Local elections were held in the United Kingdom in May 1981.[1][2] The results were a mid-term setback for the Conservative government, which lost 1,193 seats, leaving them with 10,545 councillors. The projected share of the vote was more respectable for the government, however: Labour 41%, Conservatives 38%, Liberals 17%. This was in spite of opinion polls showing a much wider Labour lead over the Conservatives. These were the first elections to be contested by Labour under the leadership of Michael Foot, who had succeeded James Callaghan in late 1980.
1 Unicameral area, all 6 metropolitan counties, all 39 non-metropolitan counties, 1 sui generis authority, all 26 Northern Irish districts and all 8 Welsh counties
Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results.
Elections took place for the county councils and the Greater London Council, which elected 50 Labour councillors, 41 Conservatives and 1 Liberal.
In terms of the county councils, changes in party control were as follows;
Labour gain from Conservative: Cumbria, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire
Labour gain from no overall control: Northumberland
Conservative lose to no overall control: Bedfordshire, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire
Liberal gain from Conservative: Isle of Wight
Labour gained 988 overall seats, bringing their number of councillors to 8,999. This was the first electoral test for Labour leader Michael Foot, who had become Labour leader in November 1980.
The Liberal Party gained 306 seats and finished with 1,455 councillors. The 1981 local elections were to be the last to be held before the Liberals formed an alliance with the new Social Democratic Party (SDP) in June 1981.
^Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1981. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
^"Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
Local elections 2006. House of Commons Library Research Paper 06/26.
Vote 2001 BBC News
March 11, 2023
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Local elections were held in the United Kingdom in May 1981 1 2 The results were a mid term setback for the Conservative government which lost 1 193 seats leaving them with 10 545 councillors The projected share of the vote was more respectable for the government however Labour 41 Conservatives 38 Liberals 17 This was in spite of opinion polls showing a much wider Labour lead over the Conservatives These were the first elections to be contested by Labour under the leadership of Michael Foot who had succeeded James Callaghan in late 1980 1981 United Kingdom local elections 1980 7 May 1981 England amp Wales 20 May 1981 Northern Ireland 1982 1 Unicameral area all 6 metropolitan counties all 39 non metropolitan counties 1 sui generis authority all 26 Northern Irish districts and all 8 Welsh counties Majority party Minority party Third party Leader Margaret Thatcher Michael Foot David SteelParty Conservative Labour LiberalLeader since 11 February 1975 10 November 1980 7 July 1976Percentage 38 41 17 Councillors 10 545 8 999 1 455Councillors 1 193 988 306Colours denote the winning party as shown in the main table of results Elections took place for the county councils and the Greater London Council which elected 50 Labour councillors 41 Conservatives and 1 Liberal In terms of the county councils changes in party control were as follows Labour gain from Conservative Cumbria Derbyshire Lancashire Nottinghamshire StaffordshireLabour gain from no overall control NorthumberlandConservative lose to no overall control Bedfordshire Gloucestershire Leicestershire Northamptonshire WarwickshireLiberal gain from Conservative Isle of WightLabour gained 988 overall seats bringing their number of councillors to 8 999 This was the first electoral test for Labour leader Michael Foot who had become Labour leader in November 1980 The Liberal Party gained 306 seats and finished with 1 455 councillors The 1981 local elections were to be the last to be held before the Liberals formed an alliance with the new Social Democratic Party SDP in June 1981 Contents 1 Summary of results 2 England 2 1 Unicameral area 2 2 Metropolitan county councils 2 3 Non metropolitan county councils 2 4 Sui generis 3 Northern Ireland 4 Wales 4 1 County councils 5 ReferencesSummary of results EditThis section is empty You can help by adding to it September 2015 England EditUnicameral area Edit This was the last election to the council before it was abolished by the Local Government Act 1985 Council Previous control Result DetailsGreater London Conservative Labour gain DetailsMetropolitan county councils Edit These were the last elections to the county councils before they were abolished by the Local Government Act 