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{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox election
{{Infobox election
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| last_election1 =
| last_election1 =
| popular_vote1 =
| popular_vote1 =
| percentage1 = 44.0
| percentage1 = '''44.0'''
| seats1 =223
| seats1 ='''223'''
| seat_change1 =-
| seat_change1 =-
| swing1={{increase}}0.1
| swing1={{increase}}0.1
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}}
}}


'''Regional elections''' were held in [[Scotland]] on Thursday 3 May 1990, as part of the [[Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973]], and were the first test of public opinion on the [[Poll tax (Great Britain)|Community Charge]], which had been introduced in Scotland in 1989.
Regional elections were held in [[Scotland]] on Thursday 3 May 1990, as part of the [[Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973]], and were the first test of public opinion on the [[Poll tax (Great Britain)|Community Charge]], which had been introduced in Scotland in 1989.


==National results==
==National results==
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!Net<br />Gain/Loss
!Net<br />Gain/Loss
|-
|-
{{Party name with colour|Scottish Labour Party}}
| {{Party name with colour|Scottish Labour Party}}
|729,922
|729,922
|44.0
|44.0
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|
|
|-
|-
{{Party name with colour|Scottish National Party}}
| {{Party name with colour|Scottish National Party}}
|372,770
|372,770
|21.8
|21.8
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|
|
|-
|-
{{Party name with colour|Scottish Conservative Party}}
| {{Party name with colour|Scottish Conservative Party}}
|333,823
|333,823
|19.2
|19.2
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|
|
|-
|-
{{Party name with colour|Social and Liberal Democrats}}
| {{Party name with colour|Scottish Liberal Democrats}}
|147,122
|147,122
|8.0
|8.0
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|
|
|-
|-
{{Party name with colour|Independent (politician)}}
| {{Party name with colour|Independent (politician)}}
|76,516
|76,516
|5
|5.0
|
|
|73
|73
|
|
|-
|-
{{Party name with colour|Scottish Green Party|Green}}
| {{Party name with colour|Scottish Green Party}}
|35,048
|35,048
|2
|2.0
|
|
|1
|1
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|Other Parties
|Other Parties
|15,140
|15,140
|2
|2.0
|
|
|4
|4
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==Party performance==
==Party performance==
The [[Scottish Labour|Labour Party]] dominated the election, gaining the most seats and votes, even though their total vote was slightly down compared with [[1986 Scottish regional elections|1986]]. This was the last election fought under the leadership of [[Margaret Thatcher]], and her [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] suffered a decline of 13 seats, mainly due to the introduction of the unpopular [[Poll Tax]] in 1989. The Conservative Government had recently given tax concessions to ratepayers in England and Wales, excluding Scotland, with criticism extended in particular to then-[[Secretary of State for Scotland]] [[Malcolm Rifkind]], who was portrayed to not care about the interests of Scotland.
The [[Scottish Labour|Labour Party]] dominated the election, gaining the most seats and votes, even though their total vote was slightly down compared with [[1986 Scottish regional elections|1986]]. This was the last election fought under the leadership of [[Margaret Thatcher]], and her [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] suffered a decline of 13 seats, mainly due to the introduction of the unpopular [[Poll Tax]] in 1989. The Conservative Government had recently given tax concessions to ratepayers in England and Wales, excluding Scotland, with criticism extended in particular to then-[[Secretary of State for Scotland]] [[Malcolm Rifkind]], who was portrayed to not care about the interests of Scotland.


