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 +/-  |  92  |  35  |  175

* * *

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

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.

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

[edit]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (September 2015)

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## England

[edit]

### Non-metropolitan county councils

[edit]

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

[edit]

Council  | Previous control  | Result  | Details

|
|
|

Isles of Scilly |  |  |  |  | Details

## Northern Ireland

[edit]

Main article: 1989 Northern Ireland local elections

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

[edit]

### County councils

[edit]

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

[edit]

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.

* Local elections 2006. House of Commons Library Research Paper 06/26.
* Vote 2001 BBC News

* v
* t
* e

(1988 <-)  1989 United Kingdom local elections (-> 1990)

County councils
(England)|

* Avon
* Bedfordshire
* Berkshire
* Buckinghamshire
* Cambridgeshire
* Cheshire
* Cleveland
* Cornwall
* Cumbria
* Derbyshire
* Devon
* Dorset
* Durham
* East Sussex
* Essex
* Gloucestershire
* Hampshire
* Hereford and Worcester
* Hertfordshire
* Humberside
* Isle of Wight
* Kent
* Lancashire
* Leicestershire
* Lincolnshire
* Norfolk
* North Yorkshire
* Northamptonshire
* Northumberland
* Nottinghamshire
* Oxfordshire
* Shropshire
* Somerset
* Staffordshire
* Suffolk
* Surrey
* Warwickshire
* West Sussex
* Wiltshire

County councils (Wales)|

* Clwyd
* Dyfed
* Gwent
* Gwynedd
* Mid Glamorgan
* Powys
* South Glamorgan
* West Glamorgan

District councils
(Northern Ireland)|

* Antrim
* Ards
* Armagh
* Ballymena
* Ballymoney
* Banbridge
* Belfast
* Carrickfergus
* Castlereagh
* Coleraine
* Cookstown
* Craigavon
* Derry
* Down
* Dungannon
* Fermanagh
* Larne
* Limavady
* Lisburn
* Magherafelt
* Moyle
* Newry and Mourne
* Newtownabbey
* North Down
* Omagh
* Strabane

Sui generis|

* Isles of Scilly

* See also: European Parliament election

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