LABOUR LOSE GROUND Youngest Candidate Wins
Fourteeq Conservatives, eight Labour, two Liberals, and one Independent, candidates were returned as a result of the polling which took place on Monday in the Manchester municipal elections; representing a net gain by the Conservatives of one seat at the expense of the Liberals.
The strength of the Labour party remains unchanged for although they lost one seat to the Conservatives at All Saints', they successfully contested the Wythenshawe ward against the retiring Conservative.
The new city council now consists of sixty-two Conservatives, fifty-two Labour, twenty-five Liberal, and three Independents.
One Conservative Gain
The one Conservative gain was in the Withington ward, where in a three-cornered fight, the retiring Liberal candidate, Mr. A. P. Simon, was defeated by a majority of 884. Lady Shena D. Simon, the former Liberal representative of Withington, who contested Moston ward as a Labour candidate, against the retiring Conservative candidate, was defeated,' but only by the comparatively small majority of 321.
Majority Doubled
Despite the fact that there was only one net gain in the election, it was very noticeable that in all but two of the seats they were defending the Labour majorities were considerably reduced; whilst on the other hand the Conservatives, with one exception, were all increased. In Choi-lion-cumHardy ward, Councillor J. Watts, Jun., the Conservative, more than doubled his majosity of three years ago, from 2,127 to 4,482.
In Salford, also, the Conservatives secured a net gain of one seat; but here it was at the Labour party's expense. Thus the C,onsenutives, by their gain, strength ened the position of the anti-Labour group in the council, the constitution of which is now: Antialsabour 34, Labour 30, as against 33-31 before the elections. Under their political labels the parties number as follows: Labour 30, Conservatives 24, Independents 7, Liberals 3.
Labour Leader Loses
Labour also lost two seats in Stretford to the Conservatives, the biggest surprise of the day being the defeat of Dr. J. Robinson, leader of the Labour Party, who had represented Longford ward for thirteen years. He was beaten by Mr. Eric R. Forbes, a Conservative and the youngest candidate in the election, by 164. The new council at Stretford now consists of twenty-six Conservatives, three Liberals, and three Labour.