1986 Merton London Borough Council election

1986 Merton London Borough Council election

←  1982 8 May 1986 1990  →
All 57 council seats on Merton London Borough Council
Turnout	49.8% (2.3%) [1] [2]
First party Second party Third party   Party Conservative Labour Longthornton and Tamworth Residents Last election 44 seats, 51.2% 13 seats, 25.4% 0 seats, 1.5% Seats won 29 25 3 Seat change 15 12 3 Popular vote 69,161 59,974 3,919 Percentage 41.1% 35.7% 2.3% Swing 10.1% 10.3% 0.8%
Council leader before election Harry Cowd Conservative Council leader after election Harry Cowd Conservative

Elections for the London Borough of Merton were held on 8 May 1986 to elect members of Merton London Borough Council in London, England. This was on the same day as other local elections in England and Scotland. ^[1]

The whole council was up for election and the incumbent majority Conservative administration remained in overall control of the council, its majority reduced to one seat. ^[3]

Background

See also: Merton local elections § 1982-1986

At the last election, the Conservatives had remained in overall majority control of the council, winning 44 seats. The Labour Party was returned as the only opposition party, with 13 seats. ^[3] In the same election, Longthornton and Tamworth Residents Association lost all their three seats to the Conservatives. ^[2]

Following the death of Cllr. Michael Page, at a by-election in Longthornton on 15 March 1984, the Longthornton and Tamworth Residents Association regained one of their seats from the Conservatives. ^[2]

Results

Merton Local Election Result 1986 ^{[1] [n 1] [n 2]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	29	0	15	15	50.9%	41.1%	69,161	10.1%
	Labour	25	12	0	12	43.9%	35.7%	59,974	10.3%
	Longthornton and Tamworth Residents	3	3	0	3	5.3%	2.3%	3,919	0.8%
	Alliance	0	0	0	0	0%	20.4%	34,325	1.1%
	Independent	0	0	0	0	0%	0.4%	630	n/a
	National Front	0	0	0	0	0	0.1%	154

In Durnsford, future Prime Minister Theresa May was first elected to public office, holding the seat for the Conservative Party and beating Tony Colman, the future Labour MP for Putney, who also later led Merton Council between 1991 and 1997.

Ward Results

Durnsford

Durnsford (2) ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Geoffrey Gill	857	36.7%
	Conservative	Theresa May	818
	Labour	Arthur Kennedy	734	32.1%
	Liberal	Susan Knibbs	731	31.2%
	Labour	Anthony J. Colman	730
	Liberal	Richard Barraclough	692
Turnout			4,562
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Notes and references

Notes

1. The Liberal Democrat vote count includes two candidates who stood under the description of "Liberal Alliance Focus Team" in Durnsford.
2. The Independent vote count includes one candidate who stood under the description of "Independent Labour" in Longthornton, winning 146 votes.

References

1. London Borough Council Elections 8 May 1986 (PDF). London Residuary Body - Research and Intelligence Unit. 1986.
2. "London Borough Council Elections 6 May 1982" (PDF). Greater London Council. 1982. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
3. "Merton Council Election Results 1964-2012" (PDF). Merton Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2018.