LABOUR GAINS 100 SEATS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 811, 4 November 1929, Page 9

LABOUR GAINS 100 SEATS

BRITAIN’S MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS SOME MAYORALTIES WON LONDON, Saturday. Strenuous efforts on the part of Labour candidates to secure the control of local government in England and Wales again was a feature of the municipal elections in 300 cities and boroughs today. London was excluded as polling took place here yesterday. The latest returns show the gains and losses of the parties to be as follow: Gains. Losses. Conservatives .. 11 76 Liberals .... 13 29 Labour 112 12 Independents ..16 32 These results show substantial Labour gains, but they were not so sweeping as the party anticipated. Several Mayors lost their seats to Labour candidates, including the Lord Mayor of Cardiff and the Mayors of Sunderland and Guildford. There were seven Labour gains at Salford and six at Sunderland. Labour already rules 23 towns and has now also secured majorities for the first time at Bradford and Northampton. The Communists fared badly. Their candidates at Burnley polled only 27, at Bury 67, and two at Leeds 54 and The Conservatives at Oldham won back three seats from Labour. The total number of candidates throughout the country was 2,031. Labour had the largest number of unopposed returns, namely, 'll7, compared with the Conservatives’ 81. the Liberals’ 37, and the Independents’