1990 United Kingdom local elections

1990 United Kingdom local elections

← 1989 3 May 1990 1991 →

All 32 London boroughs, all 36 metropolitan boroughs,
116 out of 296 English districts and all 12 Scottish regions
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Leader Margaret Thatcher Neil Kinnock Paddy Ashdown
Party Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats
Leader since 11 February 1975 2 October 1983 16 July 1988
Percentage 33% 44% 17%
Councillors 9,020 8,920 3,265
Councillors +/- Decrease 222 Increase 284 Decrease 78

The 1990 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 3 May 1990.[1][2][3] They were the last local elections held before the resignation of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in November 1990.

The main opposition Labour Party gained 284 seats, bringing their number of councillors to 8,920, their highest since 1981. Their projected share of the vote was 44%, an increase of 2% from 1989.

The governing Conservative Party lost 222 seats, leaving them with 9,020 councillors. Their share of the vote was projected to be 33%, a fall of 3% from the previous year. This mounted further pressure on the government of Margaret Thatcher, which had been declining for a year following the introduction of the controversial poll tax, and was a major boost for opposition leader Neil Kinnock, whose Labour Party was enjoying a wide lead in the opinion polls with a general election no more than two years away.

The Liberal Democrats lost 78 seats and had 3,265 councillors after the elections. Their projected share of the vote was 17%.

Summary of results

England

London boroughs

In all 32 London boroughs the whole council was up for election.

Council Previous control Result Details
Barking and Dagenham Labour Labour hold Details
Barnet Conservative Conservative hold Details
Bexley Conservative Conservative hold Details
Brent Labour No overall control gain Details
Bromley Conservative Conservative hold Details
Camden Labour Labour hold Details
Croydon Conservative Conservative hold Details
Ealing Labour Conservative gain Details
Enfield Conservative Conservative hold Details
Greenwich Labour Labour hold Details
Hackney Labour Labour hold Details
Hammersmith and Fulham Labour Labour hold Details
Haringey Labour Labour hold Details
Harrow Conservative Conservative hold Details
Havering No overall control No overall control hold Details
Hillingdon No overall control Conservative gain Details
Hounslow Labour Labour hold Details
Islington Labour Labour hold Details
Kensington and Chelsea Conservative Conservative hold Details
Kingston upon Thames No overall control No overall control hold Details
Lambeth Labour Labour hold Details
Lewisham Labour Labour hold Details
Merton Conservative Labour gain Details
Newham Labour Labour hold Details
Redbridge Conservative Conservative hold Details
Richmond upon Thames Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats hold Details
Southwark Labour Labour hold Details
Sutton Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats hold Details
Tower Hamlets Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats hold Details
Waltham Forest Labour Labour hold Details
Wandsworth Conservative Conservative hold Details
Westminster Conservative Conservative hold Details

Metropolitan boroughs

All 36 metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.

Council Previous control Result Details
Barnsley Labour Labour hold Details
Birmingham Labour Labour hold Details
Bolton Labour Labour hold Details
Bradford No overall control Labour gain Details
Bury Labour Labour hold Details
Calderdale No overall control Labour gain Details
Coventry Labour Labour hold Details
Doncaster Labour Labour hold Details
Dudley Labour Labour hold Details
Gateshead Labour Labour hold Details
Kirklees No overall control Labour gain Details
Knowsley Labour Labour hold Details
Leeds Labour Labour hold Details
Liverpool Labour Labour hold Details
Manchester Labour Labour hold Details
Newcastle upon Tyne Labour Labour hold Details
North Tyneside Labour Labour hold Details
Oldham Labour Labour hold Details
Rochdale Labour Labour hold Details
Rotherham Labour Labour hold Details
Salford Labour Labour hold Details
Sandwell Labour Labour hold Details
Sefton No overall control No overall control hold Details
Sheffield Labour Labour hold Details
Solihull Conservative Conservative hold Details
South Tyneside Labour Labour hold Details
St Helens Labour Labour hold Details
Stockport No overall control No overall control hold Details
Sunderland Labour Labour hold Details
Tameside Labour Labour hold Details
Trafford Conservative Conservative hold Details
Wakefield Labour Labour hold Details
Walsall Labour Labour hold Details
Wigan Labour Labour hold Details
Wirral No overall control No overall control hold Details
Wolverhampton Labour Labour hold Details

District councils

Whole council

In 2 districts the whole council was up for election as there were new ward boundaries, following further electoral boundary reviews by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

Council Previous control Result Details
Colchester No overall control No overall control hold Details
Preston Labour Labour hold Details

Third of council

In 114 districts one third of the council was up for election.

