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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).^[1]

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.^[2]^[3] 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.^[4]

Results

Reading Borough Council Election, 1979
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes
Conservative	22	1	3	-2	44.9%	44.2%	123,224
Labour	16	3	0	+3	32.7%	31.1%	86,591
Liberal	11	0	1	-1	22.4%	24.6%	68,404
Independent	0				0%	0.1%	176
Communist	0				0%	0.0%	139

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):^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[1]

Abbey Ward (two seats)
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Graham Ransley Chapman	676
Labour	Helen Ruth Kayes	649
Conservative	Keith John Hardie	592
Conservative	John Norman Pearson	566
Labour hold		Swing
Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Battle Ward (two seats)
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Antony William Page†	1,480
Labour	Frances Margaret (Bunty) Nash	1,474
Conservative	Roy Ernest Simmonds	1,043
Conservative	Adel Hamza Fuad	1,009
Labour hold		Swing
Labour hold		Swing

Castle Ward (three seats)
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Graham Anthony Rush*	1,848
Labour	Moira Elizabeth Dickenson	1,705
Labour	Ronald John Williams	1,694
Conservative	Maurice Gordon Lidgley	1,658
Conservative	Roy Tranter	1,657
Conservative	Richard Charles Young	1,547
Communist	Stanley Frederick Cooke	139
Labour hold		Swing
Labour hold		Swing
Labour hold		Swing

Caversham Ward (three seats)
	Candidate	Votes
Conservative	Ronald William Jewitt*	3,248
Conservative	George Frank Robinson*	2,641
Conservative	Frederick Llywelyn Pugh*	2,624
Labour	Thomas Henry Clifton	1,329
Labour	David Daniel Malvern	1,251
Labour	Alexander Pravda	1,113
Liberal	David Henry Oliphant	578
Liberal	Jennifer Ann Lewis	516
Liberal	David Michael Williams	440
Conservative hold		Swing
Conservative hold		Swing
Conservative hold		Swing

Caversham Park Ward (two seats)
	Candidate	Votes
Conservative	Hamish Macbeth	1,622
Conservative	Geoffrey Alan Lowe*	1,544
Liberal	Harold Arnold Stoddart*	1,437
Liberal	Derek Michael Nathan	1,171
Conservative hold		Swing
Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Christchurch Ward (four seats)
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Marian Jeanne Absolom*	2,741
Labour	Peter Francis (Dave) Absolom	2,733
Labour	Christopher John Goodall	2,527
Labour	June Elizabeth Orton	2,389
Conservative	Robert Douglas Cox*	2,053
Conservative	Reginald Bishop*	2,015
Conservative	Gladys Emily Matthews	1,857
Conservative	Vivienne Joy Rose	1,722
Liberal	Philip Ernest Gash	1,045
Liberal	Elizabeth Margaret O'Rourke	910
Liberal	Gladys Ilfreda Massam	896
Liberal	David James Wilson	853
Labour hold		Swing
Labour hold		Swing
Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Katesgrove Ward (two seats)
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Geoffrey Robert Mander*	1,801
Labour	Margaret Stella Singh*	1,703
Conservative	Christina Margaret Rowland	1,185
Conservative	Vera Anne Sutton	1,107
Labour hold		Swing
Labour hold		Swing

Minster Ward (six seats)
	Candidate	Votes
Conservative	Adelina Ethel Baker*	4,235
Conservative	Joseph Edwin Slater	4,128
Conservative	Simon Christopher Coombs*	4,056
Conservative	Charles Frederick Sage*	4,040
Conservative	Lynne Geraldine Bradley	4,033
Conservative	Sydney Harry Harris	3,813
Labour	William George Mander†	3,053
Labour	Kenneth Alan Diment	3,008
Labour	Douglas Ivor Buckley	2,929
Labour	Alaster James Rutherford	2,797
Labour	Frederick John Silverthorne	2,755
Labour	Robert Mitchell	2,603
Liberal	Christopher Bucke	1,448
Liberal	David George Hobbs	1,416
Liberal	Mary Laura Clark	1,400
Liberal	Daphne Janet Holmes	1,340
Conservative hold		Swing
Conservative hold		Swing
Conservative hold		Swing
Conservative hold		Swing
Conservative hold		Swing
Conservative hold		Swing

Norcot Ward (six seats)
	Candidate	Votes
Liberal	Leslie Basil Dunning*	3,376
Liberal	Peter Beard*	3,290
Liberal	Terence James Francis*	3,252
Liberal	John Freeman*	3,233
Liberal	Ann Joan Grant	3,134
Liberal	Max Thomas Heydeman	2,957
Conservative	Martin John Chapman	2,553
Conservative	Cherry Lesley Clark	2,513
Conservative	Mary Irwin	2,508
Conservative	Geoffrey Gascoigne Lawrence†	2,477
Conservative	Peter William Wells	2,364
Conservative	Anthony James Markham	2,362
Labour	Reginald Harry (Joe) Bristow†	2,352
Labour	George Edward Cruse	2,266
Labour	Frank Alfred Harris	2,234
Labour	Peter John Ranson	2,206
Labour	Helen Muriel Hathaway	2,125
Labour	Paul Francis Schofield	2,029
Liberal hold		Swing
Liberal hold		Swing
Liberal hold		Swing
Liberal hold		Swing
Liberal hold		Swing
Liberal hold		Swing

