1984 Leeds City Council election

The Leeds City Council elections were held on Thursday, 3 May 1984, with one third of the council to be elected. In the interim there had been a by-election in Armley to replace the incumbent councillor Michael Meadowcroft after he was elected the Leeds West MP, resulting in an Alliance hold.

Map of the results for the 1984 Leeds council election.

The Conservative's downward trend continued after the previous year's respite to a new party low, resulting in a 3% swing to Labour. In contrast, the Alliance support stabilised after the prior year's fall to retain a healthy proportion of their initial 1982 surge. Despite the swing towards them, Labour finished the night with a net loss, as the Alliance won the only remaining Burmantofts seat they did not hold from them. The Alliance also gained in Moortown, winning their first seat in the ward from the Conservatives - who lost another in Pudsey South to their former incumbent turn Independent, achieving the feat of first elected Independent onto the council.^[1]

Election result

Leeds Local Election Result 1984
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Labour	19	0	1	-1	57.6	42.7	91,314	+2.6%
Conservative	9	1	2	-1	27.3	33.0	70,431	-3.3%
Alliance	4	2	1	+1	12.1	22.6	48,335	-0.4%
Independent	1	1	0	+1	3.0	1.3	2,770	+1.1%
Ecology	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.2	531	+0.1%
Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.1	308	-0.1%

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

Party		Previous council	New council
	Labour	54	53
	Conservatives	34	33
	Alliance	11	12
	Independent	0	1
Total		99	99
Working majority		9	7

Ward results

Aireborough^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Hudson	3,515	42.7	−0.5
	Labour	M. Dunn	2,550	31.0	+3.4
	Alliance (Liberal)	M. Cooksey	2,167	26.3	−2.9
Majority			965	11.7	−2.3
Turnout			8,232
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.9

Armley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance (Liberal)	Sandy Melville	3,328	55.9	+10.1
	Labour	J. Appleyard	1,756	29.5	−3.3
	Conservative	H. Hinchliffe	872	14.6	−6.0
Majority			1,572	26.4	+13.4
Turnout			5,956
	Alliance hold		Swing	+6.7

Barwick & Kippax^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. Flatters	3,802	50.3	+0.8
	Conservative	J. Tweddle	2,971	39.3	−0.5
	Alliance (SDP)	N. Snowdon	793	10.5	−0.2
Majority			831	11.0	+1.3
Turnout			7,566
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.6

Beeston^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Beevers	3,102	62.6	+8.3
	Conservative	W. Birch	1,400	28.3	−4.2
	Alliance (SDP)	L. Shaffner	417	8.4	−4.8
	Independent	A. Ali	35	0.7	+0.7
Majority			1,702	34.4	+12.5
Turnout			4,954
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.2

Bramley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Siantonas	2,939	53.2	+1.5
	Alliance (Liberal)	C. Pearson	1,856	33.6	+2.5
	Conservative	P. Netzel	731	13.2	−4.0
Majority			1,083	19.6	−1.0
Turnout			5,526
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.5

Burmantofts^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance (Liberal)	N. Mackie	3,730	50.5	+4.9
	Labour	S. Armitage	3,244	43.9	+1.4
	Conservative	S. Temple	416	5.6	−4.6
Majority			486	6.6	+3.4
Turnout			7,390
	Alliance gain from Labour		Swing	+1.7

Chapel Allerton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Frankland	3,555	59.8	−0.3
	Conservative	J. Moore	1,590	26.8	−0.1
	Alliance (Liberal)	C. Smith	717	12.1	−1.0
	Communist	J. Rodgers	78	1.3	+1.3
Majority			1,965	33.1	−0.1
Turnout			5,940
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.1

City & Holbeck^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Sanderson	3,354	69.2	+4.8
	Alliance (Liberal)	K. Hawkins	959	19.8	−0.7
	Conservative	H. Woodhead	534	11.0	−4.1
Majority			2,395	49.4	+5.5
Turnout			4,847
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.7

