An election to the

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

took place on 8 March 1934. The council was elected by

First Past the Post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

with each elector having two votes in the two-member seats. The Labour Party made large gains from the

Municipal Reform Party The Municipal Reform Party was a local party allied to the parliamentary Conservative Party in the County of London. The party contested elections to both the London County Council and metropolitan borough councils of the county from 1906 to 1945 ...

, and for the first time won control of the council..

Campaign

The Municipal Reform Party had run the council for 27 years, and ran on its record in government. In

Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man called Finn ...

, the party supported two independent "National Municipal" candidates. One of these candidates Michael Franklin belonged to the

National Labour Organisation The National Labour Organisation, also known as the National Labour Committee or simply as National Labour, was a British political group formed after the 1931 creation of the National Government to co-ordinate the efforts of the supporters of ...

, the pro- National Government splinter party led by

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

. The Labour Party had never been the largest party on the council, and had lost ground at the previous election, in 1931. Its manifesto prioritised the construction of more housing, particularly in locations within the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

or immediately surrounding it, and the reduction of municipal rents. It contested all seats except for those in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

and Kensington South, where the Municipal Reform candidates were elected unopposed, and

St Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it merge ...

where the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

stood instead. The

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

fielded only 26 candidates, ten of whom were not opposed by the Municipal Reform Party. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' claimed that the party was a "spent force" in the capital, and that its best hope was to retain its six seats, which it might achieve only because of the assistance of the Municipal Reformers.

Percy Harris Percy Harris is the name of: *Percy Harris (lawyer), British barrister *Percy Harris (politician), British politician See also

*Percy Harris Bowers, Anglican priest *Percy Harrison (disambiguation) {{human name disambiguation, Harris, Percy ...

, spokesperson for the Liberals, claimed that Labour had no chance of defeating its six sitting councillors. He proposed more housing, replanning of the London road network, and moving

Covent Garden Market Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site ...

to the banks of the River Thames. The ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described the election as difficult to predict, but noted that the Municipal Reformers were expecting to win, but with a reduced majority, while Labour believed they would win more seats and had a chance of taking control of the council. ''

'' predicted close contests in Battersea North, Camberwell North West,

Fulham West Fulham West was a borough constituency based in the London district of Fulham. It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1955. At the 1918 general election the previous Fulham cons ...

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, Hammersmith North, Hackney South,

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the ...

, Lambeth North,

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

, and three of the Islington constituencies.

Results

Labour won a substantial victory, taking control of the council for the first time, while the Liberal Party was entirely wiped out. Among the defeated politicians was

Harold Webbe Sir William Harold Webbe, Order of the British Empire, CBE Deputy Lieutenant, DL (30 September 1885 – 22 April 1965) was a British politician. He was a Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Par ...

, acting leader of the

. The party blamed its defeat on voter apathy. Turnout in the election was approximately 33%.

References

{{United Kingdom local elections, 1934 1934 elections in the United Kingdom County Council election 1934 English local elections London County Council elections March 1934 events