Park Ward (three seats)
	Candidate	Votes
Conservative	Douglas Alan Chilvers*	1,795
Conservative	Stephen John Foley	1,727
Conservative	Frank Neil Rowberry	1,671
Labour	John Francis Ryan	1,605
Labour	Joyclyn Alden (Joe) Williams	1,550
Labour	Ian Warrick	1,528
Liberal	Anthony Paul Dodd	1,048
Liberal	David Paul Gasson	1,015
Liberal	Charles William Looker	909
Conservative hold		Swing
Conservative hold		Swing
Conservative hold		Swing

Redlands Ward (three seats)
	Candidate	Votes
Conservative	John Michael Oliver*	1,824
Conservative	John Derrick Lawford*	1,805
Conservative	Martin Charles Lower*	1,765
Labour	Norman Barry Jones	1,123
Labour	Peter Kenneth Jones	1,103
Labour	Verina R. Jones	1,055
Liberal	David Charles Johnson	1,051
Liberal	Liam Gavin Grant	1,047
Liberal	Suzette Milano	961
Conservative hold		Swing
Conservative hold		Swing
Conservative hold		Swing

Thames Ward (five seats)
	Candidate	Votes
Conservative	Geoffrey Walter Canning	5,845
Conservative	Brian Anthony Fowles	5,704
Conservative	Eric Gordon Davies*	5,687
Conservative	Kathleen Lucy Sage*	5,638
Conservative	Deryck Mitchell Morton*	5,270
Liberal	Edgar Martyn Allies	1,994
Liberal	Katherine Elizabeth Gwinnell	1,810
Liberal	Jill Marianne Green	1,771
Labour	Patricia Mary Mander	1,556
Liberal	Margaret Imogen Pravda	1,529
Labour	Michael William Johnson	1,446
Liberal	Gary Paul Wilkins	1,368
Labour	Gillian Angela Lidbetter	1,322
Labour	Susan Barbara Malvern	1,285
Labour	Graeme Francis St Clair	1,238
Conservative hold		Swing
Conservative hold		Swing
Conservative hold		Swing
Conservative hold		Swing
Conservative hold		Swing

Tilehurst Ward (five seats)
	Candidate	Votes
Liberal	Ronald James (Jim) Day*	4,499
Liberal	Florence Teresa (Paddy) Day*	4,350
Liberal	Janet Brenda Bond	3,651
Liberal	George Henry Ford*	3,610
Liberal	Teresa Macfarlane	3,406
Conservative	Michael John Caseley	2,412
Conservative	Clive Anthony (Robert) Coles	2,262
Conservative	John Maxwell Coote	2,204
Conservative	Terence Kelly	2,177
Conservative	Gillian Glencairn Waite	2,054
Labour	Jennifer Susan Cottee	1,438
Labour	William Phillip Gothard	1,365
Labour	Ann Joan Gothard	1,347
Labour	Sylvia Mary Steele	1,330
Labour	Eric Edgar Merry	1,323
Independent	Maurice Reginald White	176
Liberal hold		Swing
Liberal hold		Swing
Liberal hold		Swing
Liberal hold		Swing
Liberal hold		Swing

Whitley Ward (three seats)
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Doris Ellen Lawrence*	2,662
Labour	Michael Edward Orton*	2,524
Labour	John Rees (Jack) Price*	2,321
Conservative	Joan Eileen Cox	1,620
Conservative	John Gordon Cleminson	1,565
Conservative	Gerald Arthur Hughes	1,427
Liberal	Richard Wilfred Church	585
Liberal	Jean Valerie Parkin	569
Liberal	Norman Arthur Edwards	539
Labour hold		Swing
Labour hold		Swing
Labour hold		Swing

By-elections 1979–1983

Thames by-election 1980

Thames By-Election 24 January 1980
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hamza Fuad	2,320	61.7	−3.1
	Liberal	Martyn Allies	944	25.1	+5.6
	Labour	Pat Mander	497	13.2	−2.5
Majority			1,376	36.6
Turnout			3,761	34
	Conservative hold		Swing

The Thames ward by-election in 1980 was triggered by the resignation of Conservative councillor Eric Davies.^[9]^[10]

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.^[11]^[12]^[13]

Christchurch By-Election 7 May 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Sandy Scaife	1,762	59.1
	Liberal	Felicity Kaplan	1,221	40.9
Majority			541	18.1
Turnout			2,983
	Labour hold		Swing

Redlands By-Election 7 May 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Markham	934	34.8	−11.1
	Labour	Jill Lake	894	33.3	+5.4
	Liberal	Richard Church	853	31.8	+5.7
Majority			40	1.5
Turnout			2,681
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.25

Abbey by-election 1981

Abbey By-Election 24 September 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Silverthorne	437	47.4	−6.0
	Conservative	Norman Pearson	244	26.5	−20.2
	SDP	Howard Rodaway	241	26.1	n/a
Majority			193	20.9
Turnout			922
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.1

The Abbey ward by-election in 1981 was triggered by the resignation of Labour councillor Graham Chapman.^[14]^[15]

References

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