| Election Name: | 1983 Labour Party deputy leadership election |
| Flag Image: | Oldlabour2 cropped.png --> |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1981 Labour Party deputy leadership election |
| Previous Year: | 1981 |
| Next Election: | 1988 Labour Party deputy leadership election |
| Next Year: | 1988 |
| 1Blank: | Overall result |
| 2Blank: | Affiliated unions |
| 3Blank: | Party members |
| 4Blank: | Labour MPs |
| Image1: | Roy Hattersley 2012 cropped 2.jpg |
| Image1 Size: | 160x160px |
| Candidate1: | Roy Hattersley |
| 1Data1: | 67.3% |
| 2Data1: | 88.2% |
| 3Data1: | 51.0% |
| 4Data1: | 55.7% |
| Image2 Size: | 160x160px |
| Candidate2: | Michael Meacher |
| 1Data2: | 27.9% |
| 2Data2: | 11.8% |
| 3Data2: | 47.8% |
| 4Data2: | 29.4% |
| Candidate4: | Denzil Davies |
| Colour4: | DC241F |
| 1Data4: | 3.5% |
| 2Data4: | — |
| 3Data4: | 0.8% |
| 4Data4: | 10.9% |
| Image5: | File:Dunwoody.jpg |
| Image5 Size: | 140x140px |
| Candidate5: | Gwyneth Dunwoody |
| Colour5: | DC241F |
| 1Data5: | 1.3% |
| 2Data5: | — |
| 3Data5: | 0.3% |
| 4Data5: | 4.0% |
| Deputy Leader | |
| Before Election: | Denis Healey |
| After Election: | Roy Hattersley |
A deputy leadership election for the Labour Party in the United Kingdom took place on 2 October 1983 to replace incumbent Deputy Leader Denis Healey. Healey had served in the position since 1980, becoming deputy leader at the same time that Michael Foot became party leader. Foot and Healey had both announced their resignations after the general election on 9 June 1983, in which a disastrous performance left the Labour Party with just 209 seats in parliament.
The election was conducted using the Labour party's electoral college. It was won by Roy Hattersley, who won more than two-thirds of the votes. On the same day, Neil Kinnock won the leadership election. A young Peter Mandelson was employed in Hattersley's campaign team for the deputy leadership contest.
The election took place at Labour Party conference, with affiliated trade unions holding 40% of the votes, delegates from Constituency Labour Parties holding 30% of the votes, and the Parliamentary Labour Party holding the final 30% of the votes.
| Candidate[1] | Affiliated block votes (40%)[2] | CLP block votes (30%) | PLP votes (30%) | Overall result | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | % | |||
| Roy Hattersley | 5,349 | 88.2 | 318 | 51.0 | 112 | 55.7 | 67.3 | ||
| Michael Meacher | 718 | 11.8 | 298 | 47.8 | 59 | 29.4 | 27.9 | ||
| Denzil Davies | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | 0.8 | 22 | 10.9 | 3.5 | ||
| Gwyneth Dunwoody | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0.3 | 8 | 4.0 | 1.3 | ||