1986 Leeds City Council election

The Leeds City Council elections were held on Thursday, 8 May 1986, with one third of the council and a vacancy in Halton to be elected, following the resignation by Conservative incumbent Martin Dodgson in March. Prior to that, there had been a defection by the former-Alliance councillor in Armley, Sandy Melville, to Independent in January and a sacking (from committees) and de-selection as Labour candidate for Wortley for Pat Fathers after he was found to be leaking information the previous December.

Map of the results for the 1986 Leeds council election.

Although largely a re-run of the last election's wins (with an extra victory in Pudsey South) for Labour, these seats having been last fought in the 1982 election with a much stronger performance from the Conservatives resulted in a handful of gains for Labour. The Conservatives continued their decline, winning less than a quarter of the wards for the first time, with their wins mostly confined to the north of the city facing an increasingly competitive Alliance there. The Alliance, resurgent after much of their 1982 spike had looked to be ebbing away, were now close to usurping the Conservatives for second place in votes.

Labour captured the remaining Tory seats in Barwick & Kippax and Garforth & Swillington, and increased their representation in Morley North and Pudsey South with gains from the weakened Conservatives there. Labour also gained the sole Alliance seat in Richmond Hill, and came within 26 votes from gaining Armley from them. The Alliance however managed to offset their loss with a gain of their own in Moortown, ousting prominent Tory Sydney Symmonds.[1]

Election result
Leeds Local Election Result 1986
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Labour 20 5 0 +5 58.8 41.9 91,312 -0.8%
  Conservative 9 0 5 -5 26.5 29.8 64,949 -3.2%
  Alliance 5 1 1 0 14.7 27.6 60,036 +5.0%
  Green 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.4 861 +0.2%
  Communist 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.1 223 -0.0%
  Revolutionary Communist 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.1 151 +0.1%
  Independent 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.1 135 -1.2%
  BNP 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 69 +0.0%
  National Front 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 58 +0.0%

This result has the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:

Party Previous council New council
Labour 53 58
Conservatives 33 28
Alliance 11 11
Independent 2 2
Total 99 99
Working majority   7   17 

