1985 United Kingdom local elections

1985 United Kingdom local elections
← 1984 2 May 1985 (England & Wales)
15 May 1985 (Northern Ireland)		 1986 →
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
 
Margaret Thatcher (1983).jpg
Start campagne voor Europese verkiezingen van PvdA (Rotterdam) Neal Kinnoch , k, Bestanddeelnr 932-9811.jpg
DavidSteel1987 cropped.jpg
David Owen-1.jpg
Leader Margaret Thatcher Neil Kinnock David Steel
and David Owen
Party Conservative Labour Alliance
Leader since 11 February 1975 2 October 1983 7 July 1976
and 21 June 1983
Percentage 32% 39% 26%
Councillors 10,191 8,746 2,633
Councillors +/- Decrease 202 Decrease 124 Increase 302
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.

  1. ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1985, Volume 1. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  2. ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1985, Volume 2. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  3. ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1985, Volume 3. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.