1983 United Kingdom local elections

1983 United Kingdom local elections

← 1982 5 May 1983 1984 →

All 36 metropolitan boroughs, all 296 English districts and all 37 Welsh districts
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Margaret Thatcher (1983).jpg
Michael Foot (1981).jpg
DavidSteel1987 cropped.jpg
Roy Jenkins 1977b.jpg
Leader Margaret Thatcher Michael Foot David Steel
& Roy Jenkins
Party Conservative Labour Alliance
Leader since 11 February 1975 10 November 1980 7 July 1976 (Steel)
2 July 1982 (Jenkins)
Percentage 39% 36% 20%
Councillors 10,557 8,782 2,171
Councillors +/- Increase 110 Increase 8 Increase 321

Local elections were held in the United Kingdom in 1983.[1][2] The results were a success for Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who soon afterwards called a general election in which the Conservatives won a landslide victory. The projected share of the vote was Conservative 39%, Labour Party 36%, Liberal-SDP Alliance 20%.

The three major parties all made net gains at the expense of smaller parties and independents, despite a slight reduction in the number of councillors. The Conservatives gained 110 seats, giving them 10,557 councillors. Labour gained just 8 seats, finishing with 8,782 seats. The Liberal-SDP Alliance gained 321 seats, finishing with 2,171 seats. It was a decent showing for Labour, with a much larger share of the vote than any opinion poll had shown since the party's split in 1981, but a major disappointment for the Alliance. However, the subsequent general election saw the Conservative government elected by a landslide, while the Alliance came close to Labour in terms of votes, although Labour won almost 10 times as many seats.

  1. ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1983. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.