Ward results
Aireborough[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative J. Atkinson 3,260 38.2 -4.5
Alliance (Liberal) J. Brown 2,841 33.3 +7.0
Labour M. Dunn 2,432 28.5 -2.5
Majority 419 4.9 -6.8
Turnout 8,533
Conservative hold Swing -5.7
Armley[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Alliance (Liberal) M. Roberts 2,465 41.7 -14.2
Labour L. Hodgson 2,439 41.3 +11.8
Conservative E. McKimmings 951 16.1 +1.5
Independent S. McBarron 55 0.9 +0.9
Majority 26 0.4 -26.0
Turnout 5,910
Alliance hold Swing -13.0
Barwick & Kippax[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour J. Parker 4,111 52.2 +1.9
Conservative B. Rowley 2,612 33.2 -6.1
Alliance (SDP) N. Snowdon 1,155 14.7 +4.2
Majority 1,499 19.0 +8.0
Turnout 7,878
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +4.0
Beeston[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jon Trickett 2,812 61.0 -1.7
Conservative H. Woodhead 1,078 23.4 -4.9
Alliance (Liberal) S. Holland 723 15.7 +7.3
Majority 1,734 37.6 +3.2
Turnout 4,613
Labour hold Swing +1.6
Bramley[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour D. Atkinson 3,302 57.3 +4.1
Alliance (Liberal) M. Tones 1,522 26.4 -7.2
Conservative L. Hargreaves 940 16.3 +3.1
Majority 1,780 30.9 +11.3
Turnout 5,764
Labour hold Swing +5.6
Burmantofts[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Alliance (Liberal) M. Clay 3,399 50.0 -0.4
Labour B. Ewart 2,977 43.8 -0.1
Conservative C. Jones 380 5.6 +0.0
Communist M. Monkman 37 0.5 +0.5
Majority 422 6.2 -0.4
Turnout 6,793
Alliance hold Swing -0.1
Chapel Allerton[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour N. Taggart 3,845 62.9 +3.0
Conservative B. Sampford 1,318 21.6 -5.2
Alliance (Liberal) T. Garbett 953 15.6 +3.5
Majority 2,527 41.3 +8.2
Turnout 6,116
Labour hold Swing +4.1
City & Holbeck[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour C. Myers 3,350 69.6 +0.4
Alliance (Liberal) J. Clay 845 17.6 -2.2
Conservative G. Dye 617 12.8 +1.8
Majority 2,505 52.1 +2.7
Turnout 4,812
Labour hold Swing +1.3
Cookridge[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative J. Carter 3,788 47.7 -1.0
Alliance (Liberal) M. Cooksey 2,748 34.6 +4.4
Labour B. Dale 1,406 17.7 -3.4
Majority 1,040 13.1 -5.4
Turnout 7,942
Conservative hold Swing -2.7
Garforth & Swillington[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour A. Groves 3,743 45.0 -6.7
Conservative N. May 2,825 34.0 -3.5
Alliance (SDP) E. Ayres 1,752 21.1 +10.1
Majority 918 11.0 -3.2
Turnout 8,320
Labour gain from Conservative Swing -1.6
Halton[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative D. Schofield 3,142 44.1 -9.1
Conservative D. Wood 3,028
Labour M. Burton 2,270 31.9 -3.0
Labour K. Prior 2,099
Alliance (SDP) A. Readman 1,712 24.0 +12.1
Alliance (SDP) T. Ayres 1,608
Majority 758 12.2 -6.2
Turnout 7,124
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing -3.0
Harehills[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour T. Briggs 3,031 51.2 -13.0
Alliance (Liberal) C. Holden 2,084 35.2 +22.9
Conservative K. Weightman 730 12.3 -11.2
Revolutionary Communist E. Oliver 75 1.3 +1.3
Majority 947 16.0 -24.6
Turnout 5,920
Labour hold Swing -17.9
Headingley[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Paul Truswell 3,317 47.4 -9.4
Alliance (Liberal) A. Shaw 1,970 28.2 +16.9
Conservative S. Gordon 1,273 18.2 -9.3
Green G. Rainford 371 5.3 +1.8
Communist I. Dixon 66 0.9 +0.0
Majority 1,347 19.3 -9.9
Turnout 6,997
Labour hold Swing -13.1
Horsforth[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Alliance (Liberal) J. Cummins 3,704 46.2 -2.8
Conservative S. Whitehead 3,112 38.8 -3.1
Labour F. Hamilton 1,210 15.1 +5.8
Majority 592 7.4 +0.3
Turnout 8,026
Alliance hold Swing +0.1
Hunslet[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Gunnell 2,423 76.3 -6.5
Alliance (Liberal) D. Hollingsworth 365 11.5 +2.4
Conservative H. Lavery 331 10.4 +2.3
National Front H. Hilton 58 1.8 +1.8
Majority 2,058 64.8 -9.0
Turnout 3,177
Labour hold Swing -4.4
Kirkstall[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bernard Atha 3,450 57.0 +2.0
Alliance (Liberal) N. Batterham 1,536 25.4 +4.1
Conservative S. Morris 1,071 17.7 -5.1
Majority 1,914 31.6 -0.6
Turnout 6,057
Labour hold Swing -1.0
Middleton[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour L. Middleton 3,112 72.4 -2.4
Conservative A. Larvin 630 14.7 -0.9
Alliance (SDP) S. Cohen 522 12.2 +2.5
Revolutionary Communist R. Matthews 32 0.7 +0.7
Majority 2,482 57.8 -1.5
Turnout 4,296
Labour hold Swing -0.7
