# 1986 Adur District Council election

Elections to the Adur District Council were held on 8 May 1986, with minor boundary changes taking effect, impacting the Peverel ward. One third of the council was due for re-election, with additional vacancies in Buckingham, Churchill and Mash Barn wards. No elections were to be held for the single-member St Mary's ward. The formerly Conservative councillor for Southwick Green was defending the seat as an Independent, with no Conservative contesting that ward. Overall turnout was down slightly to 45.3%.
The election resulted in the Alliance regaining control of the council.

## Election result

Adur District Council Election Result 1986 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Alliance | 11 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 68.8 | 42.8 | 8,951 | +3.9 |
| Conservative | 4 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 25.0 | 35.2 | 7,361 | -9.1 |
| Residents | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.3 | 3.4 | 717 | -0.6 |
| Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 14.2 | 2,973 | +1.5 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0.0 | 3.4 | 710 | +3.4 |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 217 | +1.0 |
This resulted in the following composition of the council:
| Party | Party | Previous council | New council |
| | SDP-Liberal Alliance | 18 | 22 |
| | Conservative | 18 | 15 |
| | Independent Residents | 2 | 2 |
| | Independent | 1 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 39 | 39 | 39 |
| Working majority | Working majority | -3 | 5 |

## Ward results

+/- figures represent changes from the last time these wards were contested.
Buckingham (3847) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Morris H. Ms. | 952 | 57.3 | −11.1 |
| | Conservative | Pelling C. | 934 | | |
| | Alliance | Miller A. | 536 | 32.3 | +0.7 |
| | Alliance | Connor C. | 487 | | |
| | Labour | Sweet G. Ms. | 174 | 10.5 | +10.5 |
| | Labour | Barnes S. | 173 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 416 | 25.0 | −11.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,662 | 43.2 | +5.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -5.9 | |
Churchill (3750) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Alliance | Sherwood J. Ms. | 861 | 51.3 | +4.0 |
| | Alliance | Mitchell C. | 825 | | |
| | Conservative | Gray W. Ms. | 665 | 39.6 | −3.6 |
| | Conservative | Kemp C. | 663 | | |
| | Labour | Aldrich S. Ms. | 154 | 9.2 | −0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 196 | 11.7 | +7.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,680 | 44.8 | −0.2 |
| | Alliance hold | Alliance hold | Swing | | |
| | Alliance gain from Conservative | Alliance gain from Conservative | Swing | +3.8 | |
Cokeham (3584) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Alliance | Brooks J. | 743 | 55.3 | −7.5 |
| | Conservative | Boggis B. | 419 | 31.2 | +4.5 |
| | Labour | Atkins B. | 182 | 13.5 | +3.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 324 | 24.1 | −12.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,344 | 37.5 | −1.5 |
| | Alliance hold | Alliance hold | Swing | -6.0 | |
Eastbrook (3681) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Alliance | Tullett K. | 767 | 39.8 | +23.7 |
| | Conservative | Dunn R. | 679 | 35.2 | −10.9 |
| | Labour | Vinter C. | 483 | 25.0 | −12.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 88 | 4.6 | −3.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,929 | 52.4 | +4.4 |
| | Alliance gain from Conservative | Alliance gain from Conservative | Swing | +17.3 | |
Hillside (3788) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Callar W. | 748 | 41.8 | −10.9 |
| | Labour | Langridge J. | 690 | 38.6 | +7.5 |
| | Alliance | Durrant J. | 350 | 19.6 | +3.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 58 | 3.2 | −18.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,788 | 47.2 | +2.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -9.2 | |
Manor (3396) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Alliance | Deedman D. | 953 | 54.7 | +3.2 |
| | Conservative | Lewis J. | 663 | 38.1 | −5.5 |
| | Labour | Boon C. Ms. | 126 | 7.2 | +2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 290 | 16.6 | +8.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,742 | 51.3 | −1.7 |
| | Alliance gain from Conservative | Alliance gain from Conservative | Swing | +4.3 | |
Marine (2633) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Residents | Hancock D. | 717 | 62.5 | +1.2 |
| | Conservative | Lloyd M. | 240 | 20.9 | −7.0 |
| | Green | Martin M. Ms. | 80 | 7.0 | +7.0 |
| | Labour | Morris C. | 61 | 5.3 | +1.2 |
| | Alliance | Parsons E. Ms. | 50 | 4.4 | −2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 477 | 41.6 | +8.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,148 | 43.6 | −9.4 |
| | Residents hold | Residents hold | Swing | +4.1 | |
Mash Barn (3037) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Alliance | Beresford P. | 660 | 57.8 | +1.0 |
| | Alliance | Robinson J. Ms. | 635 | | |
| | Conservative | Barnard D. | 344 | 30.1 | −2.3 |
| | Labour | Aldrich G. | 138 | 12.1 | +1.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 316 | 27.7 | +3.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,142 | 37.6 | −0.4 |
| | Alliance hold | Alliance hold | Swing | | |
| | Alliance hold | Alliance hold | Swing | +1.6 | |
Peverel (3240) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Alliance | Meeten J. | 831 | 62.9 | +4.8 |
| | Conservative | Wood J. | 339 | 25.6 | −7.1 |
| | Labour | Atkins H. Ms. | 152 | 11.5 | +2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 492 | 37.2 | +11.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,322 | 40.8 | −1.2 |
| | Alliance hold | Alliance hold | Swing | +5.9 | |
Southlands (3398) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Alliance | Edwards A. | 873 | 51.1 | +9.7 |
| | Conservative | Hermans G. Ms. | 571 | 33.4 | −9.5 |
| | Labour | Sweet N. | 265 | 15.5 | −0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 302 | 17.7 | +16.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,709 | 50.3 | +4.3 |
| | Alliance hold | Alliance hold | Swing | +9.6 | |
Southwick Green (3821) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Alliance | Biggs A. | 864 | 49.9 | +2.3 |
| | Independent | Ferrers-Guy B. Ms. | 710 | 41.0 | +41.0 |
| | Labour | Lansley J. | 157 | 9.1 | +3.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 154 | 8.9 | +7.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,731 | 45.3 | −8.7 |
| | Alliance gain from Independent | Alliance gain from Independent | Swing | -19.3 | |
St. Nicolas (3724) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Huber J. | 867 | 49.0 | −10.3 |
| | Alliance | Macfarlane D. | 559 | 31.6 | +5.6 |
| | Labour | Matthews K. Ms. | 206 | 11.6 | −3.0 |
| | Green | Hartland R. | 137 | 7.7 | +7.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 308 | 17.4 | −16.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,769 | 47.5 | +0.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -7.9 | |
Widewater (4314) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Alliance | Osborne S. | 904 | 46.1 | −2.7 |
| | Conservative | Hillier L. Ms. | 874 | 44.5 | +0.8 |
| | Labour | Pettiford K. | 185 | 9.4 | +1.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 30 | 1.5 | −3.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,963 | 45.5 | −0.5 |
| | Alliance hold | Alliance hold | Swing | -1.7 | |