Elections to

Wiltshire County Council Wiltshire County Council (established in 1889) was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county. As a result of the 2009 restructur ...

were held on 2 May 1985. The whole council of seventy-five members was up for election and the result was that the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

lost their majority, winning only thirty seats, resulting in no overall control. The Liberals gained seats, winning seventeen, the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

won eight seats, the first time they had been represented in the council, while Labour had losses, finishing like the Liberals with seventeen members. Three Independents, including one

Ratepayer Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government. Some other countries have taxes with a more or less comparable role ...

, were also elected.Hugh Clayton (Local Government Correspondent), 'Local Elections' in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' of London, issue 62129 dated 4 May 1985, p. 4 In an editorial on 4 May headed "Local Lessons", ''

'' commented that "The Conservatives predominate as the single largest party in the counties still. Generalizations from such elections are always flawed by local factors. Intra-party disputes help explain the loss of Conservative seats in Wiltshire". Following the elections, an informal agreement between the leader of the Liberal group,

Jack Ainslie John Bernard Ainslie OBE (2 August 1921 – 5 January 2007), known as Jack Ainslie, was a Wiltshire farmer and Liberal politician, Chairman of Wiltshire County Council from 1986 to 1990. Early life Born at Stanmore, Middlesex, on 2 August 192 ...

, and the leader of the

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

members,

Mary Salisbury Mary Ethel Salisbury (1917 – 27 October 2008), previously Mary Ethel Wilkinson, was an English Labour politician in Wiltshire County Council, serving for three years as its first woman Chairman. Life Born in 1917 in a mining village in County ...

, led to the formation of a minority

SDP–Liberal Alliance The SDP–Liberal Alliance was a centrist and social liberal political and electoral alliance in the United Kingdom. Formed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Liberal Party, the SDP–Liberal Alliance was established in 1981, contestin ...

administration. Salisbury commented to ''

'' "Where the Liberals put forward what seem to be measures which are beneficial to the people of Wiltshire, we will support them."Hugh Clayton (Local Government Correspondent), 'Emerging figure in new Lib-Lab pact: an Alliance shire leader cast in Tory mould', in ''The Times'' of London, issue 62135 dated 11 May 1985, p. 2

Election result

Results by divisions

Aldbourne and Ramsbury

Alderbury

Amesbury

Bedwyn

Blunsdon

Box

Bradford on Avon North

Bradford on Avon South

Bremhill and Calne Without

Brinkworth

Calne

Chippenham Park

Chippenham Sheldon

Chippenham Town

Collingbourne

Corsham

Cricklade

Devizes

Devizes South and Cannings

Downton

Durrington

Highworth

Holt

Idmiston

Kington

Laverstock

Lavington

Malmesbury

Marlborough

Melksham

Melksham Without

Mere

References

External links

Colin Rallings Colin Rallings is a British academic, Professor of Politics in the School of Sociology, Politics & Law at the University of Plymouth. Rallings’ first degree was in Politics and Modern History from the University of Manchester. Subsequently, he ...

Michael Thrasher Michael Thrasher is a British academic, Professor of Politics in the School of Sociology, Politics & Law at the University of Plymouth. He is also Sky News' election analyst. Thrasher was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire in 1953. he receive ...

Wiltshire County Council election Results 1973–2005
at electionscentre.co.uk {{Wiltshire elections

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

1985 English local elections 20th century in Wiltshire