Moortown[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Alliance (Liberal) W. Winlow 3,987 50.9 +5.9
Conservative S. Symmonds 2,562 32.7 -7.1
Labour M. Stinson 1,277 16.3 +1.2
Majority 1,425 18.2 +13.0
Turnout 7,826
Alliance gain from Conservative Swing +6.5
Morley North[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour P. Fitzpatrick 3,126 44.2 -6.9
Conservative R. Verity 2,650 37.5 -3.8
Alliance (SDP) P. Haywood 1,300 18.4 +10.7
Majority 476 6.7 -3.1
Turnout 7,076
Labour gain from Conservative Swing -1.5
Morley South[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour K. Burnley 3,340 57.0 -3.9
Conservative A. Grayson 1,577 26.9 -0.6
Alliance (SDP) H. Smith 945 16.1 +4.5
Majority 1,763 30.1 -3.3
Turnout 5,862
Labour hold Swing -1.6
North[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative K. Sibbald 3,327 47.3 -4.3
Alliance (SDP) D. Midgley 2,605 37.0 +9.3
Labour B. Selby 1,107 15.7 -5.0
Majority 722 10.3 -13.6
Turnout 7,039
Conservative hold Swing -6.8
Otley & Wharfedale[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Alliance (Liberal) C. Campbell 4,062 42.8 +1.7
Conservative G. Francis 3,615 38.0 -5.6
Labour M. Attwood 1,531 16.1 +2.3
Green A. Stevens 293 3.1 +1.6
Majority 447 4.7 +2.2
Turnout 9,501
Alliance hold Swing +3.6
Pudsey North[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative J. Bashall 3,175 39.0 -12.1
Labour J. McKenna 2,585 31.7 -5.3
Alliance (Liberal) C. Garner 2,383 29.3 +17.4
Majority 590 7.2 -6.9
Turnout 8,143
Conservative hold Swing -3.4
Pudsey South[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour R. Lewis 3,051 43.1 +11.7
Conservative J. Mortimer 2,217 31.3 +10.1
Alliance (SDP) P. Garbutt 1,808 25.6 +14.9
Majority 834 11.8 +6.5
Turnout 7,076
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +0.8
Richmond Hill[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour E. McGee 4,163 69.1 +12.9
Alliance (Liberal) K. Norman 1,300 21.6 -16.6
Conservative D. Boynton 492 8.2 +2.6
BNP D. Owens 69 1.1 +1.1
Majority 2,863 47.5 +29.5
Turnout 6,024
Labour gain from Alliance Swing +14.7
Rothwell[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour A. Hudson 3,756 65.0 -3.3
Conservative B. Caro 1,181 20.4 -1.3
Alliance (SDP) S. Browning 840 14.5 +4.6
Majority 2,575 44.6 -1.9
Turnout 5,777
Labour hold Swing -1.0
Roundhay[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative J. White 3,807 52.6 -8.4
Alliance (SDP) C. Fieldhouse 2,162 29.9 +9.4
Labour R. Darrington 1,271 17.6 -1.0
Majority 1,645 22.7 -17.8
Turnout 7,240
Conservative hold Swing -8.9
Seacroft[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour A. Vollans 3,404 71.9 -0.2
Conservative D. Townsley 707 14.9 -5.1
Alliance (SDP) D. Parr 582 12.3 +4.4
Revolutionary Communist E. McEvoy 44 0.9 +0.9
Majority 2,697 56.9 +4.9
Turnout 4,737
Labour hold Swing +2.4
University[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour D. Jenner 3,258 70.7 +0.0
Alliance (SDP) J. Clifton 704 15.3 +2.7
Conservative A. Savage 527 11.4 -2.9
Communist R. Honey 120 2.6 +0.2
Majority 2,554 55.4 -1.0
Turnout 4,609
Labour hold Swing -1.3
Weetwood[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative J. Hamilton 3,195 37.8 -3.3
Labour J. Page 2,987 35.3 -3.0
Alliance (SDP) K. Lee 2,079 24.6 +6.5
Green C. Nash 197 2.3 -0.2
Majority 208 2.5 -0.2
Turnout 8,458
Conservative hold Swing -0.1
Wetherby[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative J. Gray 4,715 62.1 -8.2
Alliance (Liberal) T. Burgess 1,875 24.7 +7.5
Labour C. Dews 1,001 13.2 +0.7
Majority 2,840 37.4 -15.8
Turnout 7,591
Conservative hold Swing -7.8
Whinmoor[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour G. Platt 3,002 53.8 +0.3
Conservative M. Silversides 1,809 32.4 -2.9
Alliance (SDP) G. Boustead 767 13.8 +2.7
Majority 1,193 21.4 +3.2
Turnout 5,578
Labour hold Swing +1.6
Wortley[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour M. Bedford 3,223 46.2 +5.2
Alliance (Liberal) L. Thackray 2,341 33.5 -1.7
Conservative H. Connah 1,335 19.1 -4.6
Independent L. Wilkinson 80 1.1 +1.1
Majority 882 12.6 +6.8
Turnout 6,979
Labour hold Swing +3.4

By-elections between 1986 and 1987
Aireborough by-election 18 August 1986
replacing T. Hawkins[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Alliance (Liberal) Janet Brown 3,008 43.9 +10.6
Conservative Barbara Widdop 2,095 30.6 -7.6
Labour Mora Dunn 1,741 25.4 -3.1
Majority 913 13.3 +8.4
Turnout 6,844 35.2 -8.6
Alliance gain from Conservative Swing +9.1

References
  1. "District results: Leeds". The Yorkshire Post. 9 May 1986.
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