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1979 Reading Borough Council election

← 1976 3 May 1979 (1979-05-03) 1983 →
49 seats (whole council) 25 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Con Lab Lib Leader Deryck Morton Geoff Mander Geoff Salisbury Party Conservative Labour Liberal Seats before 24 13 12 Seats after 22 16 11 Seat change 2 3 1 Popular vote 123,224 86,591 68,404 Percentage 44.2 31.1 24.6

The 1979 Reading Borough Council election was held on 3 May 1979, alongside local elections across England and Wales and the general election. All 49 seats on Reading Borough Council were contested.

Prior to the election, the council had been under no overall control, with the Conservatives the largest party. Labour saw the biggest net increase in its seats, gaining three, but the council remained under no overall control with the Conservatives as the largest party. After the election the Conservatives had 22 seats (down from 24), Labour had 16 seats (up from 13), and the Liberals had 11 seats (down from 12).

The party leaders on the council ahead of the election were Deryck Morton for the Conservatives, Geoff Mander for Labour, and Geoff Salisbury for the Liberals. Geoff Salisbury did not stand at the election, and the Liberals' former leader Jim Day became party leader again after the election, having spent the 1978–1979 civic year as mayor of Reading. Deryck Morton was re-appointed to the council's most senior political role as chair of the policy committee after the election, effectively leading a Conservative minority administration.

Results

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):

By-elections 1979–1983

Thames by-election 1980

The Thames ward by-election in 1980 was triggered by the resignation of Conservative councillor Eric Davies.

Christchurch and Redlands by-elections 1981

By-elections for the two wards of Christchurch and Redlands were held on 7 May 1981, alongside elections to Berkshire County Council. The Christchurch by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labour councillor Chris Goodall, and the Redlands by-election was triggered by the death of Conservative councillor John Lawford.

Abbey by-election 1981

The Abbey ward by-election in 1981 was triggered by the resignation of Labour councillor Graham Chapman.

References

1. ^ "Labour gains but it's still a 'hung council'". Evening Post. Reading. 8 May 1979. p. 4. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
2. "Ex-mayor is quitting council life". Evening Post. Reading. 17 March 1979. p. 3. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
3. "Officers names". Evening Post. Reading. 17 May 1979. p. 12. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
4. "Council meeting over in a flash - then comes scramble". Evening Post. Reading. 10 May 1979. p. 8. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
5. "Petition handed to council". Evening Post. Reading. 14 March 1979. p. 3. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
6. "A Communist takes on the big three". Evening Post. Reading. 11 April 1979. p. 3. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
7. "Here's how they line up in Reading elections". Evening Post. Reading. 24 April 1979. p. 4. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
8. "Reading Borough Council results". Evening Post. Reading. 5 May 1979. p. 2. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
9. "Housing chief 'hounded out' by socialists". Evening Post. Reading. 18 October 1979. p. 3. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
10. "Tories sweep to victory in Thames ward poll". Evening Post. Reading. 25 January 1980. p. 3. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
11. "Leading Tory dies suddenly at his home". Evening Post. Reading. 16 March 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
12. "Labour man quits to fight county seat". Evening Post. Reading. 11 March 1981. p. 9. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
13. "Close fight as Tories hold Redlands ward". Evening Post. Reading. 8 May 1981. p. 3. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
14. "SDP may stand in Reading council election". Evening Post. Reading. 3 August 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
15. "Joy for Labour as SDP slumps in election". Evening Post. Reading. 25 September 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 18 April 2022.

