1978 London local elections

Local government elections took place in London, and some other parts of the United Kingdom on Thursday 4 May 1978. Ward changes took place in every borough (except Enfield) which increased the total number of councillors by 41 from 1,867 to 1,908.

1978 London local elections

← 1974 4 May 1978 1982 →
All 1,908 on all 32 London boroughs
Turnout	42.9% (6.6%)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Margaret Thatcher James Callaghan David Steel Party Conservative Labour Liberal Leader since 11 February 1975 5 April 1976 7 July 1976 Popular vote 1,037,894 833,526 150,298 Percentage 48.7% 39.1% 7.1% Swing 7.9% 2.8% 6.0% Councils 17 14 0 Councils +/– 4 4 Councillors 960 882 30 Councillors +/– 247 208 3
Results by Borough in 1978.

All London borough council seats were up for election. The previous Borough elections in London were in 1974.^[1]

Results summary

Party[2]		Votes won	% votes	Change	Seats	% seats	Change	Councils	Change
	Conservative	1,037,894	48.7	+7.9	960	50.3	+247	17	+4
	Labour	833,526	39.1	-2.8	882	46.2	-208	14	-4
	Liberal	150,298	7.1	-6.0	30	1.6	+3	0	±0
	Others	108,144	5.1	+0.9	36	1.9	-1	0	±0
	No overall control	n/a	n/a	±0	n/a	n/a	n/a	1	±0

• Turnout: 2,213,900 voters cast ballots, a turnout of 42.9% (+6.6%).^[3]

Council results

Council	Previous control		Result		Details
Barking		Labour		Labour	Details
Barnet		Conservative		Conservative	Details
Bexley		Conservative		Conservative	Details
Brent		Labour		Labour	Details
Bromley		Conservative		Conservative	Details
Camden		Labour		Labour	Details
Croydon		Conservative		Conservative	Details
Ealing		Labour		Conservative	Details
Enfield		Conservative		Conservative	Details
Greenwich		Labour		Labour	Details
Hackney		Labour		Labour	Details
Hammersmith		Labour		No overall control	Details
Haringey		Labour		Labour	Details
Harrow		Conservative		Conservative	Details
Havering		No overall control		Conservative	Details
Hillingdon		Labour		Conservative	Details
Hounslow		Labour		Labour	Details
Islington		Labour		Labour	Details
Kensington and Chelsea		Conservative		Conservative	Details
Kingston upon Thames		Conservative		Conservative	Details
Lambeth		Labour		Labour	Details
Lewisham		Labour		Labour	Details
Merton		Conservative		Conservative	Details
Newham		Labour		Labour	Details
Redbridge		Conservative		Conservative	Details
Richmond upon Thames		Conservative		Conservative	Details
Southwark		Labour		Labour	Details
Sutton		Conservative		Conservative	Details
Tower Hamlets		Labour		Labour	Details
Waltham Forest		Labour		Labour	Details
Wandsworth		Labour		Conservative	Details
Westminster		Conservative		Conservative	Details

Overall councillor numbers

London local elections 1978 Councillor statistics
Party		Seats	Gain/loss
	Conservative	960	+247
	Labour	882	-208
	Liberal	30	+3
	Others	36	-1

Borough result maps

• 
  Barnet 1978 results map
• 
  Camden 1978 results map
• 
  Hammersmith 1978 results map