Cookridge^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. Loudon	3,619	48.7	−7.2
	Alliance (Liberal)	P. Kelley	2,241	30.2	+4.5
	Labour	C. Ashley	1,569	21.1	+2.7
Majority			1,387	18.5	−11.8
Turnout			7,429
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.8

Garforth & Swillington^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Moakes	4,235	51.6	+7.5
	Conservative	N. May	3,070	37.4	−5.3
	Alliance (SDP)	P. Wilson	896	10.9	−2.2
Majority			1,165	14.2	+12.9
Turnout			8,201
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.4

Halton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Dodgson	3,823	53.2	−6.0
	Labour	E. McGee	2,504	34.9	+9.8
	Alliance (SDP)	D. Mortimer	855	11.9	−3.8
Majority			1,319	18.4	−15.8
Turnout			7,182
	Conservative hold		Swing	-7.9

Harehills^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	L. Cohen	3,252	64.2	−0.9
	Conservative	M. Cohen	1,194	23.6	+0.8
	Alliance (Liberal)	J. Foster	623	12.3	+0.2
Majority			2,058	40.6	−1.7
Turnout			5,069
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.8

Headingley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Larsen	3,480	56.8	+3.2
	Conservative	D. Flowers	1,688	27.5	−4.7
	Alliance (SDP)	K. Lee	691	11.3	−0.8
	Ecology	G. Rainford	213	3.5	+3.5
	Communist	I. Dixon	58	0.9	−1.1
Majority			1,792	29.2	+7.8
Turnout			6,130
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.9

Horsforth^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance (Liberal)	S. Cooksey	4,037	48.9	+4.9
	Conservative	J. Stevens	3,451	41.8	−4.0
	Labour	L. Smith	762	9.2	−0.9
Majority			586	7.1	+5.3
Turnout			8,250
	Alliance hold		Swing	+4.4

Hunslet^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Driver	3,379	82.8	−0.7
	Alliance (Liberal)	S. Gillen	369	9.0	+2.2
	Conservative	H. Lavery	333	8.2	−1.5
Majority			3,010	73.8	−0.1
Turnout			4,081
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.4

Kirkstall^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Nash	3,418	54.9	−1.3
	Conservative	A. Walkington	1,415	22.7	−4.5
	Alliance (Liberal)	P. Meadowcroft	1,322	21.3	+5.9
	Communist	B. Jackson	66	1.1	−0.1
Majority			2,003	32.2	+3.2
Turnout			6,221
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.6

Middleton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Kitchen	2,946	74.8	+1.0
	Conservative	A. Larvin	612	15.5	−1.5
	Alliance (Liberal)	D. Howard	381	9.7	+0.5
Majority			2,334	59.3	+2.6
Turnout			3,939
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.2

Moortown^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance (SDP)	M. Harris	3,355	45.0	+10.3
	Conservative	C. Thomas	2,967	39.8	−8.0
	Labour	C. Dews	1,129	15.2	−2.3
Majority			388	5.2	−7.9
Turnout			7,451
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing	+9.1

Morley North^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. Jones	3,521	51.1	+9.3
	Conservative	R. Halpin	2,845	41.3	−5.2
	Alliance (Liberal)	E. Ayres	527	7.6	−4.0
Majority			676	9.8	+5.1
Turnout			6,893
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.2

Morley South^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. North	3,723	60.9	+10.7
	Conservative	A. Grayson	1,682	27.5	−4.5
	Alliance (Liberal)	H. Smith	709	11.6	+1.7
Majority			2,041	33.4	+15.3
Turnout			6,114
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.6

North^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. O'Brien	3,128	51.6	−9.9
	Alliance (SDP)	G. Shaffner	1,681	27.7	+6.0
	Labour	J. Langan	1,255	20.7	+3.8
Majority			1,447	23.9	−15.9
Turnout			6,064
	Conservative hold		Swing	-7.9

