1985 United Kingdom local elections
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All 39 non-metropolitan counties, 1 sui generis authority, all 26 Northern Irish districts and all 8 Welsh counties | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results. |
The 1985 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 2 May 1985 in England and Wales, and Wednesday 15 May 1985 in Northern Ireland.[1][2][3][4] Labour had the largest share of the vote in local council elections for the first time since 1981.
Both Conservatives and Labour lost some seats to the Liberal-SDP Alliance, who were rebuilding under the leadership of David Owen and enjoying strong showings — including a brief lead — in the opinion polls.
Summary of results
Alan Clark, writing in his diary for 11 May 1985, shortly after the election, stated: "Some stupid prick has done a 'projection' in one of the heavies showing that the SDP will have a massive overall majority in the House of Commons.."[5]
England
Non-metropolitan county councils
Council | Previous control | Result | Details | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Avon | Labour | No overall control gain | Details | ||
Bedfordshire ‡ | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details | ||
Berkshire ‡ | No overall control | Conservative gain | Details | ||
Buckinghamshire ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details | ||
Cambridgeshire ‡ | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details | ||
Cheshire | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details | ||
Cleveland ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details | ||
Cornwall ‡ | Independent | No overall control gain | Details | ||
Cumbria | Labour | No overall control gain | Details | ||
Derbyshire | Labour | Labour hold | Details | ||
Devon ‡ | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details | ||
Dorset ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details | ||
Durham | Labour | Labour hold | Details | ||
East Sussex ‡ | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details | ||
Essex | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details | ||
Gloucestershire ‡ | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details | ||
Hampshire | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details | ||
Hereford and Worcester ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details | ||
Hertfordshire | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details | ||
Humberside | Labour | No overall control gain | Details | ||
Isle of Wight | Alliance | Alliance hold | Details | ||
Kent | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details | ||
Lancashire | Labour | No overall control gain | Details | ||
Leicestershire ‡ | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details | ||
Lincolnshire | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details | ||
Norfolk ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details | ||
North Yorkshire ‡ | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details | ||
Northamptonshire | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details | ||
Northumberland | Labour | No overall control gain | Details | ||
Nottinghamshire | Labour | Labour hold | Details | ||
Oxfordshire ‡ | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details | ||
Shropshire | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details | ||
Somerset | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details | ||
Staffordshire | Labour | Labour hold | Details | ||
Suffolk ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details | ||
Surrey | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details | ||
Warwickshire | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details | ||
West Sussex ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details | ||
Wiltshire ‡ | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
‡ New electoral division boundaries
Sui generis
Council | Previous control | Result | Details | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Isles of Scilly | Details |
Northern Ireland
Wales
County councils
Council | Previous control | Result | Details | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Clwyd | No overall control | No overall control hold | 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
- ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1985, Volume 1. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1985, Volume 2. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1985, Volume 3. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ^ "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ^ Diaries, Alan Clark Phoenix 1994, pp 112
External links
- Local elections 2006. House of Commons Library Research Paper 06/26.
- Vote 2001 BBC News
- v
- t
- e
(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
- Clwyd
- Dyfed
- Gwent
- Gwynedd
- Mid Glamorgan
- Powys
- South Glamorgan
- West Glamorgan
(Northern Ireland
- Isles of Scilly