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 16 April 1958. 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 three votes in the three-member seats. The Labour Party, who had already run the council for 24 years, won their largest ever majority.

Campaign

The Labour Party were optimistic about making gains, and targeted seats in Battersea South,

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history T ...

, Lewisham West, Wandsworth Central and Woolwich West. The Conservatives targeted the marginal Labour-held constituencies of

Barons Court Barons Court is a London Underground station in West Kensington in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Greater London. This station serves the District line and the Piccadilly line. Barons Court is between West Kensington and Hamme ...

, Kensington North and Paddington North. Their manifesto argued that the Labour Party were wasting money; they proposed reducing rates, and encouraged Londoners to move to

new towns A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

. 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 ...

stood 31 candidates, but reports suggested that they were hampered by poor organisation, and were not optimistic of taking a seat. The Communist Party of Great Britain and 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 ...

each stood four candidates, while the

Socialist Party of Great Britain The Socialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB) is a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1904 as a split from the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), it advocates using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes and oppos ...

stood three, and there were seven independents.

Results

The Labour Party gained 27 seats from the Conservatives, giving them a record majority on the council.

References

{{United Kingdom local elections, 1958 London County Council election County Council election London County Council election London County Council elections London County Council election