Council Previous control Result Details
Adur Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats hold Details
Amber Valley Conservative Conservative hold Details
Barrow-in-Furness Labour Labour hold Details
Basildon No overall control Labour gain Details
Basingstoke and Deane Conservative Conservative hold Details
Bassetlaw Labour Labour hold Details
Bath Conservative No overall control gain Details
Blackburn Labour Labour hold Details
Brentwood Conservative No overall control gain Details
Brighton Labour Labour hold Details
Bristol Labour Labour hold Details
Broadland Conservative Conservative hold Details
Broxbourne Conservative Conservative hold Details
Burnley Labour Labour hold Details
Cambridge Labour Labour hold Details
Cannock Chase Labour Labour hold Details
Carlisle Labour Labour hold Details
Cheltenham No overall control No overall control hold Details
Cherwell Conservative Conservative hold Details
Chester No overall control No overall control hold Details
Chorley No overall control Labour gain Details
Congleton No overall control No overall control hold Details
Craven No overall control No overall control hold Details
Crawley Labour Labour hold Details
Crewe and Nantwich No overall control Labour gain Details
Daventry Conservative Conservative hold Details
Derby Conservative Conservative hold Details
Eastbourne Conservative No overall control gain Details
Eastleigh Liberal Democrats No overall control gain Details
Ellesmere Port and Neston Labour Labour hold Details
Elmbridge Conservative Conservative hold Details
Epping Forest Conservative Conservative hold Details
Exeter No overall control No overall control hold Details
Fareham Conservative Conservative hold Details
Gillingham Conservative No overall control gain Details
Gloucester Conservative No overall control gain Details
Gosport Conservative No overall control gain Details
Great Grimsby Labour Labour hold Details
Great Yarmouth No overall control Labour gain Details
Halton Labour Labour hold Details
Harlow Labour Labour hold Details
Harrogate Conservative No overall control gain Details
Hart No overall control No overall control hold Details
Hartlepool Labour Labour hold Details
Hastings No overall control No overall control hold Details
Havant Conservative No overall control gain Details
Hereford Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats hold Details
Hertsmere Conservative Conservative hold Details
Huntingdonshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Hyndburn Labour Labour hold Details
Ipswich Labour Labour hold Details
Kingston upon Hull Labour Labour hold Details
Leominster Independent Independent hold Details
Lincoln Labour Labour hold Details
Macclesfield Conservative Conservative hold Details
Maidstone No overall control No overall control hold Details
Milton Keynes No overall control No overall control hold Details
Mole Valley No overall control No overall control hold Details
Newcastle-under-Lyme Labour Labour hold Details
North Bedfordshire No overall control No overall control hold Details
North Hertfordshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Norwich Labour Labour hold Details
Nuneaton and Bedworth Labour Labour hold Details
Oadby and Wigston Conservative Conservative hold Details
Oxford Labour Labour hold Details
Pendle Liberal Democrats No overall control gain Details
Penwith No overall control No overall control hold Details
Peterborough No overall control No overall control hold Details
Portsmouth Conservative No overall control gain Details
Purbeck No overall control No overall control hold Details
Reading Labour Labour hold Details
Redditch Labour Labour hold Details
Reigate and Banstead Conservative Conservative hold Details
Rochford Conservative No overall control gain Details
Rossendale Labour Labour hold Details
Rugby Conservative No overall control gain Details
Runnymede Conservative Conservative hold Details
Rushmoor Conservative Conservative hold Details
Scunthorpe Labour Labour hold Details
Shrewsbury and Atcham No overall control No overall control hold Details
Slough Labour Labour hold Details
South Bedfordshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
South Cambridgeshire Independent Independent hold Details
South Herefordshire Independent Independent hold Details
South Lakeland No overall control No overall control hold Details
Southampton Labour Labour hold Details
Southend-on-Sea No overall control Conservative gain Details
St Albans Conservative Conservative hold Details
Stevenage Labour Labour hold Details
Stoke-on-Trent Labour Labour hold Details
Stratford-on-Avon Conservative Conservative hold Details
Stroud No overall control No overall control hold Details
Swale No overall control No overall control hold Details
Tamworth No overall control Labour gain Details
Tandridge Conservative No overall control gain Details
Thamesdown Labour Labour hold Details
Three Rivers Liberal Democrats No overall control gain Details
Thurrock Labour Labour hold Details
Torbay Conservative No overall control gain Details
Tunbridge Wells Conservative Conservative hold Details
Watford No overall control Labour gain Details
Waveney No overall control Labour gain Details
Welwyn Hatfield Labour Labour hold Details
West Lancashire Conservative Conservative hold Details
West Lindsey No overall control No overall control hold Details
West Oxfordshire Conservative Independent gain Details
Weymouth and Portland No overall control No overall control hold Details
Winchester No overall control No overall control hold Details
Woking No overall control No overall control hold Details
Wokingham Conservative Conservative hold Details
Worcester Labour Labour hold Details
Worthing Conservative Conservative hold Details
Wyre Forest No overall control No overall control hold Details
York Labour Labour hold Details

Scotland

Regional councils

Council Previous control Result Details
Borders Independent Independent hold Details
Central Labour Labour hold Details
Dumfries and Galloway Independent Independent hold Details
Fife Labour Labour hold Details
Grampian Conservative No overall control gain Details
Highland Independent Independent hold Details
Lothian No overall control Labour gain Details
Orkney Independent Independent hold Details
Shetland Independent Independent hold Details
Strathclyde Labour Labour hold Details
Tayside Conservative No overall control gain Details
Western Isles Independent Independent hold Details

References

  1. ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1990, Volume 1. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  2. ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1990, Volume 2. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  3. ^ "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  • Local elections 2006. House of Commons Library Research Paper 06/26.
  • Vote 1999 BBC News
  • Vote 2000 BBC News
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