# 1986 Reading Borough Council election

The 1986 Reading Borough Council election was held on 8 May 1986, at the same time as other local elections across England and Scotland. One third of Reading Borough Council's 45 seats were up for election.
The election saw the Conservatives lose their majority on the council. Labour gained most seats, but remained one seat short of an overall majority, leaving the council with no overall control. After the election, Labour had 22 seats, the Conservatives had 18 seats, and the SDP-Liberal Alliance had 5 seats, all of whom were Liberals.
Labour subsequently took control of the council, with the support of two disaffected Conservatives. The Labour leader, Mike Orton, took the council's top political job as chair of the policy committee. The Conservative leader, Deryck Morton, stood down as party leader immediately after the election, being replaced by Geoff Canning. The Liberal leader remained Jim Day. Turnout was reported to be 39%.

## Results

Reading Borough Council Election, 1986 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Labour | 9 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 60.0 | 36.4 | 15,213 | +2.9 |
| Conservative | 4 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 26.7 | 32.8 | 13,736 | -9.6 |
| Alliance | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13.3 | 28.5 | 11,920 | +5.3 |
| Green | 0 | | | | 0 | 2.3 | 954 | +1.4 |

### Ward results

The results in each ward were as follows (candidates with an asterisk* were the previous incumbent standing for re-election, candidates with a dagger(†) were sitting councillors contesting different wards):
Abbey Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Dave Geary* | 1,258 | 54.8 | −2.9 |
| | Conservative | Chris Webb | 476 | 20.7 | −7.4 |
| | SDP | Jeremy Lazenby | 404 | 17.6 | +3.5 |
| | Green | Peter Oldham | 156 | 6.8 | n/a |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,294 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +2.25 | |
Battle Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Graham Rush* | 1,292 | 51.4 | +8.1 |
| | SDP | Clive Jones | 597 | 23.7 | −10.5 |
| | Conservative | Susan White | 512 | 20.4 | +0.3 |
| | Green | Ian Cooper | 114 | 4.5 | +2.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,515 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +9.3 | |
Caversham Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Fred Pugh* | 1,624 | 54.7 | −10.0 |
| | Labour | Geoff Mander | 803 | 27.1 | +2.6 |
| | SDP | Mary Hargreaves | 541 | 18.2 | +7.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,968 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -6.3 | |
Church Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | June Orton* | 1,077 | 51.3 | +2.1 |
| | Conservative | Jennifer Abbott | 569 | 27.1 | −8.3 |
| | Liberal | Steve Begg | 452 | 21.5 | +6.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,098 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +5.2 | |
Katesgrove Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Mark Hendry | 1,184 | 56.5 | 5.7 |
| | Conservative | Shirley Mills* | 620 | 29.6 | −3.9 |
| | SDP | Nikola Sergt | 292 | 13.9 | +0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,096 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +4.8 | |
Kentwood Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Ford | 1,227 | 43.7 | +7.3 |
| | Conservative | Derek Browne* | 865 | 30.8 | −9.1 |
| | Labour | Linda Harper | 714 | 25.4 | +1.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,806 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +8.2 | |
Minster Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Charles Sage* | 1,218 | 42.1 | −12.6 |
| | Labour | Brian Statter | 1,014 | 35.0 | +5.0 |
| | SDP | Steve Hanson | 566 | 19.6 | +4.2 |
| | Green | Andrew Hardy | 97 | 3.4 | n/a |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,895 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -8.8 | |
Norcot Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Jo Lovelock | 1,373 | 43.9 | +3.0 |
| | Liberal | John Freeman* | 1,168 | 37.3 | −2.9 |
| | Conservative | Peter Wells | 518 | 16.5 | −2.4 |
| | Green | Maureen Gray | 71 | 2.3 | n/a |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,130 | | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal | Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | +2.95 | |
Park Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Gill Parker | 1,530 | 51.4 | +7.2 |
| | Conservative | Norman Pearson* | 921 | 30.9 | −7.6 |
| | SDP | Robin Pratt | 359 | 12.1 | −1.4 |
| | Green | Philip Unsworth | 167 | 5.6 | +1.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,977 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | 7.4 | |
Peppard Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Geoff Canning* | 1,479 | 44.5 | −18.1 |
| | Liberal | Ian Fenwick | 1,452 | 43.6 | +19.5 |
| | Labour | Phil Hingley | 396 | 11.9 | −1.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,327 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -18.8 | |
Redlands Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Rajinder Sohpal | 1,105 | 34.1 | −3.2 |
| | SDP | David Cornes | 1,043 | 32.2 | +7.9 |
| | Conservative | Grace Wray | 912 | 28.1 | −6.0 |
| | Green | Chris Parr | 181 | 5.6 | +1.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,241 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +4.6 | |
Southcote Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Christine Howell | 1,430 | 44.0 | +10.7 |
| | Conservative | John Rimmer | 1,187 | 36.5 | −9.2 |
| | SDP | Andrew McLuskey | 632 | 19.5 | −1.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,249 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +9.95 | |
Thames Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Hamza Fuad* | 1,435 | 40.6 | −19.7 |
| | Liberal | Martyn Allies | 1,248 | 35.3 | +7.7 |
| | Conservative | Tony Markham† | 381 | 10.8 | n/a |
| | Labour | Mark Drukker | 306 | 8.6 | −3.5 |
| | Green | Louise Barnes | 168 | 4.7 | n/a |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,538 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -13.7 | |
Tilehurst Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Janet Bond* | 1,614 | 59.5 | +4.4 |
| | Conservative | David Henderson | 655 | 24.1 | −8.4 |
| | Labour | Jim Toner | 445 | 16.4 | +4.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,714 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +6.4 | |
Whitley Ward :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Mike Orton* | 1,286 | 65.1 | +13.1 |
| | Conservative | Barry Cummings | 364 | 18.4 | −6.7 |
| | SDP | John Wood | 325 | 16.5 | −6.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,975 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +9.9 | |

## By-elections 1986–1987

Peppard By-Election 11 September 1986 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Ian Fenwick | 1,564 | 46.6 | +2.9 |
| | Conservative | Frank Heyes | 1,408 | 41.9 | −2.5 |
| | Labour | Phil Hingley | 385 | 11.5 | −0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 156 | 4.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,357 | 45.2 | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.7 | |
The Peppard ward by-election in 1986 was triggered by the resignation of Conservative councillor Geoff Lowe.