The incumbent Mayor, John Kennedy-Good, stood for a third term. The Citizens' Association had mended its relationship with Kennedy-Good in 1973 and his combined ticket from the previous election had merged back in to the Citizens' Association ticket. The renewed unity helped Kennedy-Good to win a much increased majority against his only challenger, deputy mayor John Seddon, and also for the Citizens' to win a large council majority, where Labour previously held a plurality of seats.[2]
This was the first election in the city after the voting age had been lowered from 20 to 18. Few 18 and 19 year-olds actually voted in the election however and the few that did had come to polling stations together with a parent. According to the chief returning officer the average age of voters at the election was 50.[3]
