The Leeds City Council elections were held on Thursday, 4 May 1990, with one third of the council and two casual vacancies in Beeston and North to be elected. There had been a number of by-elections in the interim, resulting in two Labour gains in Armley and Burmantofts from the Social and Liberal Democrats and holds elsewhere.

The election was held amidst deep unpopularity for the Conservative national government and their poll tax measure, resulting in the party's worst ever performance in the English locals.^[1] The effects it had in Leeds were no less severe, with the party obtaining a record low vote share, with their victories confined to just 4 of the 33 wards, restricted to their Northern heartlands – Cookridge, North, Roundhay and Wetherby – losing stalwarts Aireborough, Halton, Pudsey North and Weetwood to Labour for the first time.

Both the Conservative vote and the SLD vote were little changed from the previous election; the landslide was caused by a remarkable increase in Labour's vote – over 50% on recent elections – bringing with it a record turnout (with 1979 omitted). The SLD's slate was notably much reduced, fielding their lowest number of candidates since 1978, after their fall-back at their last outing. Similar to the last election, their sole loss was found in Armley to Labour, narrowly holding onto Otley & Wharfedale, but much more comfortably their Horsforth and Moortown seats. In total, Labour's five gains extended their majority by ten, comfortably surpassing party records in votes, vote share and council majority.

Elsewhere, the leader of the newly formed Liberal Party Michael Meadowcroft – alongside his fellow candidate in Harehills – won a respectable second place in Bramley. Meanwhile, their fellow SLD defectors, the SDP joined the Communists in producing just one candidate – with both collecting negligible support, suggesting possible demise (with the latter likely adversely impacted by recent international events).^[2]

Leeds Local Election Result 1990

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	27	5	0	+5	77.1	56.1	141,610	+9.9%
	Conservative	5	0	4	-4	14.3	26.7	67,284	-6.3%
	SLD	3	0	1	-1	8.6	14.4	36,325	-2.7%
	Green	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.4	3,481	+0.6%
	Liberal	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.0	2,623	+1.0%
	Independent	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.2	626	-1.6%
	SDP	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.1	256	-0.8%
	National Front	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	109	+0.0%
	Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	67	-0.2%

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

Party		Previous council	New council
	Labour	61	66
	Conservative	25	21
	SLD	12	11
	Independent	1	1
Total		99	99
Working majority		23	33

Aireborough^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Dunn	4,672	45.3	+14.1
	Conservative	M. Atkinson	3,914	38.0	−5.8
	SLD	D. Gowland	1,726	16.7	−8.3
Majority			758	7.4	−5.1
Turnout			10,312
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+9.9

Armley^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Lowe	4,788	67.0	+12.1
	Conservative	R. Mundell	1,256	17.6	−1.6
	SLD	D. Colton	1,099	15.4	−10.4
Majority			3,532	49.4	+22.5
Turnout			7,143
	Labour gain from SLD		Swing	+11.2

Barwick & Kippax^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Parker	6,002	62.7	+3.9
	Conservative	John Procter	2,532	26.5	−8.7
	SLD	G. Roberts	600	6.3	+0.3
	Green	D. Corry	436	4.6	+4.6
Majority			3,470	36.3	+12.6
Turnout			9,570
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.3

Beeston^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jon Trickett	4,180	72.3	+4.5
	Labour	D. Congreve	3,690
	Conservative	A. Rhodes	1,009	17.5	−7.5
	Conservative	H. Woodhead	929
	Green	D. Blakemore	590	10.2	+10.2
Majority			3,171	54.9	+12.0
Turnout			5,779
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.0

Bramley^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Atkinson	4,867	65.9	−2.9
	Liberal	Michael Meadowcroft	1,831	24.8	+24.8
	Conservative	T. Cooper	689	9.3	−7.4
Majority			3,036	41.1	−10.9
Turnout			7,387
	Labour hold		Swing	-13.8

