1989 United Kingdom local elections

4 May 1989 (England & Wales) 17 May 1989 (Northern Ireland)
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

England

Northern Ireland

Wales

References

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