1989 United Kingdom local elections

The 1989 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 4 May 1989 in England and Wales, and Wednesday 17 May 1989 in Northern Ireland.[1][2] The Labour Party had the highest projected national vote share, but the Conservative Party, in power at Westminster, gained the most seats. On the same day, there was a parliamentary by-election in the Vale of Glamorgan constituency in Wales; Labour won the seat from the Conservatives.

1989 United Kingdom local elections

← 1988 4 May 1989 (England & Wales)
17 May 1989 (Northern Ireland)
1990 →

All 39 non-metropolitan counties, 1 sui generis authority,
all 26 Northern Irish districts and all 8 Welsh counties
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Leader Margaret Thatcher Neil Kinnock Paddy Ashdown
Party Conservative Labour SLD
Leader since 11 February 1975 2 October 1983 16 July 1988
Percentage 36% 42% 19%
Councillors +/- Increase 92 Increase 35 Decrease 175

Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results.

The national projected share of the vote was Labour 42%, Conservative 36%, Liberal Democrats 19%. The Conservatives gained 92 seats, Labour gained 35 seats and the Liberal Democrats lost 175 seats. It was Labour's largest share of the vote in any election in a decade, as the party's popularity continued to improve as a result of the ongoing modernisation process under Neil Kinnock, and that the Conservative government's popularity was starting to fall following the announcement of the poll tax.

Summary of results

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England

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Non-metropolitan county councils

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Council Previous control Result Details
Avon No overall control No overall control hold Details
Bedfordshire No overall control No overall control hold Details
Berkshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Buckinghamshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Cambridgeshire No overall control Conservative gain Details
Cheshire No overall control No overall control hold Details
Cleveland Labour Labour hold Details
Cornwall No overall control No overall control hold Details
Cumbria No overall control No overall control hold Details
Derbyshire Labour Labour hold Details
Devon No overall control Conservative gain Details
Dorset Conservative Conservative hold Details
Durham Labour Labour hold Details
East Sussex No overall control Conservative gain Details
Essex No overall control Conservative gain Details
Gloucestershire No overall control No overall control hold Details
Hampshire No overall control Conservative gain Details
Hereford and Worcester Conservative No overall control gain Details
Hertfordshire No overall control Conservative gain Details
Humberside No overall control Labour gain Details
Isle of Wight SLD SLD hold Details
Kent Conservative Conservative hold Details
Lancashire No overall control Labour gain Details
Leicestershire No overall control No overall control hold Details
Lincolnshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Norfolk Conservative Conservative hold Details
North Yorkshire No overall control No overall control hold Details
Northamptonshire No overall control No overall control hold Details
Northumberland No overall control Labour gain Details
Nottinghamshire Labour Labour hold Details
Oxfordshire No overall control No overall control hold Details
Shropshire No overall control No overall control hold Details
Somerset No overall control Conservative gain Details
Staffordshire Labour Labour hold Details
Suffolk Conservative Conservative hold Details
Surrey Conservative Conservative hold Details
Warwickshire No overall control Conservative gain Details
West Sussex Conservative Conservative hold Details
Wiltshire No overall control No overall control hold Details

Sui generis

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Council Previous control Result Details
Isles of Scilly Details

Northern Ireland

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Council Previous control Result Details
Antrim No overall control UUP gain Details
Ards No overall control No overall control hold Details
Armagh UUP UUP hold Details
Ballymena DUP DUP hold Details
Ballymoney No overall control No overall control hold Details
Banbridge UUP UUP hold Details
Belfast No overall control No overall control hold Details
Carrickfergus No overall control No overall control hold Details
Castlereagh No overall control No overall control hold Details
Coleraine No overall control No overall control hold Details
Cookstown No overall control No overall control hold Details
Craigavon No overall control No overall control hold Details
Derry No overall control No overall control hold Details
Down No overall control SDLP gain Details
Dungannon No overall control No overall control hold Details
Fermanagh No overall control No overall control hold Details
Larne No overall control No overall control hold Details
Limavady No overall control No overall control hold Details
Lisburn No overall control UUP gain Details
Magherafelt No overall control No overall control hold Details
Moyle No overall control No overall control hold Details
Newry and Mourne No overall control SDLP gain Details
Newtownabbey No overall control No overall control hold Details
North Down No overall control No overall control hold Details
Omagh No overall control No overall control hold Details
Strabane No overall control No overall control hold Details

Wales

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County councils

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Council Previous control Result Details
Clwyd No overall control Labour gain Details
Dyfed No overall control No overall control hold Details
Gwent Labour Labour hold Details
Gwynedd Independent Independent hold Details
Mid Glamorgan Labour Labour hold Details
Powys Independent Independent hold Details
South Glamorgan Labour Labour hold Details
West Glamorgan Labour Labour hold Details

References

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  1. ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1989, Volume 1. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.