Local elections were held in the United Kingdom in 1983. The results were a success for

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Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

, 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.

Summary of results

England

Metropolitan boroughs

All 36 metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.

District councils

Whole council

In 193 districts the whole council was up for election. In 54 districts there were new ward boundaries, following electoral boundary reviews by the

Local Government Boundary Commission for England The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) is a parliamentary body established by statute to conduct boundary, electoral and structural reviews of local government areas in England. The LGBCE is independent of government and pol ...

. ‡ New ward boundaries

Third of council

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

Wales

District councils

References

Local elections 2006. House of Commons Library Research Paper 06/26.Vote 1999 BBC NewsVote 2000 BBC News
{{United Kingdom elections

Local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...