1983 United Kingdom general election

1983 United Kingdom general electionFile:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg

* * *

| <- 1979 | 9 June 1983 | 1987 ->

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<- outgoing members

elected members ->

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All 650 seats in the House of Commons
326 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout| 72.7%, Decrease3.3%
|  | First party  | Second party  | Third party

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| File:Margaret Thatcher (1983).jpg | File:Michael Foot (1981).jpg | File:DavidSteel1987 cropped.jpg
File:Roy Jenkins 1977 (cropped).jpg
Leader  | Margaret Thatcher | Michael Foot |

* David Steel (Lib.)
Roy Jenkins (SDP)

Party  | Conservative | Labour | Alliance
Leader since  | 11 February 1975 | 10 November 1980 |

* 7 July 1976 (Steel)
7 July 1982 (Jenkins)

Leader's seat  | Finchley | Blaenau Gwent |

* Tweeddale, Ettrick
and Lauderdale (Steel)
* Glasgow Hillhead (Jenkins)

Last election  | 339 seats, 43.9%  | 269 seats, 36.9%  | 11 seats, 13.8%[a]
Seats before  | 339  | 261  | 11
Seats won  | 397 | 209  | 23
Seat change  | Increase58[b] | Decrease60[b] | Increase12[b]
Popular vote  | 13,012,316 | 8,456,934  | 7,780,949
Percentage  | 42.4% | 27.6%  | 25.4%
Swing  | Decrease1.5%  | Decrease9.3%  | Increase11.6%

* * *

File:UK General Election, 1983.svg

Colours denote the winning party—as shown in § Results

* * *

File:House of Commons elected members, 1983.svg

Composition of the House of Commons after the election

* * *

| Prime Minister before election

Margaret Thatcher
Conservative

| Prime Minister after election

Margaret Thatcher
Conservative

|

The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of the Labour Party in 1945, with a majority of 144 seats.

Thatcher's first term as Prime Minister had not been an easy time.[1] Unemployment increased during the first three years of her premiership and the economy went through a recession. However, the British victory in the Falklands War led to a recovery of her personal popularity, and economic growth had begun to resume.

By the time Thatcher called the election in May 1983, opinion polls pointed to a Conservative victory, with most national newspapers backing the re-election of the Conservative government. The resulting win earned the Conservatives their biggest parliamentary majority of the post-war era, and their second-biggest majority as a single-party government, behind only the 1924 election (they earned even more seats in the 1931 election, but were part of the National Government).[2]

The Labour Party had been led by Michael Foot since the resignation of former Prime Minister James Callaghan in 1980, and its new policies were considered more left-wing than usual.[2][3] Several "moderate" Labour MPs had defected from the party to form the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which then formed the SDP–Liberal Alliance with the existing Liberal Party.

The opposition vote split almost evenly between the Alliance and Labour. With its worst electoral performance since 1931, the Labour vote fell by over 3 million votes from 1979, accounting for both a national swing of almost 4% towards the Conservatives and their larger parliamentary majority of 144 seats, even though the Conservatives' total vote fell by almost 700,000. This was the last general election until 2015 in which a governing party increased its number of seats.

The Alliance finished in third place but came within 700,000 votes of out-polling Labour; by gaining 25.4% of the vote it won the largest percentage for any third party since 1923. Despite this, it won only 23 seats, whereas Labour won 209. The Liberals argued that a proportional electoral system would have given them a more representative number of MPs. Changing the electoral system had been a long-running campaign plank of the Liberal Party and would later be adopted by its successor, the Liberal Democrats.

The election night was broadcast live on the BBC and was presented by David Dimbleby, Sir Robin Day and Peter Snow.[4] It was also broadcast on ITV and presented by Alastair Burnet, Peter Sissons and Martyn Lewis.

Three future leaders of the Labour Party (Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Jeremy Corbyn) were first elected during this election; Blair and Brown went on to hold the office of Prime Minister.

As the likes of Blair, Brown and Corbyn entered parliament, a string of prominent members of parliament stepped aside or lost their seats. Former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson stood down from parliament after 38 years, while the SDP's Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers lost their seats only a short time after winning them. Joan Lestor, Tony Benn as well as Speaker of the House of Commons and former Labour cabinet minister George Thomas also departed from parliament at this election, although Benn would return after winning a by-election in Chesterfield the following year, and Lestor returned to parliament after winning a seat at the following general election in 1987. In addition, two future Leaders of the Liberal Democrats were first elected—Paddy Ashdown and Charles Kennedy. Michael Howard, who later served the Conservatives as Home Secretary in government and as party leader in opposition, was also elected to parliament in 1983.

* Oct 1974 election
* MPs

* 1979 election
* MPs

* 1983 election
* MPs

* 1987 election
* MPs

* 1992 election
* MPs

## Contents

* 1 Background and campaign
* 2 Notional election, 1979
* 3 Timeline
* 4 Results
* 4.1 Votes summary
* 4.2 Seats summary
* 5 Incumbents defeated
* 6 Tables of target seats
* 6.1 Conservative targets
* 6.2 Labour targets
* 6.3 SDP–Liberal Alliance targets
* 7 See also
* 8 Notes
* 9 References
* 10 Further reading
* 11 Manifestos

## Background and campaign[edit | edit source]

Michael Foot was elected leader of the Labour Party at the end of 1980, replacing James Callaghan. The election of Foot signalled that the core of the party was swinging to the left and the move exacerbated divisions within the party. During 1981, a group of senior figures including Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams left Labour to found the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The SDP agreed to a pact with the Liberals for the 1983 election and stood as "The Alliance". For a while the Alliance topped the opinion polls and looked capable of achieving their goal of forming a coalition government at the next general election, but the success of the Falklands campaign in 1982 saw the political tide turn in favour of the Conservative government.

The election did not have to be held until 1984. Although political circumstances were clearly favourable for the government and opposition parties anticipated that Mrs Thatcher would go to the country in June, earlier in 1983 the Conservatives were split on the timing of the election. One faction favoured a June election, but another group wanted to wait until October before going to the country, while some within the Party even advocated delaying the contest until 1984. Supporters of waiting to a later time to hold an election included Thatcher's deputy and Home Secretary Willie Whitelaw and John Biffen who was then serving as Leader of the House of Commons.[5] On 27 April it was reported that all the Conservative party's regional agents had unanimously expressed a preference to Thatcher for a June election, although some members of her cabinet were advising her to wait until October.[6] On 8 May senior Conservatives met at Chequers and agreed to go to the country on 9 June. The election was formally called the next day and Parliament was dissolved on 13 May for a four-week official election campaign.[5]

The campaign displayed the huge divisions between the two major parties. Thatcher had been highly unpopular during her first two years in office until the swift and decisive victory in the Falklands War, coupled with an improving economy, considerably raised her standings in the polls. The Conservatives' key issues included reducing unemployment (which had increased from 1.5 million in 1979 to more than 3 million by 1982), continuing economic growth following the recent recession, and defence. Labour's campaign manifesto involved leaving the European Economic Community, abolishing the House of Lords, abandoning the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent by cancelling Trident and removing cruise missiles — a programme dubbed by Labour MP Gerald Kaufman "the longest suicide note in history"; "Although, at barely 37 pages, it only seemed interminable", noted Roy Hattersley. Pro-Labour political journalist Michael White, writing in The Guardian, commented: "There was something magnificently brave about Michael Foot's campaign but it was like the Battle of the Somme."[7]

The Alliance had had a setback ahead of the campaign at the Darlington by-election in March. The contest was one that had looked promising ground for the SDP, but despite heavily campaigning in the Labour-held seat, the SDP candidate, who struggled when interviewed for television by Vincent Hanna finished a poor third, which stalled the momentum of the Alliance.[8] During the campaign, on Sunday 29 May, David Steel held a meeting with Jenkins and other Alliance leaders at his Ettrickbridge home. Steel, who polls showed was more popular proposed that Jenkins take a lower profile and that Steel take over as leader of the campaign. Jenkins rejected Steel's view and remained "Prime Minister designate", but Steel did have a heightened role on television for the last 10 days of the election campaign. According to Steve Richards the meeting meant Jenkins' "confidence was undermined and he staggered to the finishing line with less verve than he had displayed in the early days of the SDP" and showed little sign of his earlier "exuberance".[9][10]

## Notional election, 1979[edit | edit source]

Following boundary changes in 1983, the BBC and ITN (Independent Television News) co-produced a calculation of how the 1979 general election would have gone if fought on the new 1983 boundaries. The following table shows the effects of the boundary changes on the House of Commons: [11]

UK General Election 1979  Party  | Seats  | Gains  | Losses  | Net gain/loss  | Seats %  | Votes %  | Votes  | +/−

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| Conservative | 359  |  |  | +20  | 55  | 44.9  | 13,703,429  |
| Labour | 261  |  |  | −8  | 40  | 37.7  | 11,512,877  |
| Liberal | 9  |  |  | −2  | 1  | 14.2  | 4,324,936  |
| SNP | 2  |  |  | 0  | 0  | 1.6  | 497,128  |
| Plaid Cymru | 2  |  |  | 0  | 0  | 0.4  | 135,241  |
| Other parties | 17  |  |  | +5  | 3  | 3.4  | 1,063,263  |

## Timeline[edit | edit source]

The Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Buckingham Palace on the afternoon of 9 May and asked the Queen to dissolve Parliament on 13 May, announcing that the election would be held on 9 June. The key dates were as follows:[citation needed]

Friday 13 May | Dissolution of the 48th Parliament and campaigning officially begins

|

Monday 23 May | Last day to file nomination papers; 2,579 candidates enter
Wednesday 8 June | Campaigning officially ends
Thursday 9 June | Polling day
Friday 10 June | The Conservative Party wins with a majority of 144 to retain power
Wednesday 15 June | 49th Parliament assembles
Wednesday 22 June | State Opening of Parliament

## Results[edit | edit source]

Further information: Results of the 1983 United Kingdom general election

The election saw a landslide victory for the Conservatives, achieving their best results since 1935. Although there was a slight drop in their share of the vote, they made significant gains at the expense of Labour. The Tories have yet to match their 1983 seat total in any subsequent general election, although they recorded a higher share of the popular vote in 2019.

The night was a disaster for the Labour Party; their share of the vote fell by over 9%, which meant they were only 700,000 votes ahead of the newly-formed third party, the SDP–Liberal Alliance. The massive increase of support for the Alliance at the expense of Labour meant that, in many seats,[which?] the collapse in the Labour vote allowed the Conservatives to gain. Despite winning over 25% of the national vote, the Alliance got fewer than 4% of seats, 186 fewer than Labour. The most significant Labour loss of the night was Tony Benn, who was defeated in the revived Bristol East seat. SDP President Shirley Williams, then a prominent leader in the Social Democratic Party, lost her Crosby seat which she had won in a by-election in 1981. Bill Rodgers, another leading figure in the Alliance (like Williams, one of the "Gang of Four") also failed to win his old seat that he previously held as a Labour MP.

In Scotland, both Labour and the Tories sustained modest losses to the Alliance. Labour remained by far the largest party, with 41 seats to 21 for the Scottish Conservatives. The Scottish Conservatives have been unable to match their 1983 Westminster seat total since, although they did record a slightly larger share of the Scottish vote in 2017, by which time the Scottish National Party had become the dominant party in Scotland with the Tories being the largest unionist party.

On a UK-wide basis, the 1983 election was the worst result in Labour's modern history until the 2019 election, in terms of seats won. The 1983 result remains the worst-ever modern performance for Labour in England.

↓ 397 | 209 | 23 | 21

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Conservative | Labour | Alliance | O

File:1983 UK parliament.svg

1983 UK general election  | Candidates  | Votes

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Party  | Leader  | Stood  | Elected  | Gained  | Unseated  | Net  | % of total  | %  | No.  | Net %
| Conservative | Margaret Thatcher | 633  | 397  | 47  | 10  | +37  | 61.1  | 42.4  | 13,012,316  | −1.5
| Labour | Michael Foot | 633  | 209  | 4  | 55  | −51  | 32.2  | 27.6  | 8,456,934  | −9.3
| Alliance | David Steel & Roy Jenkins | 636[c] | 23  | 12  | 0  | +12  | 4.5  | 25.4  | 7,794,770  | +11.6
| SNP | Gordon Wilson | 72  | 2  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.3  | 1.1  | 331,975  | −0.5
| Ulster Unionist | James Molyneaux | 16  | 11  | 3  | 1  | +2  | 1.7  | 0.8  | 259,952  | 0.0
| DUP | Ian Paisley | 14  | 3  | 2  | 1 | +1  | 0.5  | 0.5  | 152,749  | +0.3
| SDLP | John Hume | 17  | 1 | 0  | 1 | −1  | 0.2  | 0.4  | 137,012  | 0.0
| Plaid Cymru | Dafydd Wigley | 38  | 2  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.3  | 0.4  | 125,309  | 0.0
| Sinn Féin | Ruairí Ó Brádaigh | 14  | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0  | 0.2  | 0.3  | 102,701  | N/A
| Alliance | Oliver Napier | 12  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.2  | 61,275  | −0.1
| Ecology | Jonathon Porritt | 109  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.2  | 54,299  | +0.1
| Independent | N/A | 73  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.1  | 30,422  | N/A
| National Front | Andrew Brons | 60  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.1  | 27,065  | −0.5
| UPUP | James Kilfedder | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0  | +1  | 0.2  | 0.1  | 22,861  | N/A
| Independent Labour | N/A | 8  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.1  | 16,447  | 0.0
| Workers' Party | Tomás Mac Giolla | 14  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 14,650  | −0.1
| BNP | John Tyndall | 54  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 14,621  | N/A
| Communist | Gordon McLennan | 35  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 11,606  | −0.1
| Independent Socialist | N/A | 1 | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 10,326  | N/A
| Ind. Conservative | N/A | 10  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 9,442  | 0.0
| Independent Communist  | N/A | 2  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 4,760  | N/A
| Workers Revolutionary | Michael Banda | 21  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 3,798  | −0.1
| Monster Raving Loony | Screaming Lord Sutch | 11  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 3,015  | N/A
| Wessex Regionalist | N/A | 10  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 1,750  | 0.0
| Mebyon Kernow | Richard Jenkin | 2  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 1,151  | N/A
| Independent DUP | N/A | 1 | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 1,134  | N/A
| Licensees | N/A | 4  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 934  | N/A
| Nationalist Party | N/A | 5  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 874  | N/A
| Labour and Trade Union | Peter Hadden | 1 | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 584  | N/A
| Revolutionary Communist | Frank Furedi | 4  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 581  | N/A
| Freedom Party | N/A | 1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 508  | N/A
All parties with more than 500 votes shown.[d][e][f][g] Government's new majority | 144

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Total votes cast  | 30,671,137
Turnout  | 72.7%

### Votes summary[edit | edit source]

Seats won in the election (outer ring) against number of votes (inner ring)

Seats won in the election (outer ring) against number of votes (inner ring)

| Popular vote

|  |
Conservative |

| 42.43%
Labour |

| 27.57%
SDP–Liberal |

| 25.41%
Others |

| 2.4%

### Seats summary[edit | edit source]

| Parliamentary seats

|  |
Conservative |

| 61.08%
Labour |

| 32.15%
SDP–Liberal |

| 3.54%
Others |

| 3.23%

Data from Guardian daily polls published in The Guardian between May and June 1983. Colour key:  Conservative  Labour  Alliance  Others

Data from Guardian daily polls published in The Guardian between May and June 1983. Colour key:

* Conservative

* Labour

* Alliance

* Others

The disproportionality of the House of Commons in the 1983 election was "20.62" according to the Gallagher Index, mainly between the Conservatives and the Alliance.

The disproportionality of the House of Commons in the 1983 election was "20.62" according to the Gallagher Index, mainly between the Conservatives and the Alliance.

## Incumbents defeated[edit | edit source]

Party  | Name  | Constituency  | Office held whilst in Parliament  | Year elected  | Defeated by  | Party

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| Labour | Tony Benn | Bristol South East (contested Bristol East)  | Secretary of State for Energy (1975–1979)  | 1950[h] | Jonathan Sayeed |  | Conservative
Albert Booth | Barrow and Furness | Secretary of State for Employment (1976–1979)  | 1966 | Cecil Franks |  | Conservative
Arthur Davidson | Accrington (contested Hyndburn)  | Shadow Attorney General (1982–1983)  | 1966 | Ken Hargreaves |  | Conservative
Neil Carmichael | Glasgow Kelvingrove (contested Glasgow Hillhead)  | Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department of Industry (1975-1976)  | 1962 | Roy Jenkins MP  |  | SDP
Bob Cryer | Keighley |  | 1974 | Gary Waller |  | Conservative
Joseph Dean | Leeds West | Lord Commissioner of the Treasury (1978–1979)  | 1974 | Michael Meadowcroft |  | Liberal
David Ennals | Norwich North | Secretary of State for Social Services (1976–1979)  | 1974 | Patrick Thompson |  | Conservative
John Garrett | Norwich South |  | 1974 | John Powley |  | Conservative
Ted Graham | Edmonton | Lord Commissioner of the Treasury (1976–1979)  | 1974 | Ian Twinn |  | Conservative
William Homewood | Kettering (contested Corby)  |  | 1979 | William Powell |  | Conservative
Frank Hooley | Sheffield Heeley (contested Stratford-on-Avon)  |  | 1966 | Alan Howarth |  | Conservative
Russell Kerr | Feltham and Heston |  | 1966 | Patrick Ground |  | Conservative
Joan Lestor | Eton and Slough (contested Slough)  | Chair of the Labour Party (1977–78)  | 1966 | John Watts |  | Conservative
Alex Lyon | York |  | 1966 | Conal Gregory |  | Conservative
Jim Marshall | Leicester South |  | 1974 | Derek Spencer |  | Conservative
Roland Moyle | Lewisham East | Minister of State for Health (1976–1979)  | 1966 | Colin Moynihan |  | Conservative
Stan Newens | Harlow |  | 1974 | Jerry Hayes |  | Conservative
Oswald O'Brien | Darlington |  | 1983 | Michael Fallon |  | Conservative
Christopher Price | Lewisham West |  | 1974 | John Maples |  | Conservative
Gwilym Roberts | Cannock (contested Cannock and Burntwood)  |  | 1974 | Gerald Howarth |  | Conservative
John Sever | Birmingham Ladywood, contested (Meriden)  |  | 1977 | Iain Mills |  | Conservative
John Spellar | Birmingham Northfield |  | 1982 | Roger Douglas King |  | Conservative
David Stoddart | Swindon | Lord Commissioner of the Treasury (1975-1978)  | 1970 | Simon Coombs |  | Conservative
Shirley Summerskill | Halifax | Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (1976-1979)  | 1964 | Roy Galley |  | Conservative
Ann Taylor | Bolton West (contested Bolton North East)  |  | 1974 | Peter Thurnham |  | Conservative
John Tilley | Lambeth Central (contested Southwark and Bermondsey)  |  | 1978 | Simon Hughes MP  |  | Liberal
Frank White | Bury and Radcliffe (contested Bury North)  |  | 1974 | Alistair Burt |  | Conservative
Phillip Whitehead | Derby North |  | 1970 | Greg Knight |  | Conservative
William Whitlock | Nottingham North | Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1968-1969)  | 1959 | Richard Ottaway |  | Conservative
Kenneth Woolmer | Batley and Morley (contested Batley and Spen)  |  | 1979 | Elizabeth Peacock |  | Conservative
| SDP | Tom Bradley[12] | Leicester East |  | 1962 | Peter Bruinvels |  | Conservative
Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler[13] | North West Norfolk |  | 1970 | Henry Bellingham |  | Conservative
Ronald Brown[12] | Hackney South and Shoreditch |  | 1964 | Brian Sedgemore |  | Conservative
Richard Crawshaw[12] | Liverpool Toxteth (contested Liverpool Broadgreen)  | Second Deputy Chairmen of Ways and Means (1979–1981)  | 1964 | Terry Fields |  | Labour
George Cunningham[12] | Islington South and Finsbury |  | 1970 | Chris Smith |  | Labour
Tom Ellis[12] | Wrexham (contested Clwyd South West)  |  | 1970 | Robert Harvey |  | Conservative
David Ginsburg[12] | Dewsbury |  | 1959 | John Whitfield |  | Conservative
John Grant[12] | Islington Central (contested Islington North)  | Under-Secretary of State for Employment (1976-1979)  | 1970 | Jeremy Corbyn |  | Labour
John Horam[12] | Gateshead West (contested Newcastle upon Tyne Central)  | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (1976-1979)  | 1970 | Piers Merchant |  | Conservative
Ednyfed Hudson Davies[12] | Caerphilly (contested Basingstoke)  |  | 1979 | Andrew Hunter |  | Conservative
Edward Lyons[12] | Bradford West |  | 1966 | Max Madden |  | Labour
Dickson Mabon[12] | Greenock and Port Glasgow (contested Inverclyde)  | Minister for Energy (1976–1979)  | 1955 | Anna McCurley |  | Conservative
Tom McNally[12] | Stockport South (contested Stockport)  |  | 1979 | Anthony Favell |  | Conservative
Bryan Magee[12] | Leyton |  | 1974 | Harry Cohen |  | Labour
Bob Mitchell[12] | Southampton Itchen |  | 1971 | Christopher Chope |  | Conservative
Eric Ogden[12] | Liverpool West Derby |  | 1964 | Bob Wareing |  | Labour
William Rodgers[12] | Stockton-on-Tees (contested Stockton North)  | Secretary of State for Transport (1976–1979)  | 1962 | Frank Cook |  | Labour
John Roper[12] | Farnworth (contested Worsley)  | SDP Chief Whip (1981–83)  | 1970 | Terry Lewis |  | Labour
Neville Sandelson[12] | Hayes and Harlington |  | 1971 | Terry Dicks |  | Conservative
Jeffrey Thomas[12] | Abertillery (contested Cardiff West)  |  | 1970 | Stefan Terlezki |  | Conservative
Michael Thomas[12] | Newcastle-upon-Tyne East |  | 1974 | Nick Brown |  | Labour
James Wellbeloved[12] | Erith and Crayford |  | 1965 | David Evennett |  | Conservative
Shirley Williams | Crosby (elected as SDP)  | Secretary of State for Education and Science (1976–1979)  | 1981 | Malcolm Thornton |  | Conservative
| Conservative | David Myles | Banffshire (contested Orkney and Shetland)  |  | 1979 | Jim Wallace |  | Liberal
Iain Sproat | Aberdeen South (contested Roxburgh and Berwickshire)  |  | 1970 | Archy Kirkwood |  | Liberal
Delwyn Williams | Montgomeryshire |  | 1979 | Alex Carlile |  | Liberal
Hamish Gray | Ross and Cromarty (contested Ross, Cromarty and Skye)  | Minister of State for Energy (1979–1983)  | 1970 | Charles Kennedy |  | SDP
| Independent | Ben Ford[12] | Bradford North |  | 1964 | Geoffrey Lawler |  | Conservative
Arthur Lewis[12] | Newham North West |  | 1945 | Tony Banks |  | Labour
Michael O'Halloran[12] | Islington North |  | 1969 | Jeremy Corbyn |  | Labour
Gerry Fitt[14] | Belfast West |  | 1966 | Gerry Adams |  | Sinn Féin
| Sinn Féin | Owen Carron | Fermanagh and South Tyrone |  | 1981 | Ken Maginnis |  | Ulster Unionist
| Liberal | Bill Pitt | Croydon North West |  | 1981 | Humfrey Malins |  | Conservative

## Tables of target seats[edit | edit source]

### Conservative targets[edit | edit source]

Rank  | Constituency  | 1983 winner

|
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1  | Isle of Wight |  | Alliance
2  | Oxford East |  | Conservative
3  | Cunninghame North |  | Conservative
4  | Corby |  | Conservative
5  | Nottingham East |  | Conservative
6  | Hertfordshire West |  | Conservative
7  | Mitcham and Morden |  | Conservative
8  | Derbyshire South |  | Conservative
9  | Leicestershire North West |  | Conservative
10  | Southampton Itchen |  | Conservative
11  | Halifax |  | Conservative
12  | Stockton South |  | Alliance
13  | Lewisham West |  | Conservative
14  | Edmonton |  | Conservative
15  | Stevenage |  | Conservative
16  | York |  | Conservative
17  | Darlington |  | Conservative
18  | Ceredigion and Pembroke North |  | Alliance
19  | Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber |  | Alliance
20  | Bridgend |  | Conservative

### Labour targets[edit | edit source]

To regain an overall majority, Labour needed to make at least 65 gains.

Rank  | Constituency  | 1983 winner

|
|

1  | Birmingham Northfield |  | Conservative
2  | Bury South |  | Conservative
3  | Dulwich |  | Conservative
4  | Liverpool Broadgreen |  | Labour
5  | Nottingham South |  | Conservative
6  | Aberdeen South |  | Conservative
7  | Stirling |  | Conservative
8  | Hornchurch |  | Conservative
9  | Luton South |  | Conservative
10  | Calder Valley |  | Conservative
11  | Pendle |  | Conservative
12  | Bolton North East |  | Conservative
13  | Cardiff Central |  | Conservative
14  | Croydon North West |  | Conservative
15  | Fulham |  | Conservative
16  | Cambridge |  | Conservative
17  | Birmingham Erdington |  | Labour
18  | Dudley West |  | Conservative
19  | Welwyn Hatfield |  | Conservative
20  | Glasgow Cathcart |  | Labour

### SDP–Liberal Alliance targets[edit | edit source]

Rank  | Constituency  | 1983 winner

|
|

1  | Roxburgh and Berwickshire |  | Alliance
2  | Richmond and Barnes |  | Conservative
3  | Montgomeryshire |  | Alliance
4  | Chelmsford |  | Conservative
5  | Wiltshire North |  | Conservative
6  | Cornwall North |  | Conservative
7  | Hereford |  | Conservative
8  | Colne Valley |  | Alliance
9  | Gordon |  | Alliance
10  | Southport |  | Conservative
11  | Salisbury |  | Conservative
12  | Devon North |  | Conservative
13  | Gainsborough and Horncastle |  | Conservative
14  | Cornwall South East |  | Conservative
15  | Clwyd South West |  | Conservative
16  | Liverpool Broadgreen |  | Labour
17  | Newbury |  | Conservative
18  | Yeovil |  | Alliance
19  | Pudsey |  | Conservative
20  | Ross, Cromarty and Skye |  | Alliance

## See also[edit | edit source]

* List of MPs elected in the 1983 United Kingdom general election
* 1983 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland
* 1983 United Kingdom general election in England
* 1983 United Kingdom general election in Wales
* 1983 United Kingdom local elections

## Notes[edit | edit source]

1. ^ Results for the Liberals only. The SDP did not contest
2. ^ a b c Includes boundary change—so this is a nominal figure.
3. ^ Includes official Liberal candidates who were not given national Alliance endorsement in three constituencies: Liverpool Broadgreen, Hackney South and Shoreditch, and Hammersmith.
4. ^ The SDP–Liberal Alliance vote is compared with the Liberal Party vote in the 1979 election.
5. ^ The Independent Unionist elected in the 1979 election defended and held his seat for the Ulster Popular Unionist Party. The United Ulster Unionist Party dissolved and its sole MP did not re-stand.
6. ^ The Independent Republican elected in the 1979 election died in 1981. In the ensuring by-election the seat was won by Bobby Sands, an Anti-H-Block/Armagh Political Prisoner who then died and was succeeded by an Anti-H-Block Proxy Political Prisoner candidate Owen Carron. He defended and lost his seat standing for Sinn Féin who contested seats in Northern Ireland for the first time since 1959.
7. ^ This election was fought under revised boundaries. The changes reflect those comparing to the notional results on the new boundaries. One significant change was the increase in the number of seats allocated to Northern Ireland from 12 to 17.
8. ^ Benn did not serve during his Viscountcy between 1960 and 1963.

## References[edit | edit source]

1. ^ "Baroness Margaret Thatcher", gov.uk, retrieved 2 July 2018
2. ^ a b "1983: Thatcher triumphs again", BBC News, 5 April 2005, retrieved 22 March 2015
3. ^ Vaidyanathan, Rajini (4 March 2010), "Michael Foot: What did the 'longest suicide note' say?", BBC News, retrieved 22 March 2015
4. ^ Election 1983 - Part 1 on YouTube
5. ^ a b Julian Haviland (1983). "The June 1983 Election Campaign:Conservative lead was never challenged". The Times Guide to the House of Commons June 1983. London: Times Books Ltd. p. 23\. ISBN 0-7230-0255-X.
6. ^ Parkhouse, Geoffrey (27 April 1983). "Go for June election, agents urge Thatcher". The Glasgow Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
7. ^ White, Michael (11 April 2005), "Michael White on 35 years of covering elections", The Guardian, retrieved 23 June 2018
8. ^ Richards, Steve (2021). The Prime Ministers We Never Had; Success and Failure from Butler to Corbyn. London: Atlantic Books. pp. 70–71. ISBN 978 1 83895 241 9.
9. ^ Richards, Steve (2021). The Prime Ministers We Never Had; Success and Failure from Butler to Corbyn. London: Atlantic Books. p. 71\. ISBN 978 1 83895 241 9.
10. ^ Julian Haviland (1983). "The June 1983 Election Campaign:Conservative lead was never challenged". The Times Guide to the House of Commons June 1983. London: Times Books Ltd. p. 26\. ISBN 0-7230-0255-X.
11. ^ Craig, F.W.S. (1983). The BBC/ITN Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 978 0 90017 814 6.
12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Elected as a Labour MP
13. ^ Elected as a Conservative Party
14. ^ Elected as a SDLP MP

## Further reading[edit | edit source]

* Butler, David E.; et al. (1984), The British General Election of 1983, the standard scholarly study`{{citation}}`: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
* Craig, F. W. S. (1989), British Electoral Facts: 1832–1987, Dartmouth: Gower, ISBN 0900178302
* Clarke, Harold D.; Mishler, William; Whiteley, Paul (1990), "Recapturing the Falklands: models of Conservative popularity, 1979–83", British Journal of Political Science, 20 (1): 63–81, doi:10.1017/S0007123400005706

## Manifestos[edit | edit source]

* The Challenge of Our Times, 1983 Conservative Party manifesto
* The New Hope for Britain, 1983 Labour Party manifesto
* Working Together for Britain, 1983 SDP–Liberal Alliance manifesto

* v
* t
* e

1983 United Kingdom general election

* Results
* MPs elected
* Scotland
* Opinion polling

* Incumbent Prime Minister: Margaret Thatcher (Conservative)
* Appointed Prime Minister: Margaret Thatcher (Conservative)

Parties elected to
the House of Commons|

* Conservative (Margaret Thatcher)
* Labour (Michael Foot)
* SDP–Liberal Alliance
* David Steel \- Liberal
* Roy Jenkins \- SDP
* Ulster Unionist Party (James Molyneaux )
* Democratic Unionist Party (Ian Paisley)
* Scottish National Party (Gordon Wilson)
* Plaid Cymru (Dafydd Wigley)
* Social Democratic and Labour Party (John Hume)
* Sinn Féin (Ruairí Ó Brádaigh)
* Ulster Popular Unionist Party (James Kilfedder)

Results by area|

* England
* Northern Ireland
* Scotland
* Wales

See also|

* Falklands factor
* Diana Gould–Margaret Thatcher exchange
* The longest suicide note in history

* v
* t
* e

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* v
* t
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Margaret Thatcher

* Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1979–1990)
* Leader of the Conservative Party (1975–1990)
* MP for Finchley (1959–1992)

Member of Parliament|

* Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act (1960)
* Circular 10/70 (1970)
* Shadow Cabinet
* "Britain Awake" (1976)
* Vote of no confidence in the Callaghan ministry (1979)

File:Margaret Thatcher (1983).jpg

Ideology|

* Thatcherism
* Conservatism
* Free market
* Union democracy

Premiership|

* Ministers
* wets and dries
* Cold War
* 1st term
* 2nd–3rd term

| 1st ministry
(1979–1983)|

* "The lady's not for turning" (1980)
* Budget (1981)
* Gang of 25
* Irish hunger strike (1981)
* Falklands War (1982)
* "Rejoice"
* Diana Gould exchange
* "White flags over Port Stanley"

|

2nd ministry
(1983–1987)|

* Brighton hotel bombing (1984)
* GCHQ trade union ban (1984)
* CCSU case
* Miners' strike (1984–85)
* Anglo-Irish Agreement (1985)
* Local Government Act (1985)
* rate-capping rebellion
* Westland affair (1986)

3rd ministry
(1987–1990)|

* Broadcasting restrictions (1988)
* "Sermon on the Mound" (1988)
* Bruges speech (1988)
* Community Charge (1989–90)
* Poll tax riots
* Gulf War (1990)
* "No. No. No." (1990)
* Resignation Honours (1990)

Party elections|

* 1975
* 1989
* 1990

General elections|

* 1979
* 1983
* 1987

Books|

* The Downing Street Years (1993 autobiography)
* The Path to Power (1995 memoir)
* Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World (2003)

Family|

* Sir Denis Thatcher (husband)
* baronetcy
* Mark Thatcher (son)
* Carol Thatcher (daughter)
* Alfred Roberts (father)
* "We have become a grandmother" (1989)

Cultural depictions|

| Film and
television|

* Anyone for Denis? (1982 TV play)
* Spitting Image (1984–1996 & 2020 TV series)
* The New Statesman (1987–1991 TV series)
* Thatcher: The Final Days (1991 film)
* The Falklands Play (2002 play)
* Jeffrey Archer: The Truth (2002 TV film)
* The Alan Clark Diaries (2004 TV series)
* Pinochet in Suburbia (2006 docudrama)
* The Long Walk to Finchley (2008 film)
* Margaret (2009 film)
* The Queen (2009 TV serial)
* The Iron Lady (2011 film)
* The Hunt for Tony Blair (2011 episode)
* In Search of La Che (2011 film)
* The Crown (2020 TV series)
* Reagan (2022 film)

|

Plays|

* Handbagged (2010, 2013)
* The Audience (2013)

Statues|

* London Guildhall (1998)
* Palace of Westminster (2007)
* Grantham (2022)

See also|

* Let's Start a War
* Thatchergate
* The Ploughman's Lunch

* ← James Callaghan
* John Major →

* Category Category
* List-Class article Honours
* B-Class article Death and funeral

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