Leeds City Council election, 1990

Map of the results for the 1990 Leeds council election.

The Leeds City Council elections were held on Thursday, 4 May 1990, with one third of the council and vacancies in Beeston and North to be elected. There had been a number of by-elections in the interim, resulting in two Labour gains in Armley and Burmantofts from the Social and Liberal Democrats and holds elsewhere.

The election was held amidst deep unpopularity for the Conservative national government and their poll tax measure, resulting in the party's worst ever performance in the English locals.^[1] The effects it had in Leeds were no less severe, with the party obtaining a record low vote share, with their victories confined to just 4 of the 33 wards, restricted to their Northern heartlands – Cookridge, North, Roundhay and Wetherby – losing stalwarts Aireborough, Halton, Pudsey North and Weetwood to Labour for the first time.

Both the Conservative vote and the SLD vote were little changed from the previous election; the landslide was caused by a remarkable increase in Labour's vote – over 50% on recent elections – bringing with it a record turnout (with 1979 omitted). The SLD's slate was notably much reduced, fielding their lowest number of candidates since 1978, after their fall-back at their last outing. Similar to the last election, their sole loss was found in Armley to Labour, narrowly holding onto Otley & Wharfedale, but much more comfortably their Horsforth and Moortown seats. In total, Labour's five gains extended their majority by ten, comfortably surpassing party records in votes, vote share and council majority.

Elsewhere, the leader of the newly formed Liberal Party Michael Meadowcroft – alongside his fellow candidate in Harehills – won a respectable second place in Bramley. Meanwhile, their fellow SLD defectors, the SDP joined the Communists in producing just one candidate – with both collecting negligible support, suggesting possible demise (with the latter likely adversely impacted by recent international events).^[2]

Election result

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

Ward results

References

(1989 ←) United Kingdom local elections, 1990 (→ 1991)
London boroughs	Barking and Dagenham Barnet Bexley Brent Bromley Camden Croydon Ealing Enfield Greenwich Hackney Hammersmith and Fulham Haringey Harrow Havering Hillingdon Hounslow Islington Kensington and Chelsea Kingston upon Thames Lambeth Lewisham Merton Newham Redbridge Richmond upon Thames Southwark Sutton Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest Wandsworth Westminster
Metropolitan boroughs	Barnsley Birmingham Bradford Bolton Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton
District councils (England)	Adur Amber Valley Barrow-in-Furness Basildon Basingstoke and Deane Bassetlaw Bath Blackburn Brentwood Brighton Bristol Broadland Broxbourne Burnley Cambridge Cannock Chase Carlisle Cheltenham Cherwell Chester Chorley Colchester Congleton Craven Crawley Crewe and Nantwich Daventry Derby Eastbourne Eastleigh Ellesmere Port and Neston Elmbridge Epping Forest Exeter Fareham Gillingham Gloucester Gosport Great Grimsby Great Yarmouth Halton Harlow Harrogate Hartlepool Hart Hastings Havant Hereford Hertsmere Huntingdonshire Hyndburn Ipswich Kingston upon Hull Leominster Lincoln Macclesfield Maidstone Milton Keynes Mole Valley Newcastle-under-Lyme North Bedfordshire North Hertfordshire Norwich Nuneaton and Bedworth Oadby and Wigston Oxford Pendle Penwith Peterborough Portsmouth Preston Purbeck Reading Redditch Reigate and Banstead Rochford Rossendale Rugby Runnymede Rushmoor Scunthorpe Shrewsbury and Atcham Slough South Bedfordshire South Cambridgeshire South Herefordshire South Lakeland Southampton Southend-on-Sea St Albans Stevenage Stoke-on-Trent Stratford-on-Avon Stroud Swale Tamworth Tandridge Thamesdown Three Rivers Thurrock Torbay Tunbridge Wells Watford Waveney Welwyn Hatfield West Lancashire West Lindsey West Oxfordshire Weymouth and Portland Winchester Woking Wokingham Worcester Worthing Wyre Forest York
Regional councils (Scotland)	Borders Central Dumfries and Galloway Fife Grampian Highland Lothian Orkney Shetland Strathclyde Tayside Western Isles

Council elections in West Yorkshire
City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016
Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016
Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016
Leeds City Council	1945 1946 1947 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016
Wakefield Metropolitan District Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016
West Yorkshire County Council	1973 1977 1981 Abolished
West Riding County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 Abolished
See also: Wards Boundary changes