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    1991 local elections handbook

    Final editionPartial coverage

    Scheduled council elections held between April and June 1991, from our ward results. This is the final edition. Where our results for a council are incomplete, its figures will be too low.

    Partial coverage: we only hold 896 seats across 370 councils for 1991, so many ward results are missing. Totals and seat counts on this page are incomplete and should not be quoted as the full result.

    Councils
    370
    Wards
    4,777
    Seats
    896
    Candidates
    13,889
    Votes
    9,497,313

    Seats won by party

    PartySeatsCandidatesVotesVote share*
    Labour
    4784,0103,400,32936.8%
    Conservative
    2004,0293,152,07234.1%
    Liberal Democrats
    1202,7001,831,13719.8%
    Independent
    781,914673,7737.3%
    Ind Lab
    87244,0220.5%
    PC
    65429,7110.3%
    RATE
    36046,9930.5%
    LIB
    29654,1810.6%
    SDP
    13415,0470.2%

    *Note on vote share: this is each party's share of the votes cast in the wards we hold for 1991. It is not an estimate for the whole country: many councils did not vote this year, some of our results may be missing, and in wards with several seats each voter had several votes.

    National Equivalent Vote — our estimate

    What each party's share might have been if the whole of Great Britain had voted in 1991. Built from 3,763 wards that did vote, compared like-for-like with the last time each ward voted, then carried across the places that didn't vote using the change in their region. Shown beside the Elections Centre's published figure where we hold it.

    PartyOur estimateElections Centre
    CON
    34.3%35%
    LAB
    28.6%38%
    LD
    26.7%22%
    IND
    4.4%—
    GRN
    1.3%—
    Lib/Sdp
    0.9%—

    How far to trust this: it is an estimate, not a count. It uses each party's best-placed candidate in each ward, so multi-seat wards don't inflate anyone. Parties that stand in only a few places stay in those places. Where our ward records are incomplete for a year, the estimate is less reliable — compare it with the Elections Centre column.

    Councils changing hands (63)

    CouncilBeforeAfter
    AllerdaleNo overall controlLabour
    AlnwickNo overall controlLiberal Democrats
    Amber ValleyConservativeLabour
    Aylesbury ValeConservativeNo overall control
    Barrow-in-FurnessLabourNo overall control
    BasildonLabourNo overall control
    BlackpoolNo overall controlLabour
    Blyth ValleyLiberal DemocratsLabour
    BournemouthConservativeNo overall control
    BrentwoodNo overall controlLiberal Democrats
    CardiffNo overall controlLabour
    CarrickNo overall controlLiberal Democrats
    ChelmsfordLiberal DemocratsConservative
    CheltenhamNo overall controlLiberal Democrats
    ChorleyLabourNo overall control
    DarlingtonNo overall controlLabour
    DelynNo overall controlOther
    DerbyConservativeNo overall control
    DoverConservativeNo overall control
    East HampshireConservativeNo overall control
    EastbourneNo overall controlLiberal Democrats
    ElmbridgeConservativeNo overall control
    ErewashConservativeLabour
    Forest HeathConservativeNo overall control
    Forest Of DeanNo overall controlLabour
    FyldeConservativeNo overall control
    GosportNo overall controlLiberal Democrats
    King's Lynn And West NorfolkConservativeNo overall control
    LewesConservativeLiberal Democrats
    Malvern HillsNo overall controlOther
    MonmouthConservativeNo overall control
    New ForestConservativeNo overall control
    Newark And SherwoodNo overall controlLabour
    North DevonNo overall controlLiberal Democrats
    North NorfolkOtherNo overall control
    North WiltshireConservativeLiberal Democrats
    NorthamptonConservativeNo overall control
    NottinghamConservativeLabour
    OswestryNo overall controlOther
    RestormelNo overall controlLiberal Democrats
    Rochester-upon-MedwayConservativeNo overall control
    RotherConservativeNo overall control
    SelbyConservativeNo overall control
    ShepwayNo overall controlLiberal Democrats
    SolihullConservativeNo overall control
    South HollandNo overall controlOther
    South KestevenConservativeNo overall control
    Staffordshire MoorlandsNo overall controlOther
    Stockton-on-TeesLabourNo overall control
    Taunton DeaneConservativeLiberal Democrats
    TendringConservativeNo overall control
    TewkesburyNo overall controlOther
    ThanetNo overall controlConservative
    TorbayNo overall controlLiberal Democrats
    Vale of GlamorganConservativeNo overall control
    Vale RoyalNo overall controlLabour
    WaverleyConservativeNo overall control
    Wear ValleyLabourLiberal Democrats
    West DevonNo overall controlOther
    West LancashireConservativeNo overall control
    West WiltshireConservativeLiberal Democrats
    WirralNo overall controlLabour
    WychavonConservativeNo overall control

