The 1990

Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the ...

elections were held on Thursday, 4 May 1990, with one third of the council and two

casual vacancies ''The Casual Vacancy'' is a novel written by British author J. K. Rowling, published worldwide by the Little, Brown Book Group on 27 September 2012. It was Rowling's first publication since the ''Harry Potter'' series, her first novel apart fr ...

in Beeston and

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

to be elected. There had been a number of by-elections in the interim, resulting in two Labour gains in

Armley Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the Industrial Revolution and had several mills, one of which now houses the Leeds Industrial ...

and

Burmantofts Burmantofts is an area of 1960s high-rise housing blocks in inner-city east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England adjacent to the city centre and St. James's Hospital. It is a racially diverse area, with sizable Afro-Caribbean and Irish communities, b ...

from the

Social and Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats, colloquially known as the Lib Dems, are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom, founded in 1988. They are based at Liberal Democrat Headquarters, in Westminster, and the leader is Ed Davey. They are the third ...

and holds elsewhere. The election was held amidst deep unpopularity for the

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

national government and their

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...

measure, resulting in the party's worst ever performance in the English locals. 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 Cookridge is a suburb of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, north of the Leeds Outer Ring Road. In 1715 Ralph Thoresby described it as a village four miles from Leeds and three from Otley, dating from 1540.Ralph Thoresby (1715) ''D ...

, North,

Roundhay Roundhay is a large suburb in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Roundhay had a population of 22,546 in 2011. It sits in the Roundhay (ward), Roundhay electoral, ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East (UK Parliament constituen ...

and

Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...

– losing stalwarts Aireborough, Halton,

Pudsey Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 25,393. History T ...

North and

Weetwood Weetwood is an area between Headingley and Meanwood in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is bounded on the north by the A6120 (Outer Ring Road), on the west by the A660 (Otley Road), on the east by Meanwood Beck and to the sout ...

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 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

omitted). The SLD's slate was notably much reduced, fielding their lowest number of candidates since

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, 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 Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated at source in North Yorkshire and then flows into West Yorkshire and forms the upper valley of the River Wharfe. Towns and villages in Wharfedale (downstream, from west to east) includ ...

, but much more comfortably their

Horsforth Horsforth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, five miles north-west of Leeds city centre. Historically a village within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 18,895 ...

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 The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

Michael Meadowcroft Michael James Meadowcroft (born 6 March 1942) is a British author, politician and political affairs consultant. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds West from 1983 to 1987. Early life Meadowcroft was born in Halifax, West Yor ...

– alongside his fellow candidate in

Harehills Harehills is an inner-city area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is about northeast of Leeds city centre. Harehills is between the A58 road, A58 (towards Wetherby) and the A64 road, A64 (towards York). It sits in the Gipton and Ha ...

– won a respectable second place in Bramley. Meanwhile, their fellow SLD defectors, the SDP joined the

Communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

in producing just one candidate – with both collecting negligible support, suggesting possible demise (with the latter likely adversely impacted by recent international events).

Election result

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

Ward results

References

{{Leeds Council elections, state=expanded 1990 English local elections

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

1990s in Leeds