1983 United Kingdom general election explained

Election Name:1983 United Kingdom general election
Country:United Kingdom
Type:parliamentary
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1979 United Kingdom general election
Previous Year:1979
Outgoing Members:List of MPs elected in the 1979 United Kingdom general election
Next Election:1987 United Kingdom general election
Next Year:1987
Elected Members:List of MPs elected in the 1983 United Kingdom general election
Seats For Election:All 650 seats in the House of Commons
Majority Seats:326
Elected Mps:List of MPs elected in the 1983 United Kingdom general election
Election Date:9 June 1983
Turnout:72.7%, 3.3%
Leader1:Margaret Thatcher
Leader Since1:11 February 1975
Party1:Conservative Party (UK)
Leaders Seat1:Finchley
Last Election1:339 seats, 43.9%
Seats Before1:359
Seats1:397
Seat Change1:58
Popular Vote1:13,012,316
Percentage1:42.4%
Swing1:1.5%
Leader2:Michael Foot
Leader Since2:10 November 1980
Party2:Labour Party (UK)
Leaders Seat2:Blaenau Gwent
Last Election2:269 seats, 36.9%
Seats Before2:261
Seats2:209
Seat Change2:60
Popular Vote2:8,456,934
Percentage2:27.6%
Swing2:9.3%
Party3:SDP–Liberal Alliance
Last Election3:11 seats, 13.8%
Seats Before3:9
Seats3:23
Seat Change3:12
Popular Vote3:7,780,949
Percentage3:25.4%
Swing3:11.6%
Map Size:200px
Map2 Image:File:1983 UK GE Westminster diagram.svg
Prime Minister
Map2 Caption:Composition of the House of Commons after the election
Posttitle:Prime Minister after election
Before Election:Margaret Thatcher
Before Party:Conservative Party (UK)
After Election:Margaret Thatcher
After Party:Conservative Party (UK)
Opinion Polls:Opinion polling for the 1983 United Kingdom general election

The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of the Labour Party in 1945, with a majority of 144 seats and the first of two consecutive landslide victories.[1]

Thatcher's first term as Prime Minister had not been an easy time. Unemployment increased during the first three years of her premiership and the economy went through a recession. However, the British victory in the Falklands War led to a recovery of her personal popularity, and economic growth had begun to resume.

By the time Thatcher called the election in May 1983, opinion polls pointed to a Conservative victory, with most national newspapers backing the re-election of the Conservative government. The resulting win earned the Conservatives their biggest parliamentary majority of the post-war era, and their second-biggest majority as a majority government, behind only the 1924 general election (they earned even more seats in the 1931 general election, but were part of the National Government).

The Labour Party had been led by Michael Foot since the resignation of former Prime Minister James Callaghan as Leader of the Labour Party in 1980, and its new policies were considered more left-wing than before. Several moderate Labour MPs had defected from the party to form the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which then formed the SDP–Liberal Alliance with the existing Liberal Party. Labour was further harmed by its promise to withdraw from the European Economic Community, which alienated Pro-European groups.

The opposition vote split almost evenly between the Alliance and Labour. With its worst electoral performance since 1931, the Labour vote fell by over 3,000,000 votes from 1979, accounting for both a national swing of almost 4% towards the Conservatives and their larger parliamentary majority of 144 seats, even though the Conservatives' total vote fell by almost 700,000. This was the last general election until 2015 in which a governing party increased its number of seats.

The Alliance finished in third place but came within 700,000 votes of out-polling Labour; by gaining 25.4% of the vote it won the largest percentage for any third party since 1923. Despite this, it won only 23 seats, whereas Labour won 209. The Liberals argued that a proportional electoral system would have given them a more representative number of MPs. Changing the electoral system from First-Past-The-Post had been a long-running campaign plank of the Liberal Party and would later be adopted by its successor, the Liberal Democrats.

The election night was broadcast live on the BBC and was presented by David Dimbleby, Sir Robin Day and Peter Snow. It was also broadcast on ITV and presented by Alastair Burnet, Peter Sissons and Martyn Lewis.

Three future leaders of the Labour Party were first elected to Parliament at this election: Tony Blair (1994–2007), Gordon Brown (2007–2010) and Jeremy Corbyn (2015–2020). In addition, two future Leaders of the Liberal Democrats, Paddy Ashdown and Charles Kennedy, were first elected. Michael Howard, who later served the Conservatives as Home Secretary in government and as party leader from 2003 to 2005, was also first elected to Parliament in 1983.