    Every council (370)

    CouncilWardsSeatsBeforeAfter
    Aberconwy2232——
    Aberconwy22No overall controlNo overall control
    Adur100Liberal DemocratsLiberal Democrats
    Allerdale290No overall controlLabour
    Alnwick100No overall controlLiberal Democrats
    Alyn and Deeside33LabourLabour
    Alyn and Deeside2033——
    Amber Valley140——
    Amber Valley10ConservativeLabour
    Arfon280——
    Arun80ConservativeConservative
    Ashfield100LabourLabour
    Ashford270ConservativeConservative
    Aylesbury Vale220ConservativeNo overall control
    Babergh260No overall controlNo overall control
    Barnsley220LabourLabour
    Barrow-in-Furness110LabourNo overall control
    Basildon90LabourNo overall control
    Basingstoke and Deane130ConservativeConservative
    Bassetlaw160——
    Bath70——
    Bedford60——
    Berwick-upon-Tweed100No overall controlNo overall control
    Birmingham3941LabourLabour
    Blaby80ConservativeConservative
    Blackburn170——
    Blackpool130No overall controlLabour
    Blaenau Gwent10LabourLabour
    Blaenau Gwent110——
    Blyth Valley50Liberal DemocratsLabour
    Bolsover190LabourLabour
    Bolton2022LabourLabour
    Boston90No overall controlNo overall control
    Bournemouth90ConservativeNo overall control
    Bracknell Forest110ConservativeConservative
    Bradford3030LabourLabour
    Braintree100No overall controlNo overall control
    Breckland220ConservativeConservative
    Brentwood130No overall controlLiberal Democrats
    Bridgnorth130OtherOther
    Brighton10——
    Brighton & Hove130——
    Bristol, City of110LabourLabour
    Broadland140ConservativeConservative
    Bromsgrove130ConservativeConservative
    Broxbourne110ConservativeConservative
    Broxtowe100——
    Burnley70LabourLabour
    Bury1616LabourLabour
    Calderdale1818LabourLabour
    Cambridge50LabourLabour
    Cannock Chase100LabourLabour
    Canterbury40——
    Caradon280OtherOther
    Cardiff50No overall controlLabour
    Carlisle120——
    Carrick90No overall controlLiberal Democrats
    Castle Morpeth100No overall controlNo overall control
    Castle Point30——
    Ceredigion3644OtherOther
    Charnwood140ConservativeConservative
    Chelmsford100Liberal DemocratsConservative
    Cheltenham70No overall controlLiberal Democrats
    Cherwell170ConservativeConservative
    Chester-le-Street150LabourLabour
    Chesterfield30——
    Chichester200ConservativeConservative
    Chiltern200ConservativeConservative
    Chorley100LabourNo overall control
    Christchurch10ConservativeConservative
    Christchurch70——
    City of Chester140——
    Cleethorpes70——
    Cleethorpes10No overall controlNo overall control
    Colchester10No overall controlNo overall control
    Colchester130——
    Congleton110——
    Conwy66—No overall control
    Copeland Borough Council70——
    Corby60LabourLabour
    Cotswold250OtherOther
    Coventry1818LabourLabour
    Craven10No overall controlNo overall control
    Craven70——
    Crawley10LabourLabour
    Crewe and Nantwich110LabourLabour
    Cynon Valley50——
    Dacorum90ConservativeConservative
    Darlington170No overall controlLabour
    Dartford130ConservativeConservative
    Daventry110ConservativeConservative
    Delyn10No overall controlOther
    Delyn2327——
    Derby30ConservativeNo overall control
    Derbyshire Dales180ConservativeConservative
    Derwentside50LabourLabour
    Doncaster2121LabourLabour
    Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council100——
    Dover60ConservativeNo overall control
    Dudley2423LabourLabour
    Durham40——
    Durham10LabourLabour
    Ealing11ConservativeConservative
    Easington10LabourLabour
    Easington150——
    East Cambridgeshire120OtherOther
    East Devon190——
    East Dorset170ConservativeConservative
    East Hampshire180ConservativeNo overall control
    East Hertfordshire130ConservativeConservative
    East Lindsey460OtherOther
    East Northamptonshire120ConservativeConservative
    East Staffordshire100No overall controlNo overall control
    East Yorkshire110——
    Eastbourne80No overall controlLiberal Democrats
    Eastleigh110——
    Eden280OtherOther
    Ellesmere Port and Neston120LabourLabour
    Elmbridge120ConservativeNo overall control
    Epping Forest150ConservativeConservative
    Epsom And Ewell70OtherOther
    Erewash130ConservativeLabour
    Exeter70No overall controlNo overall control
    Fareham80ConservativeConservative
    Fenland120ConservativeConservative