v t e Council elections in Berkshire
Bracknell Forest Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1997 2000 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Reading Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Slough Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023
West Berkshire Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1997 2000 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1997 2000 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Wokingham Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Berkshire County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 Abolished
See also: Wards Boundary changes

v t e (1978 ←) 1979 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1980)
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District councils (England)	Adur Allerdale Alnwick Amber Valley Arun Ashfield Ashford Aylesbury Vale Babergh Barrow-in-Furness Basildon Basingstoke and Deane Bassetlaw Bath Beaconsfield Berwick-upon-Tweed Beverley Blaby Blackburn Blackpool Blyth Valley Bolsover Boothferry Boston Bournemouth Bracknell Braintree Breckland Brentwood Bridgnorth Brighton Bristol Broadland Bromsgrove Broxbourne Broxtowe Burnley Cambridge Cannock Chase Canterbury Caradon Carlisle Carrick Castle Morpeth Castle Point Charnwood Chelmsford Cheltenham Cherwell Chester Chesterfield Chester-le-Street Chichester Chiltern Chorley Christchurch Cleethorpes Colchester Congleton Copeland Corby Cotswold Craven Crawley Crewe and Nantwich Dacorum Darlington Dartford Daventry Derby Derwentside Dover Durham Easington East Cambridgeshire East Devon East Hampshire East Hertfordshire East Lindsey East Northamptonshire East Staffordshire Eastbourne Eastleigh Eden Ellesmere Port and Neston Elmbridge Epping Forest Epsom and Ewell Erewash Exeter Fareham Fenland Forest Heath Forest of Dean Fylde Gedling Gillingham Glanford Gloucester Gosport Gravesham Great Yarmouth Grimsby Guildford Halton Hambleton Harborough Harlow Harrogate Hart Hartlepool Hastings Havant Hereford Hertsmere High Peak Hinckley and Bosworth Holderness Horsham Hove Huntingdon Hyndburn Ipswich Kennet Kerrier Kettering Kingston upon Hull Kingswood Lancaster Langbaurgh Leicester Leominster Lewes Lichfield Lincoln Luton Macclesfield Maidstone Maldon Malvern Hills Mansfield Medina Medway Melton Mendip Mid Bedfordshire Mid Devon Mid Suffolk Mid Sussex Middlesbrough Milton Keynes Mole Valley New Forest Newark Newbury Newcastle-under-Lyme North Bedfordshire North Cornwall North Devon North Dorset North East Derbyshire North Hertfordshire North Kesteven North Norfolk North Shropshire North Warwickshire North West Leicestershire North Wiltshire North Wolds Northampton Northavon Norwich Nottingham Nuneaton Oadby and Wigston Oswestry Oxford Pendle Penwith Peterborough Plymouth Poole Portsmouth Preston Purbeck Reading Redditch Reigate and Banstead Restormel Ribble Valley Richmondshire Rochford Rossendale Rother Rugby Runnymede Rushcliffe Rushmoor Rutland Ryedale Salisbury Scarborough Scunthorpe Sedgefield Sedgemoor Selby Sevenoaks Shepway Shrewsbury and Atcham Slough South Bedfordshire South Cambridgeshire South Derbyshire South Hams South Herefordshire South Holland South Kesteven South Lakeland South Norfolk South Northamptonshire South Oxfordshire South Ribble South Shropshire South Staffordshire South Wight Southampton Southend-on-Sea Spelthorne St Albans St Edmundsbury Stafford Staffordshire Moorlands Stevenage Stockton-on-Tees Stoke-on-Trent Stratford-on-Avon Stroud Suffolk Coastal Surrey Heath Swale Tamworth Tandridge Taunton Deane Teesdale Teignbridge Tendring Test Valley Tewkesbury Thamesdown Thanet The Wrekin Three Rivers Thurrock Tonbridge and Malling Torbay Torridge Tunbridge Wells Tynedale Uttlesford Vale of White Horse Vale Royal Wansbeck Wansdyke Warrington Warwick Watford Waveney Waverley Wealden Wear Valley Wellingborough Welwyn Hatfield West Derbyshire West Devon West Dorset West Lancashire West Lindsey West Norfolk West Oxfordshire West Somerset West Wiltshire Weymouth and Portland Wimborne Winchester Windsor and Maidenhead Woking Wokingham Woodspring Worcester Worthing Wychavon Wycombe Wyre Wyre Forest Yeovil York
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Referendums	Scottish devolution Welsh devolution
See also: UK General election European Parliament election

• 1979 English local elections
• Reading Borough Council elections
• 1970s in Berkshire