1974 Argyll District Council election

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1974 Argyll District Council election

Elections to Argyll District Council were held on 7 May 1974, the same day as other Scottish local elections. It was the first election after the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which reorganized local government into new regional and district bodies. The 26 wards created for the district each elected one councillor by first-past-the-post, and 14 seats were needed for a majority.

Results
- Independent candidates won a landslide 21 seats (about 65.2% of the vote with 15,710 votes).
- Conservatives won 5 seats (about 19.1% of the vote with 4,610 votes).
- No other parties won seats. The council leader after the election was an Independent. Around 80% of councillors were not affiliated to any party.

Context
Before 1974, the area belonged to the County of Argyll and the County of Bute, with six burghs in Argyll and one in Bute. The Wheatly Report led to a new system of regional and district councils. Most of Argyll, plus the Isle of Bute, formed Argyll district within the Strathclyde region. Argyll district was the only non-partisan district in Strathclyde, while Labour won control of the Strathclyde regional council in the same elections.

National result
Across Scotland, Labour won the most votes, the most seats, and control of the most councils.