The first elections to the newly created Leeds City Council were held on 10 May 1973, with the entirety of the 96 seat council – three seats for each of the 32 wards – up for vote. The Local Government Act 1972 stipulated that the elected members were to shadow and eventually take over from the predecessor corporation on 1 April 1974. The order in which the councillors were elected dictated their term serving, with third-place candidates serving two years and up for re-election in 1975, second-placed three years expiring in 1976 and 1st-placed five years until 1978.

As well as replacing the County Borough of Leeds, the new council included:

• Municipal Borough of Morley
• Municipal Borough of Pudsey
• Aireborough Urban District
• Horsforth Urban District
• Otley Urban District
• Garforth Urban District
• Rothwell Urban District
• Tadcaster Rural District (part)
• Wetherby Rural District
• Wharfedale Rural District

The election resulted in no overall control.^[1]

Leeds Local Election Result 1973

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	44	0	0	0	45.8	40.4	69,696	N/A
	Conservative	38	0	0	0	39.6	41.1	70,906	N/A
	Liberal	14	0	0	0	14.6	16.3	28,141	N/A
	Independent	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.0	1,763	N/A
	Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.7	1,134	N/A
	Independent Labour	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.3	564	N/A
	National Front	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.2	314	N/A

This result has the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:

Party		New council
	Labour	44
	Conservatives	38
	Liberals	14
Total		96
Working majority		0

Aireborough^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Hudson	4,808	53.0	N/A
	Conservative	H. Freeman	4,724
	Conservative	R. Cartwright	4,658
	Labour	C. Hardwick	2,938	32.4	N/A
	Labour	P. Booth	2,794
	Labour	R. Oddy	2,778
	Liberal	R. Lee	1,330	14.7	N/A
	Liberal	R. Bell	1,259
	Liberal	J. Harrison	1,225
Majority			1,720	20.6	N/A
Turnout			9,076		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Armley and Castleton^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Michael Meadowcroft	4,468	60.4	N/A
	Liberal	Christopher John Greenfield	4,111
	Liberal	B. Nelson	4,046
	Labour	J. Dixon	2,026	27.4	N/A
	Labour	C. Buttery	1,875
	Labour	R. Sedler	1,869
	Conservative	H. Stephenson	775	10.5	N/A
	Conservative	H. Hinchcliffe	765
	Conservative	N. Thompson	738
	Communist	P. Wilton	123	1.7	N/A
Majority			2,020	33.0	N/A
Turnout			7,392		N/A
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)

Beeston and Holbeck^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Beevers	3,063	54.4	N/A
	Labour	A. Barnard	2,892
	Labour	H. Booth	2,671
	Conservative	R. Barker	1,650	29.3	N/A
	Conservative	E. Lucas	1,500
	Conservative	N. Skinn	1,491
	Liberal	J. Leighton	914	16.2	N/A
	Liberal	L. Ellis	901
	Liberal	P. Jones	850
Majority			1,021	25.1	N/A
Turnout			5,627		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Bramley^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Atkinson	2,025	53.9	N/A
	Labour	A. Atkinson	1,984
	Labour	E. Millet	1,932
	Liberal	J. Honnoraty	867	23.1	N/A
	Conservative	J. Brighthart	864	23.0	N/A
	Conservative	H. Cox	839
	Liberal	T. Wood	820
	Conservative	R. Galley	802
	Liberal	J. Clayforth	782
Majority			1,065	30.8	N/A
Turnout			3,756		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Burley^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Donohue	1,268	39.4	N/A
	Conservative	R. Forbes	1,150	35.7	N/A
	Labour	J. Roche	1,117
	Labour	S. Akbar	1,105
	Conservative	R. Hare	1,100
	Conservative	J. Adamson	1,055
	Liberal	S. Carnett	689	21.4	N/A
	Liberal	E. Vasey	680
	Liberal	J. Wright	605
	Communist	D. Secker	114	3.5	N/A
Majority			17	3.7	N/A
Turnout			3,221		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Burmantofts and Richmond Hill^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	K. Cohen	3,471	65.4	N/A
	Labour	M. Greene	3,308
	Labour	R. Millet	3,265
	Conservative	L. Dinnock	1,388	26.1	N/A
	Conservative	E. Robbins	1,225
	Conservative	D. Tremlett	1,093
	National Front	E. Morrison	314	5.9	N/A
	Communist	F. Stockdale	138	2.6	N/A
Majority			1,877	39.2	N/A
Turnout			5,311		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Chapel Allerton and Scott Hall^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Sparling	3,640	63.4	N/A
	Conservative	S. Symonds	3,608
	Conservative	C. Thomas	3,575
	Labour	G. Bloom	1,908	33.2	N/A
	Labour	B. Selby	1,802
	Labour	A. Baum	1,759
	Communist	M. Tomplak	192	3.3	N/A
Majority			1,667	30.2	N/A
Turnout			5,740		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