1985 Council Previous control Result DetailsGreater Manchester Conservative Labour gain DetailsMerseyside Conservative Labour gain DetailsSouth Yorkshire Labour Labour hold DetailsTyne and Wear Labour Labour hold DetailsWest Midlands Conservative Labour gain DetailsWest Yorkshire Conservative Labour gain DetailsNon metropolitan county councils Edit Council Previous control Result DetailsAvon Conservative Labour gain DetailsBedfordshire Conservative No overall control gain DetailsBerkshire Conservative No overall control gain DetailsBuckinghamshire Conservative Conservative hold DetailsCambridgeshire Conservative Conservative hold DetailsCheshire No overall control No overall control hold DetailsCleveland Conservative Labour gain DetailsCornwall Independent Independent hold DetailsCumbria Conservative Labour gain DetailsDerbyshire Conservative Labour gain DetailsDevon Conservative Conservative hold DetailsDorset Conservative Conservative hold DetailsDurham Labour Labour hold DetailsEast Sussex Conservative Conservative hold DetailsEssex Conservative Conservative hold DetailsGloucestershire Conservative No overall control gain DetailsHampshire Conservative Conservative hold DetailsHereford and Worcester Conservative Conservative hold DetailsHertfordshire Conservative Conservative hold DetailsHumberside Conservative Labour gain DetailsIsle of Wight Conservative Liberal gain DetailsKent Conservative Conservative hold DetailsLancashire Conservative Labour gain DetailsLeicestershire Conservative No overall control gain DetailsLincolnshire Conservative Conservative hold DetailsNorfolk Conservative Conservative hold DetailsNorth Yorkshire Conservative Conservative hold DetailsNorthamptonshire Conservative No overall control gain DetailsNorthumberland No overall control Labour gain DetailsNottinghamshire Conservative Labour gain DetailsOxfordshire Conservative Conservative hold DetailsShropshire No overall control No overall control hold DetailsSomerset Conservative Conservative hold DetailsStaffordshire Conservative Labour gain DetailsSuffolk Conservative Conservative hold DetailsSurrey Conservative Conservative hold DetailsWarwickshire Conservative No overall control gain DetailsWest Sussex Conservative Conservative hold DetailsWiltshire Conservative Conservative hold Details New electoral division boundaries Sui generis Edit Council Previous control Result DetailsIsles of Scilly DetailsNorthern Ireland EditMain article 1981 Northern Ireland local elections Map of the largest party by council area Council Previous control Result DetailsAntrim Ulster Unionist No overall control DetailsArds No overall control No overall control DetailsArmagh No overall control No overall control DetailsBallymena DUP DUP DetailsBallymoney No overall control No overall control DetailsBanbridge Ulster Unionist Ulster Unionist DetailsBelfast No overall control No overall control DetailsCarrickfergus No overall control No overall control DetailsCastlereagh No overall control No overall control DetailsColeraine Ulster Unionist No overall control DetailsCookstown No overall control No overall control DetailsCraigavon No overall control No overall control DetailsDown SDLP No overall control DetailsDungannon No overall control No overall control DetailsFermanagh No overall control No overall control DetailsLarne No overall control No overall control DetailsLimavady No overall control No overall control DetailsLisburn No overall control No overall control DetailsLondonderry No overall control SDLP DetailsMagherafelt No overall control No overall control DetailsMoyle No overall control No overall control DetailsNewry and Mourne SDLP SDLP DetailsNewtownabbey No overall control No overall control DetailsNorth Down No overall control No overall control DetailsOmagh No overall control No overall control DetailsStrabane No overall control No overall control DetailsWales EditCounty councils Edit Council Previous control Result DetailsClwyd No overall control No overall control hold DetailsDyfed Independent No overall control gain DetailsGwent No overall control Labour gain DetailsGwynedd Independent Independent hold DetailsMid Glamorgan Labour Labour hold DetailsPowys Independent Independent hold DetailsSouth Glamorgan Conservative Labour gain DetailsWest Glamorgan Labour Labour hold DetailsReferences Edit Rallings Colin Thrasher Michael Local Elections Handbook 1981 The Elections Centre Retrieved 3 May 2016 Council compositions The Elections Centre Retrieved 3 May 2016 Local elections 2006 House of Commons Library Research Paper 06 26 Vote 2001 BBC News Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1981 United Kingdom local elections amp oldid 1141719520, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
