# 1987 Reading Borough Council election

The 1987 Reading Borough Council election was held on 7 May 1987, at the same time as other local elections across England and Wales. One third of Reading Borough Council's 45 seats were up for election.
Before the election, the council was under no overall control with Labour running a minority administration, being one seat short of an overall majority. The election saw Labour gain two extra seats, giving it a majority. After the election, Labour had 24 seats, the Conservatives had 16 seats, and the SDP-Liberal Alliance had 5 seats, all of whom were Liberals.

## Results

Reading Borough Council Election, 1987 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Labour | 7 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 46.7 | 31.0 | 14,358 | -5.4 |
| Conservative | 6 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 40.0 | 41.0 | 18,993 | +8.2 |
| Alliance | 2 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 13.3 | 26.7 | 12,343 | -1.8 |
| Green | 0 | | | | 0 | 1.3 | 615 | +1.0 |

### Ward results

The results in each ward were as follows (candidates with an asterisk* were the previous incumbent standing for re-election:
Abbey Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Antony William Page* (Tony Page) | 1,258 | 46.4 | −8.4 |
| | Conservative | Subhash Vasant Nirgude | 855 | 33.2 | +12.4 |
| | SDP | Jeremy B.C. Lazenby | 432 | 16.8 | −0.9 |
| | Green | Elizabeth Maria Callies (Maria Callies) | 95 | 3.7 | −3.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,578 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -10.4 | |
Battle Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Kevin Joseph P. MacDevitt | 1,147 | 47.0 | −4.4 |
| | Conservative | Susan E. White (Sue White) | 762 | 31.2 | +10.8 |
| | SDP | Angela S. Peirson | 463 | 19.0 | −4.8 |
| | Green | Lorraine M. Munn | 70 | 2.9 | −1.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,442 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -7.6 | |
Caversham Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ronald William Jewitt* (Ron Jewitt) | 2,513 | 67.2 | +12.5 |
| | Labour | Geoffrey Robert Mander (Geoff Mander) | 711 | 19.0 | −8.0 |
| | SDP | Mary E. Hargreaves | 514 | 13.8 | −4.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,738 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +10.25 | |
Church Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Kathleen Margaret Everett* (Kay Everett) | 1,093 | 46.4 | −5.0 |
| | Conservative | Heather M. Oliver | 799 | 33.9 | +6.8 |
| | Liberal | Diarmuid T. O'Rourke | 465 | 19.7 | −1.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,357 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -5.9 | |
Katesgrove Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Margaret Stella Singh* | 1,073 | 46.9 | −9.6 |
| | Conservative | Shirley M. Mills | 884 | 38.6 | +9.0 |
| | SDP | Nikola Sergt | 332 | 14.5 | +0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,289 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -9.3 | |
Kentwood Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Francis John William Mahon-Daly (Frank Mahon-Daly) | 1,309 | 42.4 | −1.4 |
| | Conservative | Thomas J. Dicker* (Tom Dicker) | 1,253 | 40.6 | +9.7 |
| | Labour | Ronald W. Corbin | 528 | 17.1 | −8.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,090 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | -9.05 | |
Minster Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Derek Gordon E. Browne | 1,573 | 49.8 | +7.7 |
| | Labour | Martin Bryan Statter (Bryan Statter) | 883 | 27.9 | −7.1 |
| | SDP | Stephen R. Hanson (Steve Hanson) | 661 | 20.9 | +1.4 |
| | Green | Edmund P. Wilson (Ed Wilson) | 43 | 1.4 | −2.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,160 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +7.4 | |
Norcot Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Rhodri Hughes | 1,392 | 43.7 | −0.2 |
| | Liberal | Leslie Basil Dunning* (Basil Dunning) | 1,067 | 33.5 | −3.8 |
| | Conservative | Garry Cooper | 668 | 21.0 | +4.4 |
| | Green | Maureen P. Gray | 58 | 1.8 | −0.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,185 | | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal | Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | +1.8 | |
Park Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Michael Derek Price (Mike Price) | 1,585 | 47.7 | −3.7 |
| | Conservative | Amanda A. Vigar | 1,096 | 33.0 | +2.1 |
| | Liberal | Stephen H. Begg (Steve Begg) | 522 | 15.7 | +3.7 |
| | Green | Philip J. Unsworth | 117 | 3.5 | −2.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,320 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -2.9 | |
Peppard Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frank Heyes | 2,014 | 47.6 | +5.6 |
| | Liberal | Ian M. Fenwick* | 1,885 | 44.5 | −2.1 |
| | Labour | Louise M. Izzard | 335 | 7.9 | −3.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,234 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +3.85 | |
Redlands Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Michael Oliver* | 1,212 | 34.2 | +6.1 |
| | Labour | David Christopher Sutton | 1,187 | 33.5 | −0.6 |
| | SDP | David J. Cornes | 1,033 | 29.2 | −3.0 |
| | Green | Daverick C. Leggett | 107 | 3.0 | −2.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,539 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +3.35 | |
Southcote Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Peter W. Wells | 1,556 | 47.0 | +10.5 |
| | Labour | Katharine Neville (Kathy Neville) | 1,362 | 41.1 | −2.9 |
| | SDP | Andrew H. McLuskey | 392 | 11.8 | −7.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,310 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +6.7 | |
Thames Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Kenneth A. Putt (Ken Putt) | 2,122 | 57.2 | +5.9 |
| | Liberal | Annette Hendry | 1,187 | 32.0 | −3.3 |
| | Labour | Alan E. Lockey | 275 | 7.4 | −1.2 |
| | Green | Louise A. Barnes | 125 | 3.4 | −1.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,709 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +4.6 | |
Tilehurst Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Florence Teresa Day* (Paddy Day) | 1,751 | 55.9 | −3.6 |
| | Conservative | David F. Henderson | 985 | 31.4 | +7.3 |
| | Labour | Richard J. O'Brien (Dick O'Brien) | 397 | 12.7 | −3.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,133 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | -5.45 | |
Whitley Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Doris Ellen Lawrence* | 1,194 | 53.7 | −11.5 |
| | Conservative | Walter Eric Winter (Eric Winter) | 701 | 31.5 | +13.1 |
| | SDP | John W. Wood | 330 | 14.8 | −1.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,225 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -12.3 | |