| Election Name: | 1980 United Kingdom local elections |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Type: | legislative |
| Previous Election: | 1979 United Kingdom local elections |
| Previous Year: | 1979 |
| Next Election: | 1981 United Kingdom local elections |
| Next Year: | 1981 |
| Seats For Election: | All 36 metropolitan boroughs, 103 out of 296 English districts and all 53 Scottish districts |
| Election Date: | 1 May 1980 |
| 1Blank: | Councils |
| 2Blank: | Councils +/- |
| 3Blank: | Councillors |
| 4Blank: | Councillors +/- |
| Leader1: | Margaret Thatcher |
| Leader Since1: | 11 February 1975 |
| Party1: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Percentage1: | 40% |
| Swing1: | 601 |
| 3Data1: | 19,238 |
| 4Data1: | 484 |
| Leader2: | James Callaghan |
| Leader Since2: | 5 April 1976 |
| Party2: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Percentage2: | 42% |
| 3Data2: | 8,011 |
| 4Data2: | 601 |
| Leader3: | David Steel |
| Leader Since3: | 7 July 1976 |
| Party3: | Liberal Party (UK) |
| Percentage3: | 13% |
| 3Data3: | 1,149 |
| 4Data3: | 90 |
Local elections were held in the United Kingdom in 1980.[1] [2] These were the first annual local elections for the new Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Though the Conservatives in government lost seats, the projected share of the vote was close: Labour Party 42%, Conservative Party 40%, Liberal Party 13%. Labour were still being led by the former prime minister James Callaghan, who resigned later in the year to be succeeded by Michael Foot.
Labour gained 601 seats, bringing their number of councillors to 8,011. The Conservatives lost 484 seats, leaving them with 11,738 councillors. The Liberal Party gained 90 seats and finished with 1,149 councillors.
Changes in control of councils were as follows:
In 17 metropolitan boroughs the whole council was up for election.
In 17 boroughs there were new ward boundaries, following electoral boundary reviews by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolton ‡ | gain | Details | |||
| Bradford ‡ | gain | Details | |||
| Calderdale ‡ | gain | Details | |||
| Coventry ‡ | hold | Details | |||
| Doncaster ‡ | hold | Details | |||
| Leeds ‡ | gain | Details | |||
| Liverpool ‡ | hold | Details | |||
| Rochdale ‡ | gain | Details | |||
| Rotherham ‡ | hold | Details | |||
| Sheffield ‡ | hold | Details | |||
| St Helens ‡ | hold | Details | |||
| Stockport ‡ | hold | Details | |||
| Tameside ‡ | hold | Details | |||
| Trafford ‡ | hold | Details | |||
| Walsall ‡ | gain | Details | |||
| Wigan ‡ | hold | Details | |||
| Wirral ‡ | hold | Details | |||
‡ New ward boundaries
19 metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnsley | hold | Details | |||
| Birmingham | gain | Details | |||
| Bury | hold | Details | |||
| Dudley | gain | Details | |||
| Gateshead | hold | Details | |||
| Kirklees | gain | Details | |||
| Knowsley | hold | Details | |||
| Manchester | hold | Details | |||
| Newcastle upon Tyne | hold | Details | |||
| North Tyneside | hold | Details | |||
| Oldham | gain | Details | |||
| Salford | hold | Details | |||
| Sandwell | hold | Details | |||
| Sefton | hold | Details | |||
| Solihull | hold | Details | |||
| South Tyneside | hold | Details | |||
| Sunderland | hold | Details | |||
| Wakefield | hold | Details | |||
| Wolverhampton | gain | Details | |||
In 103 districts one third of the council was up for election.
A further 59 councils had passed a resolution under section 7 (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972, requesting a system of elections by thirds. They could do so because they had had their new ward boundaries introduced at the 1979 elections.
‡ New ward boundaries
See main article: 1980 Scottish local elections.