City and Woodhouse^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Merritt	2,493	69.6	N/A
	Labour	D. Jenner	2,301
	Labour	E. Morris	2,182
	Conservative	J. Lewis	1,091	30.4	N/A
	Conservative	I. Dobkin	1,061
	Conservative	A. Tidbitts	1,039
Majority			1,091	39.1	N/A
Turnout			3,584		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Cookridge and Weetwood^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Hall	5,237	63.8	N/A
	Conservative	L. Carter	5,225
	Conservative	K. Loudon	5,203
	Labour	J. Wright	2,339	28.5	N/A
	Labour	J. Cartlidge	1,538
	Labour	I. Morrison	1,467
	Independent	I. Smalley	634	7.7	N/A
	Independent	V. Smalley	355		N/A
Majority			2,864	35.3	N/A
Turnout			8,210		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Garforth #27 (Garforth North and Barwick)^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	S. Hood	3,732	54.6	N/A
	Conservative	R. Ives	3,648
	Conservative	K. Hedley	3,641
	Labour	H. Winfield	3,099	45.4	N/A
	Labour	J. Ratchford	3,089
	Labour	E. Brownridge	3,016
Majority			542	9.3	N/A
Turnout			6,831		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Garforth #28 (Kippax and Swillington)^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Haines	3,333	63.8	N/A
	Labour	F. Flatters	3,305
	Labour	G. Moake	2,998
	Conservative	C. Taylor	1,326	25.4	N/A
	Conservative	J. King	1,267
	Conservative	M. Barratt	1,216
	Independent Labour	E. Wilson	564	10.8	N/A
Majority			1,672	38.4	N/A
Turnout			5,223		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Gipton and Whinmoor^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. King	2,688	55.1	N/A
	Labour	E. Coward	2,668
	Labour	A. Vollans	2,645
	Conservative	M. Suttenstall	1,607	32.9	N/A
	Conservative	A. Westerman	1,604
	Conservative	W. Buckland	1,594
	Liberal	Kathleen Pedder	499	10.2	N/A
	Liberal	P. Lawson	475
	Liberal	J. Nelson	444
	Communist	J. Bellamy	88	1.8	N/A
Majority			1,038	22.1	N/A
Turnout			4,882		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Halton^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Dodgson	3,009	69.7	N/A
	Conservative	W. Hyde	2,872
	Conservative	D. Wood	2,848
	Labour	G. Dickinson	1,305	30.3	N/A
	Labour	J. Williams	1,214
	Labour	W. Banks	1,134
Majority			1,543	39.5	N/A
Turnout			4,314		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Harehills and Roundhay^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Crotty	3,873	64.9	N/A
	Conservative	J. Challenor	3,737
	Conservative	J. White	3,690
	Labour	K. Jeffrey	1,281	21.5	N/A
	Labour	I. Naylor	1,256
	Labour	E. Kavanagh	1,240
	Liberal	C. Farrer	816	13.7	N/A
	Liberal	S. Hannam	690
	Liberal	R. Morgan	659
Majority			2,409	43.4	N/A
Turnout			5,970		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Headingley^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. Clark	1,952	44.8	N/A
	Conservative	T. Kirkby	1,931
	Conservative	P. Brown	1,918
	Labour	P. Fathers	1,502	34.4	N/A
	Labour	J. Gunnell	1,473
	Labour	John Christopher Say	1,362
	Liberal	J. Coates	908	20.8	N/A
	Liberal	M. Baker	818
	Liberal	E. Leigh	809
Majority			416	10.3	N/A
Turnout			4,362		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Horsforth^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	M. Crossfield	3,429	46.1	N/A
	Liberal	R. Morrish	3,375
	Liberal	H. Stuttard	3,175
	Conservative	J. Fearnside	3,054	41.1	N/A
	Conservative	H. Fairhirst	2,964
	Conservative	May Sexton	2,781
	Labour	A. Bloomer	956	12.9	N/A
	Labour	H. Outhwaite	921
	Labour	M. Simmons	865
Majority			121	5.0	N/A
Turnout			7,439		N/A
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)

