The Leeds City Council elections were held on Thursday, 8 May 1986, with one third of the council and a vacancy in Halton to be elected, following the resignation by Conservative incumbent Martin Dodgson in March. Prior to that, there had been a defection by the former-Alliance councillor in Armley, Sandy Melville, to Independent in January and a sacking (from committees) and de-selection as Labour candidate for Wortley for Pat Fathers after he was found to be leaking information the previous December.

Although largely a re-run of the last election's wins (with an extra victory in Pudsey South) for Labour, these seats having been last fought in the 1982 election with a much stronger performance from the Conservatives resulted in a handful of gains for Labour. The Conservatives continued their decline, winning less than a quarter of the wards for the first time, with their wins mostly confined to the north of the city facing an increasingly competitive Alliance there. The Alliance, resurgent after much of their 1982 spike had looked to be ebbing away, were now close to usurping the Conservatives for second place in votes.

Labour captured the remaining Tory seats in Barwick & Kippax and Garforth & Swillington, and increased their representation in Morley North and Pudsey South with gains from the weakened Conservatives there. Labour also gained the sole Alliance seat in Richmond Hill, and came within 26 votes from gaining Armley from them. The Alliance however managed to offset their loss with a gain of their own in Moortown, ousting prominent Tory Sydney Symmonds.^[1]

Leeds Local Election Result 1986

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	20	5	0	+5	58.8	41.9	91,312	-0.8%
	Conservative	9	0	5	-5	26.5	29.8	64,949	-3.2%
	Alliance	5	1	1	0	14.7	27.6	60,036	+5.0%
	Green	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.4	861	+0.2%
	Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.1	223	-0.0%
	Revolutionary Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.1	151	+0.1%
	Independent	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.1	135	-1.2%
	BNP	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	69	+0.0%
	National Front	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	58	+0.0%

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

Party		Previous council	New council
	Labour	53	58
	Conservatives	33	28
	Alliance	11	11
	Independent	2	2
Total		99	99
Working majority		7	17

Aireborough^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Atkinson	3,260	38.2	−4.5
	Alliance (Liberal)	J. Brown	2,841	33.3	+7.0
	Labour	M. Dunn	2,432	28.5	−2.5
Majority			419	4.9	−6.8
Turnout			8,533
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.7

Armley^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance (Liberal)	M. Roberts	2,465	41.7	−14.2
	Labour	L. Hodgson	2,439	41.3	+11.8
	Conservative	E. McKimmings	951	16.1	+1.5
	Independent	S. McBarron	55	0.9	+0.9
Majority			26	0.4	−26.0
Turnout			5,910
	Alliance hold		Swing	-13.0

Barwick & Kippax^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Parker	4,111	52.2	+1.9
	Conservative	B. Rowley	2,612	33.2	−6.1
	Alliance (SDP)	N. Snowdon	1,155	14.7	+4.2
Majority			1,499	19.0	+8.0
Turnout			7,878
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.0

Beeston^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jon Trickett	2,812	61.0	−1.7
	Conservative	H. Woodhead	1,078	23.4	−4.9
	Alliance (Liberal)	S. Holland	723	15.7	+7.3
Majority			1,734	37.6	+3.2
Turnout			4,613
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.6

Bramley^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Atkinson	3,302	57.3	+4.1
	Alliance (Liberal)	M. Tones	1,522	26.4	−7.2
	Conservative	L. Hargreaves	940	16.3	+3.1
Majority			1,780	30.9	+11.3
Turnout			5,764
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.6

Burmantofts^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance (Liberal)	M. Clay	3,399	50.0	−0.4
	Labour	B. Ewart	2,977	43.8	−0.1
	Conservative	C. Jones	380	5.6	+0.0
	Communist	M. Monkman	37	0.5	+0.5
Majority			422	6.2	−0.4
Turnout			6,793
	Alliance hold		Swing	-0.1

Chapel Allerton^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	N. Taggart	3,845	62.9	+3.0
	Conservative	B. Sampford	1,318	21.6	−5.2
	Alliance (Liberal)	T. Garbett	953	15.6	+3.5
Majority			2,527	41.3	+8.2
Turnout			6,116
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.1