The newly formed [[Social and Liberal Democrats]] (a merger of the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|SDP]] and [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberals]]) fared badly, dropping 6.4% of the vote that the [[SDP-Liberal Alliance|Alliance]] had took at the previous election. Despite this, they stayed stationary on 40 seats.
The newly formed [[Social and Liberal Democrats]] (a merger of the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|SDP]] and [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberals]]) fared badly, dropping 6.4% of the vote that the [[SDP-Liberal Alliance|Alliance]] had taken at the previous election. Despite this, they stayed stationary on 40 seats.
The [[Scottish National Party]], once again the second-largest party in terms of vote share, benefitted from modest gains to take almost 22% of the vote. The [[Scottish Greens]] gained their first ever councillor in the Highland region. Turnout was marginally up 0.3% to 45.9%.<ref name=Results />
The [[Scottish National Party]], once again the second-largest party in terms of vote share, benefitted from modest gains to take almost 22% of the vote. The [[Scottish Greens]] gained their first ever councillor in the Highland region. Turnout was marginally up 0.3% to 45.9%.<ref name=Results />


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| 42.6%
| 42.6%
| [[1990 Borders Regional Council election|Details]]
| [[1990 Borders Regional Council election|Details]]
{{Party name with colour|Independent (politician)}} hold
| {{Party name with colour|Independent (politician)}} hold
|-
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Central Region, Scotland|Central]]
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Central Region, Scotland|Central]]
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| 49.1%
| 49.1%
| [[1990 Central Regional Council election|Details]]
| [[1990 Central Regional Council election|Details]]
{{party name with colour|Scottish Labour}} hold
| {{party name with colour|Scottish Labour}} hold
|-
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Dumfries and Galloway]]
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Dumfries and Galloway]]
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| 2
| 2
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 19
| 35
| 35
| 44.4%
| 44.4%
| [[1990 Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council election|Details]]
| [[1990 Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council election|Details]]
{{Party name with colour|Independent politician}} hold
| {{Party name with colour|Independent politician}} hold
|-
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Fife]]
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Fife]]
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| 46.5%
| 46.5%
| [[1990 Fife Regional Council election|Details]]
| [[1990 Fife Regional Council election|Details]]
{{party name with colour|Scottish Labour}} hold
| {{party name with colour|Scottish Labour}} hold
|-
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Grampian]]
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Grampian]]
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| 41%
| 41%
| [[1990 Grampian Regional Council election|Details]]
| [[1990 Grampian Regional Council election|Details]]
{{Party name with colour|No overall control}} hold
| {{Party name with colour|No overall control}} hold
|-
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Highland (council area)|Highland]]
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Highland (council area)|Highland]]
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| 42.9%
| 42.9%
| [[1990 Highland Regional Council election|Details]]
| [[1990 Highland Regional Council election|Details]]
{{Party name with colour|Independent (politician)}} hold
| {{Party name with colour|Independent (politician)}} hold
|-
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Lothian]]
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Lothian]]
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| 50.2%
| 50.2%
| [[1990 Lothian Regional Council election|Details]]
| [[1990 Lothian Regional Council election|Details]]
{{party name with colour|Scottish Labour Party}} hold
| {{party name with colour|Scottish Labour Party}} hold
|-
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Orkney]]
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Orkney]]
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| ??%
| ??%
| [[1990 Orkney Islands Council election|Details]]
| [[1990 Orkney Islands Council election|Details]]
{{Party name with colour|Independent (politician)}} hold
| {{Party name with colour|Independent (politician)}} hold
|-
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Shetland Islands|Shetland]]
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Shetland Islands|Shetland]]
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| ??%
| ??%
| [[1990 Shetland Islands Council election|Details]]
| [[1990 Shetland Islands Council election|Details]]
{{Party name with colour|Independent (politician)}} hold
| {{Party name with colour|Independent (politician)}} hold
|-
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Strathclyde]]
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Strathclyde]]
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| 45%
| 45%
| | [[1990 Strathclyde Regional Council election|Details]]
| | [[1990 Strathclyde Regional Council election|Details]]
{{party name with colour|Scottish Labour Party}} hold
| {{party name with colour|Scottish Labour Party}} hold
|-
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Tayside]]
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Tayside]]
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| 47.8%
| 47.8%
| [[1990 Tayside Regional Council election|Details]]
| [[1990 Tayside Regional Council election|Details]]
{{Party name with colour|No overall control}} hold
| {{Party name with colour|No overall control}} hold
|-
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Outer Hebrides|Western Isles]]
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Outer Hebrides|Western Isles]]
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| ??%
| ??%
| [[1990 Western Isles Area Council election|Details]]
| [[1990 Western Isles Area Council election|Details]]
{{Party name with colour|Independent (politician)}} hold
| {{Party name with colour|Independent (politician)}} hold
|-
|-
|}
|}

