1981 Northern Ireland local elections

1981 Northern Ireland local elections

← 1977 20 May 1981 1985 →

All council seats
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader James Molyneaux Ian Paisley John Hume
Party UUP DUP SDLP
Seats won 151 142 104
Seat change Decrease 25 Increase 68 Decrease 9
Popular vote 175,965 176,816 116,487
Percentage 26.4% 26.6% 17.5%
Swing Decrease3.6% Increase13.8% Decrease3.1%

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Oliver Napier N/A Pat Fahy
Party Alliance Independent Irish Independence
Seats won 38 37 21
Seat change Decrease 32 Decrease 5 Increase 21
Popular vote 59,397 44,427 25,859
Percentage 8.9% 6.7% 3.9%
Swing Decrease5.5% Decrease0.9% New party

Colours denote the winning party with outright control

Colours denote the party with the most seats

Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland in 1981, contesting 526 seats in all.