    Flintshire1318—No overall control
    Forest Heath100ConservativeNo overall control
    Forest Of Dean130No overall controlLabour
    Fylde30ConservativeNo overall control
    Fylde120——
    Gateshead10LabourLabour
    Gateshead150——
    Gedling40ConservativeConservative
    Gillingham20No overall controlNo overall control
    Gloucester90——
    Gosport70No overall controlLiberal Democrats
    Gravesham10No overall controlNo overall control
    Great Grimsby70——
    Great Yarmouth100——
    Guildford70——
    Halton110LabourLabour
    Hambleton240No overall controlNo overall control
    Harborough130No overall controlNo overall control
    Harlow40LabourLabour
    Harrogate150No overall controlNo overall control
    Hart110No overall controlNo overall control
    Hartlepool70——
    Hastings10No overall controlNo overall control
    Havant110No overall controlNo overall control
    Hereford90Liberal DemocratsLiberal Democrats
    Hertsmere90ConservativeConservative
    High Peak130No overall controlNo overall control
    Hinckley And Bosworth20ConservativeConservative
    Holderness110OtherOther
    Horsham50——
    Hove10——
    Huntingdon100——
    Hyndburn90——
    Ipswich130LabourLabour
    Islwyn70——
    Kennet290No overall controlNo overall control
    Kerrier100No overall controlNo overall control
    Kettering140——
    King's Lynn And West Norfolk200ConservativeNo overall control
    Kingston Upon Hull110——
    Kingswood40——
    Kirklees2424LabourLabour
    Knowsley2224LabourLabour
    Lancaster100No overall controlNo overall control
    Leeds230——
    Lewes30ConservativeLiberal Democrats
    Lichfield180——
    Lincoln70LabourLabour
    Liverpool3537LabourLabour
    Llanelli150——
    Macclesfield120——
    Maidstone100No overall controlNo overall control
    Maldon170No overall controlNo overall control
    Malvern Hills250No overall controlOther
    Manchester3334LabourLabour
    Mansfield District Council20——
    Melton110ConservativeConservative
    Mendip220No overall controlNo overall control
    Merthyr Tydfil30LabourLabour
    Mid Bedfordshire160——
    Mid Devon240OtherOther
    Mid Suffolk230No overall controlNo overall control
    Mid Sussex120——
    Middlesbrough60——
    Milton Keynes120LabourLabour
    Mole Valley80——
    Monmouth2830——
    Monmouth55ConservativeNo overall control
    Monmouthshire11—Labour
    Montgomeryshire380——
    Montgomeryshire10OtherOther
    Neath180——
    New Forest200ConservativeNo overall control
    Newark And Sherwood190No overall controlLabour
    Newbury140——
    Newcastle Upon Tyne230LabourLabour
    Newcastle-under-Lyme130LabourLabour
    Newport1515LabourLabour
    North Cornwall250OtherOther
    North Devon10No overall controlLiberal Democrats
    North Devon230——
    North Dorset130——
    North Dorset40OtherOther
    North East Derbyshire200LabourLabour
    North Hertfordshire90ConservativeConservative
    North Kesteven260No overall controlNo overall control
    North Norfolk10OtherNo overall control
    North Norfolk210——
    North Shropshire230——
    North Tyneside11LabourLabour
    North Tyneside1716——
    North Warwickshire160LabourLabour
    North West Leicestershire80——
    North Wiltshire130ConservativeLiberal Democrats
    Northampton130ConservativeNo overall control
    Norwich130LabourLabour
    Nottingham90ConservativeLabour
    Nuneaton and Bedworth140LabourLabour
    Oldham2021LabourLabour
    Oswestry150No overall controlOther
    Oxford90LabourLabour
    Pendle140——
    Penwith90No overall controlNo overall control
    Peterborough110No overall controlNo overall control
    Portsmouth100No overall controlNo overall control
    Preseli Pembrokeshire40OtherOther
    Preseli Pembrokeshire260——
    Preston150LabourLabour
    Purbeck70No overall controlNo overall control
    Reading110LabourLabour
    Redditch80LabourLabour
    Reigate & Banstead120——
    Restormel100No overall controlLiberal Democrats
    Rhondda60——
    Ribble Valley160——
    Richmondshire250OtherOther
    Rochdale2020LabourLabour
    Rochester-upon-Medway70ConservativeNo overall control
    Rochford110No overall controlNo overall control
    Rossendale110LabourLabour
    Rother170ConservativeNo overall control
    Rotherham170——
    Rotherham10LabourLabour
    Rugby150——
    Runnymede100ConservativeConservative
    Rushcliffe110——
    Rushmoor100ConservativeConservative
    Rutland140No overall controlNo overall control