Burmantofts^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Butterfield	4,267	63.7	+19.4
	SLD	T. Ineson	2,030	30.3	−19.2
	Conservative	C. Wilson	399	6.0	−0.2
Majority			2,237	33.4	+28.3
Turnout			6,696
	Labour hold		Swing	+19.3

Chapel Allerton^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	N. Taggart	4,772	72.7	+7.3
	Conservative	P. Lawton	1,215	18.5	−5.4
	SLD	J. Levy	578	8.8	+3.6
Majority			3,557	54.2	+12.8
Turnout			6,565
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.4

City & Holbeck^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Myers	4,843	79.1	+2.1
	SLD	A. Davies	701	11.5	+3.8
	Conservative	D. Boynton	576	9.4	−6.0
Majority			4,142	67.7	+6.1
Turnout			6,120
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.8

Cookridge^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Carter	4,143	48.8	−11.5
	Labour	G. Morrison	3,063	36.1	+13.0
	SLD	E. Brazier	1,278	15.1	+3.8
Majority			1,080	12.7	−24.5
Turnout			8,484
	Conservative hold		Swing	-12.2

Garforth & Swillington^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Groves	6,239	67.1	+9.7
	Conservative	C. Jones	2,133	23.0	−13.2
	SLD	R. Hutchinson	921	9.9	+3.6
Majority			4,106	44.2	+22.9
Turnout			9,293
	Labour hold		Swing	+11.4

Halton^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Sully	3,840	44.9	+11.1
	Conservative	D. Schofield	3,569	41.7	−12.9
	SLD	D. Hollingsworth	1,149	13.4	+1.7
Majority			271	3.2	−17.6
Turnout			8,558
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+12.0

Harehills^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	U. Ryatt	3,906	64.8	−0.7
	Liberal	R. Senior	792	13.1	+13.1
	Conservative	K. Weightman	708	11.7	−3.7
	Independent	S. Prasad	449	7.4	+7.4
	Independent	D. Talbot	177	2.9	+2.9
Majority			3,114	51.6	+5.2
Turnout			6,032
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.9

Headingley^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Truswell	3,965	55.1	+13.3
	SLD	C. Shaw	1,250	17.4	−12.7
	Conservative	G. Castle	1,058	14.7	−0.7
	Green	G. Rainford	850	11.8	+2.4
	Communist	B. Cooper	67	0.9	−2.3
Majority			2,715	37.8	+26.0
Turnout			7,190
	Labour hold		Swing	+13.0

Horsforth^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SLD	M. Shaw	3,756	42.4	−2.1
	Conservative	R. Richardson	3,032	34.2	−5.8
	Labour	J. Erskine	2,072	23.4	+7.9
Majority			724	8.2	+3.7
Turnout			8,860
	SLD hold		Swing	+1.8

Hunslet^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Gunnell	4,619	91.0	+13.1
	Conservative	D. Thomas	458	9.0	−1.5
Majority			4,161	82.0	+14.7
Turnout			5,077
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.3

Kirkstall^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bernard Atha	5,507	81.8	+15.3
	Conservative	S. McBarron	1,229	18.2	−0.8
Majority			4,278	63.5	+16.1
Turnout			6,736
	Labour hold		Swing	+8.0

Middleton^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	L. Middleton	4,876	85.6	+8.2
	Conservative	A. Wright	823	14.4	−1.4
Majority			4,053	71.1	+9.6
Turnout			5,699
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.8

Moortown^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SLD	W. Winlow	3,737	44.9	−2.7
	Conservative	C. Thompson	2,430	29.2	−4.9
	Labour	J. Talbot	2,164	26.0	+7.6
Majority			1,307	15.7	+2.2
Turnout			8,331
	SLD hold		Swing	+1.1

Morley North^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. Jones	5,390	66.0	+15.2
	Conservative	J. Galek	2,772	34.0	−5.6
Majority			2,618	32.1	+20.9
Turnout			8,162
	Labour hold		Swing	+10.4

Morley South^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	K. Burnley	5,857	67.9	+4.4
	Conservative	L. Frost	1,858	21.5	−7.8
	SLD	T. Leadley	803	9.3	+2.2
	National Front	N. Howard	109	1.3	+1.3
Majority			3,999	46.4	+12.2
Turnout			8,627
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.1

