Merton (electoral division)

Merton was an electoral division for the purposes of elections to the Greater London Council. The constituency elected two councillors for a three-year term in 1964, 1967 and 1970.

History
It was planned to use the same boundaries as the Westminster Parliament constituencies for election of councillors to the Greater London Council (GLC), as had been the practice for elections to the predecessor London County Council, but those that existed in 1965 crossed the Greater London boundary. Until new constituencies could be settled, the 32 London boroughs were used as electoral areas which therefore created a constituency called Merton.

The electoral division was replaced from 1973 by the single-member electoral divisions of Mitcham and Morden and Wimbledon.

Elections
The Merton constituency was used for the Greater London Council elections in 1964, 1967 and 1970. Two councillors were elected at each election using first-past-the-post voting.

1964 election
The first election was held on 9 April 1964, a year before the council came into its powers. The electorate was 134,520 and two Conservative Party councillors were elected. With 69,148 people voting, the turnout was 51.4%. The councillors were elected for a three-year term.

1967 election
The second election was held on 13 April 1967. The electorate was 132,117 and two Conservative Party councillors were elected. With 68,858 people voting, the turnout was 52.1%. The councillors were elected for a three-year term.

1970 election
The third election was held on 9 April 1970. The electorate was 138,741 and two Conservative Party councillors were elected. With 54,777 people voting, the turnout was 39.5%. The councillors were elected for a three-year term.