| Election Name: | 1981 Lancashire County Council Election |
| Country: | Lancashire |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Previous Election: | 1977 Lancashire County Council election |
| Previous Year: | 1977 |
| Next Election: | 1985 Lancashire County Council election |
| Next Year: | 1985 |
| Seats For Election: | All 99 seats on Lancashire County Council |
| Majority Seats: | 50 |
| Party1: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Last Election1: | 12 seats, 28.0 % |
| Seats After1: | 53 |
| Seat Change1: | 41 |
| Popular Vote1: | 191,885 |
| Percentage1: | 44.4 % |
| Swing1: | 16.4 ppt |
| Party2: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Last Election2: | 83 seats, 61.7 % |
| Seats After2: | 38 |
| Seat Change2: | 45 |
| Popular Vote2: | 184,410 |
| Percentage2: | 42.7 % |
| Swing2: | 19.0 ppt |
| Party3: | Liberal Party (UK) |
| Last Election3: | 1 seat, 6.8 % |
| Seats After3: | 6 |
| Seat Change3: | 5 |
| Popular Vote3: | 42,304 |
| Percentage3: | 9.8 % |
| Swing3: | 3.0 ppt |
| Leader | |
| Before Party: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| After Party: | Labour Party (UK) |
Elections were held to Lancashire County Council as part of the wider 1981 United Kingdom local elections and under new division boundaries.[1] Any multi-member wards were abolished and each of 99 wards returned one councillor in this election. The election saw a significant Labour recovery from the previous, along with a Conservative fall, leading Labour to gain control of the council for the first time in its history.
| Party | Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 53 | ||
| Conservatives | 38 | ||
| Liberals | 6 | ||
| Residents | 2 | ||