LABOUR GAINS AT POLLS

Hawera Star, Volume LIII, 10 March 1934, Page 5

LABOUR GAINS AT POLLS

LONDON COUNTY ELECTIONS MAJORITY FOR FIRST TIME. PROMINENT MEMBERS BEATEN. LOSSES BY REFORMERS. JniKK* Press Association —By Electric Telegraph Copyngnt). LONDON, March 9. Labour has made .substantial gains in the London County Council elections. Many prominent members were defeated, including Sir Cyril Cobb, Dame Beatrice Lyall and Captain tier tram Mills, all .Liberals. Tho Communists were defeated. The state of the parties is: Labour 61, Municipal Reformers 37. Labour gained 29 seats and lost none. Municipal Reformers gained none and lost 25. Liberals gained none and) lost four. . .

This will be Labour’s first majority on the London County Council. ‘ ‘This is a great triumph for London Labour,”,declared .Mr Herbert. Morrison. He added that Labour would exercise its power Cleanly, but with determination and a sense of public responsibility. Lord Jessel, one of the Municipal Reform leaders, declared Labour’s triumph was largely due to the apathy of many electors, who had not troubled to vote.

Two million ratepayers were called upon to determine the character of the government of London for the next three years. The population in the area governed by the council exceeds 4,000,000, and expenditure by the ratepayers at present exceeds £18,000,000 annually. At recent elections the percentage of voters has been small. In 1931 only 27 per cent voted. The council consists of 124 councillors elected by the ratepayers and 20 aldermen elected 'by the councillors. The former state of the parties among the councillors was: Municipal Reform Party 83, Labour 35, Liberal 6. For 118 contested seats to-day there were 108 Municipal Reformers, 24 Liberals and 160 Labour candidates nominated. STRENGTH OF SIXTY-NINE Received 11.50 a.m. to-day. LONDON, March 9. In the County Council election the final figures are: — Labour . 59 Municipal Reformers 55