    Ryedale190No overall controlNo overall control
    Salford1818——
    Salford32LabourLabour
    Salisbury240ConservativeConservative
    Sandwell2425LabourLabour
    Scarborough160No overall controlNo overall control
    Sedgefield190LabourLabour
    Sedgemoor140ConservativeConservative
    Sefton2222No overall controlNo overall control
    Selby230ConservativeNo overall control
    Sevenoaks10ConservativeConservative
    Sevenoaks220——
    Sheffield2930LabourLabour
    Shepway60No overall controlLiberal Democrats
    Shrewsbury and Atcham60No overall controlNo overall control
    Slough80LabourLabour
    Solihull1717——
    Solihull11ConservativeNo overall control
    South Bedfordshire130ConservativeConservative
    South Cambridgeshire180OtherOther
    South Derbyshire120——
    South Hams270ConservativeConservative
    South Herefordshire190OtherOther
    South Holland160No overall controlOther
    South Kesteven220ConservativeNo overall control
    South Lakeland170No overall controlNo overall control
    South Norfolk300——
    South Northamptonshire30ConservativeConservative
    South Oxfordshire120ConservativeConservative
    South Ribble20ConservativeConservative
    South Shropshire270OtherOther
    South Somerset260Liberal DemocratsLiberal Democrats
    South Staffordshire100ConservativeConservative
    South Tyneside180LabourLabour
    Southampton80LabourLabour
    Southend-On-Sea120ConservativeConservative
    Spelthorne30——
    St Edmundsbury200——
    St. Albans20——
    St. Helens1819LabourLabour
    Stafford130No overall controlNo overall control
    Staffordshire Moorlands200No overall controlOther
    Stevenage100——
    Stockport22No overall controlNo overall control
    Stockport2119——
    Stockton-on-Tees70LabourNo overall control
    Stoke On Trent150LabourLabour
    Stratford-on-Avon130——
    Stroud130No overall controlNo overall control
    Suffolk Coastal340——
    Sunderland2525LabourLabour
    Surrey Heath90——
    Swale70No overall controlNo overall control
    Swansea80LabourLabour
    Tameside1919LabourLabour
    Tamworth80——
    Tandridge90No overall controlNo overall control
    Taunton Deane180ConservativeLiberal Democrats
    Teesdale180OtherOther
    Teignbridge220No overall controlNo overall control
    Tendring170ConservativeNo overall control
    Test Valley100ConservativeConservative
    Tewkesbury210No overall controlOther
    Thamesdown160——
    Thanet60No overall controlConservative
    The Wrekin250——
    Three Rivers100No overall controlNo overall control
    Thurrock120——
    Tonbridge and Malling70——
    Tonbridge And Malling20ConservativeConservative
    Torbay10No overall controlLiberal Democrats
    Torfaen200——
    Torridge200OtherOther
    Trafford2222ConservativeConservative
    Tunbridge Wells100——
    Tynedale210No overall controlNo overall control
    Uttlesford240ConservativeConservative
    Vale of Glamorgan30——
    Vale of Glamorgan40ConservativeNo overall control
    Vale Of White Horse80ConservativeConservative
    Vale Royal140No overall controlLabour
    Wakefield2121LabourLabour
    Walsall170LabourLabour
    Wansbeck100LabourLabour
    Warrington80LabourLabour
    Warwick100ConservativeConservative
    Watford Borough Council30——
    Waveney140——
    Waverley130ConservativeNo overall control
    Wealden110ConservativeConservative
    Wear Valley90LabourLiberal Democrats
    Wellingborough50ConservativeConservative
    Welwyn Hatfield100——
    West Devon160No overall controlOther
    West Dorset340No overall controlNo overall control
    West Lancashire130ConservativeNo overall control
    West Lindsey80No overall controlNo overall control
    West Oxfordshire130OtherOther
    West Somerset190OtherOther
    West Wiltshire150ConservativeLiberal Democrats
    Weymouth and Portland110No overall controlNo overall control
    Wigan2425LabourLabour
    Winchester70——
    Winchester20No overall controlNo overall control
    Windsor & Maidenhead30——
    Wirral2225No overall controlLabour
    Woking70No overall controlNo overall control
    Wokingham120ConservativeConservative
    Wolverhampton2021LabourLabour
    Worcester100LabourLabour
    Worthing80ConservativeConservative
    Wychavon230ConservativeNo overall control
    Wycombe140——
    Wycombe40ConservativeConservative
    Wyre130ConservativeConservative
    Wyre Forest50——
    York100LabourLabour

    See also Election Health for 1991's competitiveness figures and Council Control.