1981 United Kingdom local elections

none 1981 United Kingdom local elections United Kingdom legislative 1980 United Kingdom local elections 1980 1982 United Kingdom local elections 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 7 May 1981 (England & Wales)20 May 1981 (Northern Ireland) Councils Councils +/- Councillors Councillors +/- Margaret Thatcher 1981.jpg 140 120 160 0 6 Margaret Thatcher 11 February 1975 Conservative Party (UK) 38% 10,545 1,193 Michael Foot (1981).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Michael Foot 10 November 1980 Labour Party (UK) 41% 8,999 988 David Steel 1985 (cropped).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 David Steel 7 July 1976 Liberal Party (UK) 17% 1,455 306 United Kingdom local elections, 1981.svg 300px Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results. Local elections were held in the United Kingdom in May 1981.Rallings Colin Thrasher Michael Local Elections Handbook 1981 The Elections Centre https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0V1MW1lr1Z3T05kOHB1NUVxQnc/view?pref=2&pli=1 3 May 2016Council compositions https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwA-5RleSBydOS11WmRkNk9MSkE/view?pref=2&pli=1 The Elections Centre 3 May 2016 Results 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. 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. England Unicameral area 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 Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) gainDetails Metropolitan county councils 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 Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) gainDetailsMerseyside Conservative Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) gainDetailsSouth Yorkshire Labour Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) holdDetailsTyne and Wear Labour Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) holdDetailsWest Midlands Conservative Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) gainDetailsWest Yorkshire Conservative Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) gainDetails Non-metropolitan county councils Council Previous control Result DetailsAvon ‡ Conservative Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) gainDetailsBedfordshire Conservative Party (UK) No overall control gainDetailsBerkshire Conservative Party (UK) No overall control gainDetailsBuckinghamshire Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsCambridgeshire Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsCheshire ‡ No overall control No overall control holdDetailsCleveland Conservative Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) gainDetailsCornwall Independent politician Independent politician holdDetailsCumbria ‡ Conservative Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) gainDetailsDerbyshire ‡ Conservative Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) gainDetailsDevon Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsDorset Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsDurham ‡ Labour Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) holdDetailsEast Sussex Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsEssex ‡ Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsGloucestershire Conservative Party (UK) No overall control gainDetailsHampshire ‡ Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsHereford and Worcester Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsHertfordshire ‡ Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsHumberside ‡ Conservative Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) gainDetailsIsle of Wight ‡ Conservative Party (UK) Liberal Party (UK) gainDetailsKent ‡ Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsLancashire ‡ Conservative Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) gainDetailsLeicestershire Conservative Party (UK) No overall control gainDetailsLincolnshire ‡ Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsNorfolk Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsNorth Yorkshire Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsNorthamptonshire ‡ Conservative Party (UK) No overall control gainDetailsNorthumberland ‡ No overall control Labour Party (UK) gainDetailsNottinghamshire ‡ Conservative Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) gainDetailsOxfordshire Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsShropshire ‡ No overall control No overall control holdDetailsSomerset ‡ Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsStaffordshire ‡ Conservative Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) gainDetailsSuffolk Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsSurrey ‡ Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsWarwickshire ‡ Conservative Party (UK) No overall control gainDetailsWest Sussex Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetailsWiltshire ‡ Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) holdDetails ‡ New electoral division boundaries Sui generis Council Previous control Result DetailsIsles of ScillyDetails Northern Ireland 1981 Northern Ireland local elections thumb|Map of the largest party by council area. Council Previous control Result DetailsAntrim Ulster Unionist Party No overall controlDetailsArds No overall control No overall controlDetailsArmagh No overall control No overall controlDetailsBallymena Democratic Unionist Party Democratic Unionist PartyDetailsBallymoney No overall control No overall controlDetailsBanbridge Ulster Unionist Party Ulster Unionist PartyDetailsBelfast No overall control No overall controlDetailsCarrickfergus No overall control No overall controlDetailsCastlereagh No overall control No overall controlDetailsColeraine Ulster Unionist Party No overall controlDetailsCookstown No overall control No overall controlDetailsCraigavon No overall control No overall controlDetailsDown Social Democratic and Labour Party No overall controlDetailsDungannon No overall control No overall controlDetailsFermanagh No overall control No overall controlDetailsLarne No overall control No overall controlDetailsLimavady No overall control No overall controlDetailsLisburn No overall control No overall controlDetailsLondonderry No overall control Social Democratic and Labour PartyDetailsMagherafelt No overall control No overall controlDetailsMoyle No overall control No overall controlDetailsNewry and Mourne Social Democratic and Labour Party Social Democratic and Labour PartyDetailsNewtownabbey No overall control No overall controlDetailsNorth Down No overall control No overall controlDetailsOmagh No overall control No overall controlDetailsStrabane No overall control No overall controlDetails Wales County councils Council Previous control Result DetailsClwyd No overall control No overall control holdDetailsDyfed Independent (politician) No overall control gainDetailsGwent No overall control Welsh Labour gainDetailsGwynedd Independent politician Independent politician holdDetailsMid Glamorgan Welsh Labour Welsh Labour holdDetailsPowys Independent politician Independent politician holdDetailsSouth Glamorgan Welsh Conservatives Welsh Labour gainDetailsWest Glamorgan Welsh Labour Welsh Labour holdDetails References Local elections 2006. House of Commons Library Research Paper 06/26. Vote 2001 BBC News Local elections