Hunslet East and West^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Denis Pedder	3,296	55.8	N/A
	Liberal	J. Barrie	3,038
	Liberal	David Austick	2,869
	Labour	G. Bowsley	2,208	37.4	N/A
	Labour	W. Pepper	2,160
	Labour	J. Hodkinson	2,154
	Conservative	N. Griffiths	405	6.9	N/A
	Conservative	W. Laidler	355
	Conservative	I. Shuttleworth	321
Majority			661	18.4	N/A
Turnout			5,909		N/A
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)

Kirkstall^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Elizabeth Nash	2,460	49.6	N/A
	Labour	B. Atha	2,421
	Labour	K. Fenwick	2,410
	Conservative	A. Castle	2,337	47.1	N/A
	Conservative	J. Kirkbright	2,203
	Communist	J. Sidebottom	167	3.4	N/A
Majority			73	2.5	N/A
Turnout			4,964		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Middleton^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Taylor	1,901	77.6	N/A
	Labour	J. Kitchen	1,801
	Labour	G. Wood	1,788
	Conservative	R. Ivey	394	16.1	N/A
	Conservative	P. Ingram	370
	Conservative	G. Lambert	365
	Communist	D. Priscott	154	6.3	N/A
Majority			1,394	61.5	N/A
Turnout			2,449		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Moortown^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Redmond	2,155	66.0	N/A
	Conservative	M. Davies	2,147
	Conservative	R. Challenor	2,134
	Labour	N. Jones	1,111	34.0	N/A
	Labour	G. Shaftner	1,055
	Labour	L. Hirst	1,004
Majority			1,023	32.0	N/A
Turnout			3,266		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Morley #22 (Morley North)^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Barker	3,024	54.9	N/A
	Conservative	J. Binks	2,993
	Conservative	R. Verity	2,946
	Labour	M. Marshall	2,489	45.1	N/A
	Labour	Michael McGowan	2,447
	Labour	P. Aspden	2,426
Majority			457	9.7	N/A
Turnout			5,513		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Morley #23 (Morley South)^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Haydn	2,702	63.9	N/A
	Labour	E. Hewitt	2,665
	Labour	S. Welham	2,632
	Conservative	G. Gray	1,525	36.1	N/A
	Conservative	C. Rover	1,473
	Conservative	P. Boden	1,433
Majority			1,107	27.8	N/A
Turnout			4,227		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Osmondthorpe^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Gabb	1,817	69.3	N/A
	Labour	D. Hamilton	1,770
	Labour	W. Pritchard	1,727
	Conservative	C. Suttenstall	805	30.7	N/A
	Conservative	S. Tomlinson	765
	Conservative	V. Tyrell	740
Majority			922	38.6	N/A
Turnout			2,622		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Otley^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	F. Atkinson	3,047	41.1	N/A
	Liberal	G. Kirkland	2,981	40.2	N/A
	Liberal	D. Whiteley	2,917
	Conservative	Eve Fowler	2,763
	Conservative	G. Francis	2,538
	Liberal	T. Flintoff	2,675
	Labour	F. Farnell	1,389	18.7	N/A
	Labour	F. Longstaffe	1,296
	Labour	Doris Gagen	1,060
Majority			154	0.9	N/A
Turnout			7,417		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)