City & Holbeck^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Myers	3,350	69.6	+0.4
	Alliance (Liberal)	J. Clay	845	17.6	−2.2
	Conservative	G. Dye	617	12.8	+1.8
Majority			2,505	52.1	+2.7
Turnout			4,812
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.3

Cookridge^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Carter	3,788	47.7	−1.0
	Alliance (Liberal)	M. Cooksey	2,748	34.6	+4.4
	Labour	B. Dale	1,406	17.7	−3.4
Majority			1,040	13.1	−5.4
Turnout			7,942
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.7

Garforth & Swillington^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Groves	3,743	45.0	−6.7
	Conservative	N. May	2,825	34.0	−3.5
	Alliance (SDP)	E. Ayres	1,752	21.1	+10.1
Majority			918	11.0	−3.2
Turnout			8,320
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	-1.6

Halton^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Schofield	3,142	44.1	−9.1
	Conservative	D. Wood	3,028
	Labour	M. Burton	2,270	31.9	−3.0
	Labour	K. Prior	2,099
	Alliance (SDP)	A. Readman	1,712	24.0	+12.1
	Alliance (SDP)	T. Ayres	1,608
Majority			758	12.2	−6.2
Turnout			7,124
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.0

Harehills^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Briggs	3,031	51.2	−13.0
	Alliance (Liberal)	C. Holden	2,084	35.2	+22.9
	Conservative	K. Weightman	730	12.3	−11.2
	Revolutionary Communist	E. Oliver	75	1.3	+1.3
Majority			947	16.0	−24.6
Turnout			5,920
	Labour hold		Swing	-17.9

Headingley^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Truswell	3,317	47.4	−9.4
	Alliance (Liberal)	A. Shaw	1,970	28.2	+16.9
	Conservative	S. Gordon	1,273	18.2	−9.3
	Green	G. Rainford	371	5.3	+1.8
	Communist	I. Dixon	66	0.9	+0.0
Majority			1,347	19.3	−9.9
Turnout			6,997
	Labour hold		Swing	-13.1

Horsforth^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance (Liberal)	J. Cummins	3,704	46.2	−2.8
	Conservative	S. Whitehead	3,112	38.8	−3.1
	Labour	F. Hamilton	1,210	15.1	+5.8
Majority			592	7.4	+0.3
Turnout			8,026
	Alliance hold		Swing	+0.1

Hunslet^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Gunnell	2,423	76.3	−6.5
	Alliance (Liberal)	D. Hollingsworth	365	11.5	+2.4
	Conservative	H. Lavery	331	10.4	+2.3
	National Front	H. Hilton	58	1.8	+1.8
Majority			2,058	64.8	−9.0
Turnout			3,177
	Labour hold		Swing	-4.4

Kirkstall^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bernard Atha	3,450	57.0	+2.0
	Alliance (Liberal)	N. Batterham	1,536	25.4	+4.1
	Conservative	S. Morris	1,071	17.7	−5.1
Majority			1,914	31.6	−0.6
Turnout			6,057
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.0

Middleton^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	L. Middleton	3,112	72.4	−2.4
	Conservative	A. Larvin	630	14.7	−0.9
	Alliance (SDP)	S. Cohen	522	12.2	+2.5
	Revolutionary Communist	R. Matthews	32	0.7	+0.7
Majority			2,482	57.8	−1.5
Turnout			4,296
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.7

Moortown^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance (Liberal)	W. Winlow	3,987	50.9	+5.9
	Conservative	S. Symmonds	2,562	32.7	−7.1
	Labour	M. Stinson	1,277	16.3	+1.2
Majority			1,425	18.2	+13.0
Turnout			7,826
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.5

Morley North^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. Fitzpatrick	3,126	44.2	−6.9
	Conservative	R. Verity	2,650	37.5	−3.8
	Alliance (SDP)	P. Haywood	1,300	18.4	+10.7
Majority			476	6.7	−3.1
Turnout			7,076
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	-1.5

Morley South^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	K. Burnley	3,340	57.0	−3.9
	Conservative	A. Grayson	1,577	26.9	−0.6
	Alliance (SDP)	H. Smith	945	16.1	+4.5
Majority			1,763	30.1	−3.3
Turnout			5,862
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.6

North^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. Sibbald	3,327	47.3	−4.3
	Alliance (SDP)	D. Midgley	2,605	37.0	+9.3
	Labour	B. Selby	1,107	15.7	−5.0
Majority			722	10.3	−13.6
Turnout			7,039
	Conservative hold		Swing	-6.8

