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.
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All 32 London boroughs, all 36 metropolitan boroughs, 116 out of 296 English districts and all 12 Scottish regions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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
editThis section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (September 2015) |
England
editLondon boroughs
editIn all 32 London boroughs the whole council was up for election.
Metropolitan boroughs
editAll 36 metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.
District councils
editWhole council
editIn 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
editIn 114 districts one third of the council was up for election.
Scotland
editRegional councils
edit| 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
edit- ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1990, Volume 1. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1990, Volume 2. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ^ "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.