1986_United_Kingdom_local_elections
The 1986 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 8 May 1986.[1][2][3] There was a 3% reduction in the number of councillors, owing to the abolition of the Greater London Council and the Metropolitan County Councils.
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All 32 London boroughs, all 36 metropolitan boroughs, 123 out of 296 English districts, 1 local education authority and all 12 Scottish regions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The national projected share of the vote was Labour 37%, Conservative 34%, Liberal-SDP Alliance 26%. The Conservatives lost 975 seats, Labour gained 13 seats and the Liberal-SDP Alliance gained 338 seats.
Two parliamentary by-elections were also held on the same day in the West Derbyshire and Ryedale constituencies. The Conservatives held West Derbyshire, though only by 100 votes. The Alliance gained Ryedale from the Conservatives.
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London boroughs
In all 32 London boroughs the whole council was up for election.
Metropolitan boroughs
All 36 metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.
District councils
Whole council
In 2 districts the whole council was up for election.
In 2 districts there were new ward boundaries, following further electoral boundary reviews by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halton ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details | ||
| Thamesdown ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details | ||
‡ New ward boundaries
Third of council
In 121 districts one third of the council was up for election.
Local education authority
This was the first and only election to the directly elected local education authority established by the Local Government Act 1985. However, it was short-lived, being abolished four years later by the Education Reform Act 1988.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inner London Education Authority | New Council | Labour | Details | ||
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 | ||
- Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1986, Volume 1. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1986, Volume 2. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.