Latest revision as of 08:22, 11 August 2024

1990 Scottish regional elections
← 1988 3 May 1990 (1990-05-03) 1992 →
  First party Second party
  Margaret Thatcher
Leader Neil Kinnock Margaret Thatcher
Party Labour Conservative
Leader since 2 October 1983 11 February 1975
Seats won 223 52
Seat change - Decrease13
Percentage 44.0 19.2
Swing Increase0.1 Increase2.3
  Third party Fourth party
  David Steel
Leader Gordon Wilson Malcolm Bruce
Party SNP Liberal Democrats
Leader since 15 September 1979 3 March 1988
Seats won 42 40
Seat change Increase6 -
Percentage 21.8 8.0
Swing Increase3.6 Decrease7.1
Colours denote the winning party with outright control
Results by ward

Regional elections were held in Scotland on Thursday 3 May 1990, as part of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, and were the first test of public opinion on the Community Charge, which had been introduced in Scotland in 1989.

National results

[edit]
Summary of the 1990 Scottish regional council election results[1][2]
Parties Votes[a] Votes % +/- Wards Net
Gain/Loss
Labour 729,922 44.0 223
SNP 372,770 21.8 42
Conservative 333,823 19.2 52
Liberal Democrats 147,122 8.0 40
Independent 76,516 5.0 73
Scottish Green 35,048 2.0 1
Other Parties 15,140 2.0 4
  1. ^ This column does not include the three island areas

Party performance

[edit]

The Labour Party dominated the election, gaining the most seats and votes, even though their total vote was slightly down compared with 1986. This was the last election fought under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, and her Conservative Party suffered a decline of 13 seats, mainly due to the introduction of the unpopular Poll Tax in 1989. The Conservative Government had recently given tax concessions to ratepayers in England and Wales, excluding Scotland, with criticism extended in particular to then-Secretary of State for Scotland Malcolm Rifkind, who was portrayed to not care about the interests of Scotland.

The newly formed Social and Liberal Democrats (a merger of the SDP and Liberals) fared badly, dropping 6.4% of the vote that the Alliance had taken at the previous election. Despite this, they stayed stationary on 40 seats. The Scottish National Party, once again the second-largest party in terms of vote share, benefitted from modest gains to take almost 22% of the vote. The Scottish Greens gained their first ever councillor in the Highland region. Turnout was marginally up 0.3% to 45.9%.[2]

Results by council area

[edit]
Council LAB CON SLD SNP GRN OTH Wards Turnout Details Control
Borders 0 3 6 2 0 11 22 42.6% Details Independent hold
Central 22 5 6 0 0 1 34 49.1% Details Labour hold
Dumfries and Galloway 10 0 4 2 0 19 35 44.4% Details Independent hold
Fife 30 2 2 10 0 1 46 46.5% Details Labour hold
Grampian 19 10 14 11 0 3 57 41% Details No overall control hold
Highland 10 1 2 3 1 35 52 42.9% Details Independent hold
Lothian 34 12 1 2 0 0 49 50.2% Details Labour hold
Orkney 0 - - - - 24 24 ??% Details Independent hold
Shetland 4 - - - - 21 25 ??% Details Independent hold
Strathclyde 89 5 1 5 0 2 103 45% Details Labour hold
Tayside 18 14 10 2 0 0 46 47.8% Details No overall control hold
Western Isles 0 - - - - 30 30 ??% Details Independent hold

References

[edit]
  1. ^ McConnell, Alan (2004), Scottish Local Government, Edinburgh University Press, ISBN 978-0-7486-2005-0
  2. ^ a b "The Scottish Regional Elections 1990" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 March 2020.


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