Otley & Wharfedale^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. Hindle	4,108	43.6	+5.7
	Alliance (Liberal)	H. Morgan	3,871	41.1	−10.2
	Labour	M. Attwood	1,303	13.8	+5.3
	Ecology	A. Laurence	138	1.5	−0.8
Majority			237	2.5	−10.8
Turnout			9,420
	Conservative gain from Alliance		Swing	+7.9

Pudsey North^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Carter	4,402	51.1	+1.0
	Labour	J. Hodgson	3,188	37.0	+6.6
	Alliance (SDP)	J. Stott	1,021	11.9	−7.6
Majority			1,214	14.1	−5.6
Turnout			8,611
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.8

Pudsey South^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	P. Kersting	2,735	36.7	+36.7
	Labour	R. Lewis	2,340	31.4	−8.0
	Conservative	H. Gill	1,582	21.2	−15.4
	Alliance (Liberal)	A. Booker	791	10.6	−13.4
Majority			395	5.3	+2.5
Turnout			7,448
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Richmond Hill^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Lyons	3,853	56.2	+5.9
	Alliance (Liberal)	K. Norman	2,618	38.2	−2.9
	Conservative	D. Boynton	381	5.6	−1.8
Majority			1,235	18.0	+8.8
Turnout			6,852
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.4

Rothwell^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Lund	3,871	68.3	+9.3
	Conservative	M. Dalton	1,234	21.8	−5.5
	Alliance (SDP)	S. Browning	564	9.9	−3.0
Majority			2,637	46.5	+14.7
Turnout			5,669
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.4

Roundhay^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Crotty	4,045	61.0	−2.5
	Alliance (Liberal)	L. Thackray	1,358	20.5	+0.4
	Labour	F. Hamilton	1,230	18.5	+2.1
Majority			2,687	40.5	−2.9
Turnout			6,633
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.4

Seacroft^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Mudie	3,459	72.0	+4.1
	Conservative	B. Caro	963	20.0	−0.9
	Alliance (SDP)	S. Richmond	381	7.9	−3.2
Majority			2,496	52.0	+5.1
Turnout			4,803
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.5

University^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Kilgallon	3,149	70.7	+4.7
	Conservative	M. Killick	639	14.4	−4.1
	Alliance (Liberal)	J. Staines	558	12.5	−1.0
	Communist	R. Honey	106	2.4	+0.4
Majority			2,510	56.4	+8.9
Turnout			4,452
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.4

Weetwood^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Lodge	2,955	41.1	−4.9
	Labour	J. Page	2,759	38.3	+3.9
	Alliance (SDP)	J. MacArthur	1,301	18.1	−1.5
	Ecology	C. Nash	180	2.5	+2.5
Majority			196	2.7	−8.8
Turnout			7,195
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.4

Wetherby^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	H. Gardiner	4,624	70.3	+1.5
	Alliance (Liberal)	T. Burgess	1,129	17.2	−3.3
	Labour	R. Bishop	820	12.5	+1.7
Majority			3,495	53.2	+4.9
Turnout			6,573
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.4

Whinmoor^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. Stringer	2,992	53.5	+5.2
	Conservative	J. Howard	1,977	35.4	−1.4
	Alliance (SDP)	M. Lance	620	11.1	−3.7
Majority			1,015	18.2	+6.6
Turnout			5,589
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.3

Wortley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Thurlow	2,875	41.0	−2.5
	Alliance (Liberal)	A. Gilchrist	2,469	35.2	+7.5
	Conservative	A. Stephenson	1,665	23.8	−5.1
Majority			406	5.8	−8.8
Turnout			7,009
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.0

By-elections between 1984 and 1986

Beeston by-election 27 September 1984
replacing Michael McGowan (resigned)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jon Trickett	1,784	55.5	−7.1
	Conservative	John Birch	909	28.3	−0.0
	Alliance (SDP)	Terence Ayres	519	16.2	+7.8
Majority			875	27.2	−7.2
Turnout			3,212	23.0
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.5

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah "District results: Leeds". The Yorkshire Post. 4 May 1984.

[results-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah "District results: Leeds". The Yorkshire Post. 4 May 1984.

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