | +1.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,821 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +0.9 | |
Burmantofts :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | F. Watson | 2,299 | 74.2 | +0.2 |
| | Conservative | M. Bauchop | 798 | 25.8 | −0.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,501 | 48.5 | +0.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,097 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.2 | |
City :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | W. Stoner | 1,299 | 73.1 | +1.7 |
| | Conservative | A. Roberts | 477 | 26.9 | −1.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 822 | 46.3 | +3.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,776 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +1.7 | |
Cross Gates :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | L. Jackson | 3,603 | 69.4 | +9.7 |
| | Conservative | E. Hartley | 1,592 | 30.6 | −4.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,011 | 38.7 | +13.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,195 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +6.8 | |
East Hunslet :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | E. Haughton | 1,800 | 72.5 | +9.4 |
| | Conservative | P. Sharples | 683 | 27.5 | +7.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,117 | 45.0 | +2.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,483 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +1.0 | |
Far Headingley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | George Somers | 4,639 | 46.0 | −1.5 |
| | Liberal | John Humphrey Morrish | 3,728 | 37.0 | −1.2 |
| | Labour | Kathleen Elizabeth Lloyd | 1,707 | 16.9 | +2.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 911 | 9.0 | −0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,074 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -0.1 | |
Halton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | J. Brooksbank | 3,754 | 71.6 | +8.3 |
| | Labour | C. Wigley | 1,486 | 28.4 | +9.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,268 | 43.3 | −1.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,240 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -0.6 | |
Harehills :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Astle | 2,427 | 51.2 | −9.9 |
| | Labour | D. Beeston | 1,693 | 35.7 | −3.1 |
| | Liberal | Ronald Gibbon Sissons | 616 | 13.0 | +13.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 734 | 15.5 | −6.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,736 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -3.4 | |
Holbeck :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | T. Smith | 2,117 | 58.6 | −9.8 |
| | Conservative | A. Redmond | 877 | 24.3 | −7.3 |
| | Liberal | J. Crawshaw | 490 | 13.6 | +13.6 |
| | Communist | B. Potter | 130 | 3.6 | +3.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,240 | 34.3 | −2.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,614 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.2 | |
Hunslet Carr :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Harry Booth | 2,008 | 62.8 | −3.1 |
| | Conservative | R. Austwick | 770 | 24.1 | −2.5 |
| | Liberal | G. McKenna | 305 | 9.5 | +9.5 |
| | Communist | L. Hunter | 115 | 3.6 | −4.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,238 | 38.7 | −0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,198 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -0.3 | |
Hyde Park :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Kenneth Davison | 2,125 | 44.7 | −16.5 |
| | Labour | Joyce Gould | 1,695 | 35.7 | −3.2 |
| | Liberal | Sydney Herbert Bexan | 934 | 19.6 | +19.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 430 | 9.0 | −13.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,754 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -6.6 | |
Kirkstall :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | M. Happold | 2,665 | 53.3 | +1.1 |
| | Conservative | G. Lockwood | 1,499 | 30.0 | +0.6 |
| | Liberal | D. Whittaker | 668 | 13.3 | −5.1 |
| | Communist | B. Huffingley | 172 | 3.4 | +3.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,166 | 23.3 | +0.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,004 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.2 | |
Meanwood :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Alan Pedley | 3,146 | 54.1 | +0.2 |
| | Labour | J. McPheat | 1,613 | 27.7 | +7.6 |
| | Liberal | Ms. Holdsworth | 1,054 | 18.1 | −7.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,533 | 26.4 | −1.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,813 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +3.7 | |
Middleton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arthur Brown | 2,538 | 77.1 | +0.6 |
| | Conservative | J. Charlesworth | 405 | 12.3 | −5.9 |
| | Liberal | J. Ward | 221 | 6.7 | +6.7 |
| | Communist | R. Wilkinson | 129 | 3.9 | −1.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,133 | 64.8 | +6.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,293 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.2 | |
Moortown :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | S. Bolton | 4,324 | 59.7 | −2.9 |
| | Labour | J. Taylor | 1,732 | 23.9 | +6.2 |
| | Liberal | J. Pearlman | 1,192 | 16.4 | −3.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,592 | 35.8 | −7.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,248 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -4.5 | |
Osmondthorpe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Douglas Gabb | 2,161 | 76.8 | +2.0 |
| | Conservative | B. Wilson | 653 | 23.2 | −2.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,508 | 53.6 | +3.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,814 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +2.0 | |
Potternewton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | D. Bradley | 1,427 | 45.5 | −7.0 |
| | Labour | R. Taylor | 1,110 | 35.4 | +10.1 |
| | Liberal | John Brian Meeks | 489 | 15.6 | −3.6 |
| | Communist | H. Fawcett | 112 | 3.6 | +0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 317 | 10.1 | −17.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,138 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -8.5 | |
Richmond Hill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | M. Rooney | 2,240 | 80.0 | +2.6 |
| | Conservative | H. Flockton | 430 | 15.4 | −1.9 |
| | Communist | E. Burwin | 131 | 4.7 | −0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,810 | 64.6 | +4.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,801 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +2.2 | |
Roundhay :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | D. Wolstenholme | 3,002 | 59.9 | +2.9 |
| | Labour | D. Thomas | 1,087 | 21.7 | +4.9 |
| | Liberal | A. Clarke | 925 | 18.4 | −7.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,915 | 38.2 | +7.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,014 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -2.0 | |
Stanningley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Kevin Gould | 2,552 | 43.2 | +4.8 |
| | Conservative | A. Vickers | 1,680 | 28.5 | −0.0 |
| | Liberal | Dennis Pedder | 1,673 | 28.3 | −4.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 872 | 14.8 | +9.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,905 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.4 | |
Wellington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Aimee Tong | 1,894 | 67.6 | −8.2 |
| | Liberal | B. Freeman | 436 | 15.6 | +15.6 |
| | Conservative | A. Stephen | 331 | 11.8 | −4.7 |
| | Communist | J. Bellamy | 141 | 5.0 | −2.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,458 | 52.0 | −7.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,802 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -11.9 | |
Westfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. Bell | 1,649 | 53.8 | −3.4 |
| | Conservative | May Sexton | 1,415 | 46.2 | +3.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 234 | 7.6 | −6.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,064 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -3.4 | |
Woodhouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | R. Ellis | 2,274 | 54.0 | +0.2 |
| | Conservative | F. West | 1,326 | 31.5 | −10.7 |
| | Liberal | F. Smith | 459 | 10.9 | +10.9 |
| | Communist | A. Dale | 153 | 3.6 | −0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 948 | 22.5 | +10.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,212 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +5.4 | |
Wortley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. Moynihan | 2,928 | 42.1 | −7.9 |
| | Conservative | Bertrand Mather | 2,761 | 39.7 | −10.2 |
| | Liberal | J. Sherwin | 1,261 | 18.1 | +18.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 167 | 2.4 | +2.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,950 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +1.1 | |

## Casual Vacancies

Halton 27 June 1963 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | John Hutchings Rhodes | 2501 | 74.6% |
| | Labour | Clement Wigley | 853 | 25.4% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,648 | 49.2% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,354 | 22.2% |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Roundhay 27 June 1963 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Douglas Thomas | 1,774 | 45.4% |
| | Conservative | Bertrand Mather | 1,712 | 43.8% |
| | Liberal | Arthur Clarke | 424 | 10.8% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 62 | 1.6% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,910 | 24.1% |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | |