1982 United Kingdom local elections

* * *

| <- 1981 | 6 May 1982 | 1983 ->

|
|

* * *

All 32 London boroughs, all 36 metropolitan boroughs,
103 out of 296 English districts and all 12 Scottish regions
|  | Majority party  | Minority party  | Third party

|
|
|

|  |  |
Leader  | Margaret Thatcher | Michael Foot | David Steel[a]
Party  | Conservative | Labour | Alliance
Leader since  | 11 February 1975  | 10 November 1980  | 7 July 1976[b]
Percentage  | 40%  | 29%  | 27%
Swing  |  2%  |  12%  |  10%
Councillors  | 10,447  | 8,774  | 1,850
Councillors +/-  |  98  |  225  |  395

Local elections were held in the United Kingdom in 1982.[1][2] The elections coincided with rising popularity of the Conservative government and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which was mostly attributed to the Falklands War.[citation needed] The projected share of the vote was Conservatives 40%, Labour 29%, Liberal-SDP Alliance 27%.

Elections were held in several English boroughs, including all those in London.

The Conservatives held their ground, losing only 98 seats, leaving them with 10,447 seats.

The main opposition Labour Party, under the leadership of Michael Foot, lost 225 seats, finishing with 8,774 councillors.

For the newly formed Liberal-SDP Alliance, the 1982 local elections were the first nationwide electoral test.[3] They gained 395 seats and finished with 1,850 councillors. This meant that the Alliance had almost as many votes as Labour, but Labour still had nearly five times as many councillors.

## Summary of results

[edit]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (September 2015)

|

## England

[edit]

### London boroughs

[edit]

Main article: 1982 London local elections

In all 32 London boroughs the whole council was up for election.

Council  | Previous control  | Result  | Details

|
|
|

Barking and Dagenham |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Barnet |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Bexley |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Brent |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Bromley |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Camden |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Croydon |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Ealing |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Enfield ‡  |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Greenwich |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Hackney |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Hammersmith and Fulham |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
Haringey |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Harrow |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Havering |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Hillingdon |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Hounslow |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Islington |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Kensington and Chelsea |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Kingston upon Thames |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Lambeth |  | Labour |  | No overall control gain  | Details
Lewisham |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Merton |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Newham |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Redbridge |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Richmond upon Thames |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Southwark |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Sutton |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Tower Hamlets |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Waltham Forest |  | Labour |  | No overall control gain  | Details
Wandsworth |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Westminster |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details

‡ New ward boundaries

### Metropolitan boroughs

[edit]

#### Whole council

[edit]

In 13 metropolitan boroughs the whole council was up for election.

In 13 boroughs there were new ward boundaries, following electoral boundary reviews by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

Council  | Previous control  | Result  | Details

|
|
|

Birmingham ‡  |  | Labour |  | Conservative gain  | Details
Dudley ‡  |  | No overall control |  | Conservative gain  | Details
Gateshead ‡  |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Kirklees ‡  |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Knowsley ‡  |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Manchester ‡  |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Newcastle upon Tyne ‡  |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
North Tyneside ‡  |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Salford ‡  |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
South Tyneside ‡  |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Sunderland ‡  |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Wakefield ‡  |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Wolverhampton ‡  |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details

‡ New ward boundaries

#### Third of council

[edit]

23 metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.

Council  | Previous control  | Result  | Details

|
|
|

Barnsley |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Bolton |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Bradford |  | Labour |  | No overall control gain  | Details
Bury |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Calderdale |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
Coventry |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Doncaster |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Leeds |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Liverpool |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
Oldham |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Rochdale |  | Labour |  | No overall control gain  | Details
Rotherham |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Sandwell |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Sefton |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Sheffield |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Solihull |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
St Helens |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Stockport |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Tameside |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Trafford |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Walsall |  | Labour |  | No overall control gain  | Details
Wigan |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Wirral |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details

### District councils

[edit]

In 103 districts one third of the council was up for election.