Pudsey #24 (Pudsey North)^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Carter	2,556	34.3	N/A
	Liberal	J. Finnegan	2,507	33.7	N/A
	Conservative	C. Thompson	2,435
	Labour	S. Pearson	2,380	32.0	N/A
	Labour	G. Bloomfield	2,370
	Conservative	J. Bashall	2,360
	Liberal	R. Hainsworth	2,294
	Labour	L. Rawson	2,292
	Liberal	C. Russell	2,022
Majority			55	0.7	N/A
Turnout			7,443		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Pudsey #25 (Pudsey South)^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	C. Wilson	2,760	38.8	N/A
	Liberal	R. Fairbank	2,398
	Labour	J. Mann	2,303	32.4	N/A
	Liberal	R. Leicester	2,229
	Labour	E. Simmons	2,052
	Conservative	P. Kersting	1,912	23.5	N/A
	Labour	G. Wadwell	1,862
	Conservative	R. Hughes-Rowlands	1,670
	Conservative	D. Eastham	1,613
	Independent	E. Stockhill	374	5.3	N/A
Majority			74	6.4	N/A
Turnout			7,107		N/A
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Rothwell^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Lund	3,908	65.3	N/A
	Labour	A. Benson	3,685
	Labour	J. De Carieret	3,560
	Conservative	W. Williams	2,078	34.7	N/A
	Conservative	E. Linnington	1,858
	Conservative	Mrs M. Szewe	1,792
Majority			1,482	30.6	N/A
Turnout			5,986		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Seacroft^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	K. Woolmer	2,929	77.9	N/A
	Labour	F. Stringer	2,904
	Labour	G. Mudie	2,838
	Conservative	V. Dodgson	674	17.9	N/A
	Conservative	J. Suttenstall	636
	Conservative	C. Bond	626
	Communist	A. Dale	158	4.2	N/A
Majority			2,164	60.0	N/A
Turnout			3,761		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Stanningley^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Miller	1,955	54.3	N/A
	Labour	K. Gould	1,952
	Labour	C. Myers	1,899
	Conservative	K. Knapton	1,022	28.4	N/A
	Conservative	R. Benton	987
	Conservative	H. Stockwell	980
	Liberal	S. Clayforth	621	17.3	N/A
	Liberal	K. Honnoraty	606
	Liberal	V. Hook	596
Majority			877	25.9	N/A
Turnout			3,598		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Talbot^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	I. Bellow	2,812	60.0	N/A
	Conservative	J. Sherwin	2,741
	Conservative	R. Feldman	2,731
	Liberal	M. Phillips	1,280	27.3	N/A
	Liberal	B. Brill	1,227
	Liberal	R. Whitelock	1,141
	Labour	N. Holdsworth	591	12.6	N/A
	Labour	C. Mack	573
	Labour	D. Knapp	564
Majority			1,451	32.7	N/A
Turnout			4,683		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Wetherby^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Hudson	5,216	66.7	N/A
	Conservative	N. Bown	5,158
	Conservative	J. Rolston	5,012
	Labour	J. Shackleton	1,850	23.7	N/A
	Labour	R. Wilde	1,600
	Labour	C. Brown	1,500
	Independent	Gladys Musgrave	755	9.7	N/A
Majority			3,162	43.0	N/A
Turnout			7,821		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Wortley^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	F. Stubley	2,030	42.2	N/A
	Labour	W. Thurlow	2,008	41.7	N/A
	Labour	A. Shires	1,899
	Conservative	C. Mathers	1,892
	Conservative	A. Woolman	1,869
	Labour	R. Cooke	1,756
	Liberal	D. Freethy	776	16.1	N/A
	Liberal	I. Halliday	528
	Liberal	J. Crawshaw	522
Majority			7	0.5	N/A
Turnout			4,814		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Headingley by-election 28 February 1974^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alan Pedley	3,463	36.6	−8.2
	Liberal	John Coates	3,135	33.1	+12.3
	Labour	Irene Levy	2,864	30.3	−4.1
Majority			328	3.5	−6.8
Turnout			9,462	60.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	-10.2

Burley by-election 21 November 1974

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Buttery	1,269	48.3	+8.9
	Conservative	M. Sexton	909	34.6	−1.1
	Liberal	J. Wright	396	15.1	−6.3
	Communist	S. Walker	54	2.0	−1.5
Majority			360	13.7	+10.0
Turnout			2,628
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+5.0

Burley by-election 8 January 1975

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Donohoe	999	52.3	+12.9
	Conservative	D. Ramsden	609	31.9	−3.8
	Liberal	J. Wright	164	8.6	−12.8
	National Front	J. Duckenfield	138	7.2	+7.2
Majority			360	20.4	+16.7
Turnout			1,910
	Labour hold		Swing	+8.3