North^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Manning	3,795	49.9	−7.7
	Conservative	P. Harrand	3,621
	Labour	B. Brady	2,432	32.0	+8.3
	Labour	J. Lister	2,206
	SLD	R. Barr	1,115	14.7	+1.0
	SLD	D. Dresser	1,091
	SDP	B. Finniestone	256	3.4	−1.6
Majority			1,363	17.9	−16.0
Turnout			7,598
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.0

Otley & Wharfedale^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SLD	C. Campbell	3,681	35.9	+1.2
	Conservative	G. Francis	3,560	34.7	−11.9
	Labour	S. Egan	3,009	29.4	+15.8
Majority			121	1.2	−10.7
Turnout			10,250
	SLD hold		Swing	+6.5

Pudsey North^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Ross	4,304	45.3	+15.9
	Conservative	J. Bashall	3,295	34.7	−17.0
	SLD	J. Heppell	1,897	20.0	+1.1
Majority			1,009	10.6	−11.6
Turnout			9,496
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+16.4

Pudsey South^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Lewis	4,734	56.4	+26.8
	Conservative	R. Cam	2,147	25.6	+4.6
	SLD	A. Fleet	1,508	18.0	+15.0
Majority			2,587	30.8	+14.0
Turnout			8,389
	Labour hold		Swing	+11.1

Richmond Hill^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. McGee	5,141	80.1	+1.0
	SLD	K. Norman	787	12.3	+2.6
	Conservative	W. Birch	490	7.6	−3.5
Majority			4,354	67.8	−0.2
Turnout			6,418
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.8

Rothwell^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Hudson	4,695	63.1	−3.4
	Conservative	A. Heeson	1,464	19.7	−6.3
	SLD	A. Barber	1,276	17.2	+9.6
Majority			3,231	43.5	+3.0
Turnout			7,435
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.4

Roundhay^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. White	3,826	46.8	−10.0
	Labour	K. Prior	2,844	34.8	+10.2
	SLD	J. Pullan	862	10.5	−3.6
	Green	A. Tear	643	7.9	+3.4
Majority			982	12.0	−20.2
Turnout			8,175
	Conservative hold		Swing	-10.1

Seacroft^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Vollans	4,729	82.4	+1.1
	Conservative	H. Gill	591	10.3	−3.3
	SLD	S. Fisher	421	7.3	+2.2
Majority			4,138	72.1	+4.4
Turnout			5,741
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.2

University^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Dale	3,883	72.8	−2.0
	Conservative	R. Winfield	553	10.4	−3.4
	Green	A. Begg	491	9.2	+9.2
	SLD	A. Appleyard	405	7.6	−0.3
Majority			3,330	62.5	−1.4
Turnout			5,332
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.7

Weetwood^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Moxon	3,313	41.0	+11.6
	Conservative	J. Hamilton	2,794	34.5	−8.0
	SLD	J. Ewens	1,509	18.7	−6.3
	Green	C. Nash	471	5.8	+2.7
Majority			519	6.4	−6.7
Turnout			8,087
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+9.8

Wetherby^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Evans	5,899	60.3	−6.7
	Labour	J. Postill	2,612	26.7	+10.7
	SLD	J. Macarthur	1,266	12.9	+2.4
Majority			3,287	33.6	−17.3
Turnout			9,777
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.7

Whinmoor^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Hemmingway	4,439	65.4	+8.1
	Conservative	P. Rayner	1,735	25.6	−10.9
	SLD	C. Ward	615	9.1	+2.8
Majority			2,704	39.8	+19.0
Turnout			6,789
	Labour hold		Swing	+9.5

Wortley^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Bedford	5,586	67.5	+7.9
	Conservative	B. Nicol	1,489	18.0	−4.4
	SLD	W. Moss	1,198	14.5	−3.5
Majority			4,097	49.5	+12.2
Turnout			8,273
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.1