Council  | Previous control  | Result  | Details

|
|
|

Adur |  | Alliance |  | Alliance hold  | Details
Amber Valley |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Barrow-in-Furness |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Basildon |  | No overall control |  | Labour gain  | Details
Basingstoke and Deane |  | Conservative |  | No overall control gain  | Details
Bassetlaw |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Bath |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Blackburn |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
Brentwood |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Broadland |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Broxbourne |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Burnley |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Cambridge |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
Cannock Chase |  | Labour |  | No overall control gain  | Details
Cherwell |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Chester |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Chorley |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Colchester |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Congleton |  | Conservative |  | No overall control gain  | Details
Craven |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Crawley |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Crewe and Nantwich |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
Daventry |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
Derby |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
East Devon |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Eastbourne |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Eastleigh |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Ellesmere Port and Neston |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Elmbridge |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Epping Forest |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Fareham |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Gillingham |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Gloucester |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Gosport |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Great Grimsby |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Great Yarmouth |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
Halton |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Harlow |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Hart |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Hartlepool |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Hastings |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
Havant |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Hereford |  | Alliance |  | Alliance hold  | Details
Hertsmere |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Huntingdon |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Hyndburn |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Ipswich |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Leominster |  | Independent |  | Independent hold  | Details
Lincoln |  | Conservative |  | Labour gain  | Details
Macclesfield |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Maidstone |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Milton Keynes |  | Conservative |  | No overall control gain  | Details
Mole Valley |  | Independent |  | No overall control gain  | Details
Newcastle-under-Lyme |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
North Hertfordshire |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Norwich |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Nuneaton and Bedworth |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Oadby and Wigston |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Oxford |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Pendle |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
Penwith |  | Independent |  | Independent hold  | Details
Peterborough |  | Labour |  | No overall control gain  | Details
Preston |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Purbeck |  | Independent |  | Independent hold  | Details
Reigate and Banstead |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Rochford |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Rossendale |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Rugby |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
Runnymede |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Rushmoor |  | No overall control |  | Conservative gain  | Details
Scunthorpe |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Shrewsbury and Atcham |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
South Bedfordshire |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
South Cambridgeshire |  | Independent |  | Independent hold  | Details
South Herefordshire |  | Independent |  | Independent hold  | Details
South Lakeland |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
Southampton |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Southend-on-Sea |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
St Albans |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Stevenage |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Stoke-on-Trent |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Stratford-on-Avon |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Swale |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Tamworth |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Tandridge |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Thamesdown |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Three Rivers |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Thurrock |  | No overall control |  | Labour gain  | Details
Tonbridge and Malling |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Tunbridge Wells |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Watford |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Welwyn Hatfield |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
West Lancashire |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
West Lindsey |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
West Oxfordshire |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
Weymouth and Portland |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
Winchester |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Woking |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Wokingham |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Woodspring |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Worcester |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Wyre Forest |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details
York |  | No overall control |  | No overall control hold  | Details

## Scotland

[edit]

### Regional councils

[edit]

Main article: 1982 Scottish regional elections

Council  | Previous control  | Result  | Details

|
|
|

Borders |  | Independent |  | Independent hold  | Details
Central |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Dumfries and Galloway |  | Independent |  | Independent hold  | Details
Fife |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Grampian |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Highland |  | Independent |  | Independent hold  | Details
Lothian |  | Labour |  | No overall control gain  | Details
Orkney |  | Independent |  | Independent hold  | Details
Shetland |  | Independent |  | Independent hold  | Details
Strathclyde |  | Labour |  | Labour hold  | Details
Tayside |  | Conservative |  | Conservative hold  | Details
Western Isles |  | Independent |  | Independent hold  | Details

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ and the Gang of Four
2. ^ & 26 March 1981

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1982. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
2. ^ "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
3. ^ Curtice, John; Payne, Clive; Waller, Robert (1983). "Lessons of the 1982 English local elections". Electoral Studies. 2 (1): 3–22\. doi:10.1016/0261-3794(83)90103-8. ISSN 0261-3794.

* Local elections 2006. House of Commons Library Research Paper 06/26.
* Vote 1999 BBC News
* Vote 2000 BBC News

* v
* t
* e

(1981 <-)  1982 United Kingdom local elections (-> 1983)

London boroughs|

* Barking and Dagenham
* Barnet
* Bexley
* Brent
* Bromley
* Camden
* Croydon
* Ealing
* Enfield
* Greenwich
* Hackney
* Hammersmith and Fulham
* Haringey
* Harrow
* Havering
* Hillingdon
* Hounslow
* Islington
* Kensington and Chelsea
* Kingston upon Thames
* Lambeth
* Lewisham
* Merton
* Newham
* Redbridge
* Richmond upon Thames
* Southwark
* Sutton
* Tower Hamlets
* Waltham Forest
* Wandsworth
* Westminster

Metropolitan
boroughs|

* Barnsley
* Birmingham
* Bradford
* Bolton
* Bury
* Calderdale
* Coventry
* Doncaster
* Dudley
* Gateshead
* Kirklees
* Knowsley
* Leeds
* Liverpool
* Manchester
* Newcastle
* North Tyneside
* Oldham
* Rochdale
* Rotherham
* Salford
* Sandwell
* Sefton
* Sheffield
* Solihull
* South Tyneside
* St Helens
* Stockport
* Sunderland
* Tameside
* Trafford
* Wakefield
* Walsall
* Wigan
* Wirral
* Wolverhampton

District councils
(England)|

* Adur
* Amber Valley
* Barrow-in-Furness
* Basildon
* Basingstoke and Deane
* Bassetlaw
* Bath
* Blackburn
* Brentwood
* Broadland
* Broxbourne
* Burnley
* Cambridge
* Cannock Chase
* Cherwell
* Chester
* Chorley
* Colchester
* Congleton
* Craven
* Crawley
* Crewe and Nantwich
* Daventry
* Derby
* East Devon
* Eastbourne
* Eastleigh
* Ellesmere Port and Neston
* Elmbridge
* Epping Forest
* Fareham
* Gillingham
* Gloucester
* Gosport
* Great Grimsby
* Great Yarmouth
* Halton
* Harlow
* Hart
* Hartlepool
* Hastings
* Havant
* Hereford
* Hertsmere
* Huntingdon
* Hyndburn
* Ipswich
* Leominster
* Lincoln
* Macclesfield
* Maidstone
* Milton Keynes
* Mole Valley
* Newcastle-under-Lyme
* North Hertfordshire
* Norwich
* Nuneaton and Bedworth
* Oadby and Wigston
* Oxford
* Pendle
* Penwith
* Peterborough
* Preston
* Purbeck
* Reigate and Banstead
* Rochford
* Rossendale
* Rugby
* Runnymede
* Rushmoor
* Scunthorpe
* Shrewsbury and Atcham
* South Bedfordshire
* South Cambridgeshire
* South Herefordshire
* South Lakeland
* Southampton
* Southend-on-Sea
* St Albans
* Stevenage
* Stoke-on-Trent
* Stratford-on-Avon
* Swale
* Tamworth
* Tandridge
* Thamesdown
* Three Rivers
* Thurrock
* Tonbridge and Malling
* Tunbridge Wells
* Watford
* Welwyn Hatfield
* West Lancashire
* West Lindsey
* West Oxfordshire
* Weymouth and Portland
* Winchester
* Woking
* Wokingham
* Woodspring
* Worcester
* Wyre Forest
* York

Regional councils
(Scotland)|

* Borders
* Central
* Dumfries and Galloway
* Fife
* Grampian
* Highland
* Lothian
* Orkney
* Shetland
* Strathclyde
* Tayside
* Western Isles

* v
* t
* e

Elections and referendums in the United Kingdom

General elections|

* 1802
* 1806
* 1807
* 1812
* 1818
* 1820
* 1826
* 1830
* 1831
* 1832
* 1835
* 1837
* 1841
* 1847
* 1852
* 1857
* 1859
* 1865
* 1868
* 1874
* 1880
* 1885
* 1886
* 1892
* 1895
* 1900
* 1906
* 1910 (Jan)
* 1910 (Dec)
* 1918
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1929
* 1931
* 1935
* 1945
* 1950
* 1951
* 1955
* 1959
* 1964
* 1966
* 1970
* 1974 (Feb)
* 1974 (Oct)
* 1979
* 1983
* 1987
* 1992
* 1997
* 2001
* 2005
* 2010
* 2015
* 2017
* 2019
* 2024
* Next

Local elections|

* 1889
* 1890
* 1892
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025
* 2026

European elections|

* 1979
* 1984
* 1989
* 1994
* 1999
* 2004
* 2009
* 2014
* 2019

Referendums|

* 1975
* 2011
* 2016

See also
Elections in England
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales
Great Britain
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template