Otley & Wharfedale^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance (Liberal)	C. Campbell	4,062	42.8	+1.7
	Conservative	G. Francis	3,615	38.0	−5.6
	Labour	M. Attwood	1,531	16.1	+2.3
	Green	A. Stevens	293	3.1	+1.6
Majority			447	4.7	+2.2
Turnout			9,501
	Alliance hold		Swing	+3.6

Pudsey North^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Bashall	3,175	39.0	−12.1
	Labour	J. McKenna	2,585	31.7	−5.3
	Alliance (Liberal)	C. Garner	2,383	29.3	+17.4
Majority			590	7.2	−6.9
Turnout			8,143
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.4

Pudsey South^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Lewis	3,051	43.1	+11.7
	Conservative	J. Mortimer	2,217	31.3	+10.1
	Alliance (SDP)	P. Garbutt	1,808	25.6	+14.9
Majority			834	11.8	+6.5
Turnout			7,076
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+0.8

Richmond Hill^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. McGee	4,163	69.1	+12.9
	Alliance (Liberal)	K. Norman	1,300	21.6	−16.6
	Conservative	D. Boynton	492	8.2	+2.6
	BNP	D. Owens	69	1.1	+1.1
Majority			2,863	47.5	+29.5
Turnout			6,024
	Labour gain from Alliance		Swing	+14.7

Rothwell^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Hudson	3,756	65.0	−3.3
	Conservative	B. Caro	1,181	20.4	−1.3
	Alliance (SDP)	S. Browning	840	14.5	+4.6
Majority			2,575	44.6	−1.9
Turnout			5,777
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.0

Roundhay^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. White	3,807	52.6	−8.4
	Alliance (SDP)	C. Fieldhouse	2,162	29.9	+9.4
	Labour	R. Darrington	1,271	17.6	−1.0
Majority			1,645	22.7	−17.8
Turnout			7,240
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.9

Seacroft^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Vollans	3,404	71.9	−0.2
	Conservative	D. Townsley	707	14.9	−5.1
	Alliance (SDP)	D. Parr	582	12.3	+4.4
	Revolutionary Communist	E. McEvoy	44	0.9	+0.9
Majority			2,697	56.9	+4.9
Turnout			4,737
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.4

University^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Jenner	3,258	70.7	+0.0
	Alliance (SDP)	J. Clifton	704	15.3	+2.7
	Conservative	A. Savage	527	11.4	−2.9
	Communist	R. Honey	120	2.6	+0.2
Majority			2,554	55.4	−1.0
Turnout			4,609
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.3

Weetwood^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Hamilton	3,195	37.8	−3.3
	Labour	J. Page	2,987	35.3	−3.0
	Alliance (SDP)	K. Lee	2,079	24.6	+6.5
	Green	C. Nash	197	2.3	−0.2
Majority			208	2.5	−0.2
Turnout			8,458
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.1

Wetherby^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Gray	4,715	62.1	−8.2
	Alliance (Liberal)	T. Burgess	1,875	24.7	+7.5
	Labour	C. Dews	1,001	13.2	+0.7
Majority			2,840	37.4	−15.8
Turnout			7,591
	Conservative hold		Swing	-7.8

Whinmoor^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Platt	3,002	53.8	+0.3
	Conservative	M. Silversides	1,809	32.4	−2.9
	Alliance (SDP)	G. Boustead	767	13.8	+2.7
Majority			1,193	21.4	+3.2
Turnout			5,578
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.6

Wortley^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Bedford	3,223	46.2	+5.2
	Alliance (Liberal)	L. Thackray	2,341	33.5	−1.7
	Conservative	H. Connah	1,335	19.1	−4.6
	Independent	L. Wilkinson	80	1.1	+1.1
Majority			882	12.6	+6.8
Turnout			6,979
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.4

Aireborough by-election 18 August 1986
replacing T. Hawkins^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance (Liberal)	Janet Brown	3,008	43.9	+10.6
	Conservative	Barbara Widdop	2,095	30.6	−7.6
	Labour	Mora Dunn	1,741	25.4	−3.1
Majority			913	13.3	+8.4
Turnout			6,844	35.2	−8.6
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing	+9.1