1987 Reading Borough Council election

1987 Reading Borough Council election

7 May 1987 (1987-05-07)

15 seats of 45 on council
23 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Lab
Con
Lib
Leader Mike Orton Geoff Canning Jim Day
Party Labour Conservative Liberal
Alliance Alliance
Seats before 22 17 6
Seats after 24 16 5
Seat change 2 1 1
Popular vote 14,358 18,993 12,343
Percentage 31.0% 41.0% 26.7%
Swing 5.4% 8.2% 1.8%

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.