At the same time, a number of prominent Members of Parliament stepped aside or lost their seats. Former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson stood down from Parliament after 38 years, while the Alliance's Shirley Williams and Bill Pitt lost their seats only a short time after having won them. Joan Lestor and Tony Benn as well as former Liberal leader Jo Grimond and Speaker of the House of Commons and former Labour Cabinet Minister George Thomas also departed from Parliament at this election, although Benn would return after winning a by-election in Chesterfield the following year, and Lestor returned to Parliament after winning a seat at the next general election in 1987.

Background and campaign

Michael Foot was elected leader of the Labour Party at the end of 1980, replacing James Callaghan. The election of Foot signalled that the core of the party was swinging to the left and the move exacerbated divisions within the party. During 1981, a group of senior figures including Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams left Labour to found the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The SDP agreed to a pact with the Liberals for the 1983 election and stood as "The Alliance". For a while the Alliance topped the opinion polls and looked capable of achieving their goal of forming a coalition government at the next general election, but the success of the Falklands campaign in 1982 saw the political tide turn in favour of the Conservative government.

The election did not have to be held until 1984. Although political circumstances were clearly favourable for the government and opposition parties anticipated that Mrs Thatcher would go to the country in June, earlier in 1983 the Conservatives were split on the timing of the election. One faction favoured a June election, but another group wanted to wait until October before going to the country, while some within the Party even advocated delaying the contest until 1984. Supporters of waiting to a later time to hold an election included Thatcher's deputy and Home Secretary Willie Whitelaw and John Biffen who was then serving as Leader of the House of Commons.[2] On 27 April it was reported that all the Conservative party's regional agents had unanimously expressed a preference to Thatcher for a June election, although some members of her cabinet were advising her to wait until October.[3] On 8 May senior Conservatives met at Chequers and agreed to go to the country on 9 June. The election was formally called the next day and Parliament was dissolved on 13 May for a four-week official election campaign.[2]

The campaign displayed the huge divisions between the two major parties. Thatcher had been highly unpopular during her first two years in office until the swift and decisive victory in the Falklands War, coupled with an improving economy, considerably raised her standings in the polls. The Conservatives' key issues included reducing unemployment (which had increased from 1.5 million in 1979 to more than 3 million by 1982), continuing economic growth following the recent recession, and defence. Labour's campaign manifesto involved leaving the European Economic Community, abolishing the House of Lords, abandoning the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent by cancelling Trident and removing cruise missiles — a programme dubbed by Labour MP Gerald Kaufman "the longest suicide note in history"; "Although, at barely 37 pages, it only seemed interminable", noted Roy Hattersley. Pro-Labour political journalist Michael White, writing in The Guardian, commented: "There was something magnificently brave about Michael Foot's campaign but it was like the Battle of the Somme."

The Alliance had had a setback ahead of the campaign at the Darlington by-election in March. The contest was one that had looked promising ground for the SDP, but despite heavily campaigning in the Labour-held seat, the SDP candidate, who struggled when interviewed for television by Vincent Hanna finished a poor third, which stalled the momentum of the Alliance.[4] During the campaign, on Sunday 29 May, David Steel held a meeting with Jenkins and other Alliance leaders at his Ettrickbridge home. Steel, who polls showed was more popular proposed that Jenkins take a lower profile and that Steel take over as leader of the campaign. Jenkins rejected Steel's view and remained "Prime Minister designate", but Steel did have a heightened role on television for the last 10 days of the election campaign. According to Steve Richards the meeting meant Jenkins' "confidence was undermined and he staggered to the finishing line with less verve than he had displayed in the early days of the SDP" and showed little sign of his earlier "exuberance".[5] [6]

Notional election, 1979

Following boundary changes in 1983, the BBC and ITN (Independent Television News) co-produced a calculation of how the 1979 general election would have gone if fought on the new 1983 boundaries. The following table shows the effects of the boundary changes on the House of Commons:[7] |}

Timeline

The Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Buckingham Palace on the afternoon of 9 May and asked the Queen to dissolve Parliament on 13 May, announcing that the election would be held on 9 June.[8] The key dates were as follows:

Friday 13 MayDissolution of the 48th Parliament and campaigning officially begins
Monday 23 MayLast day to file nomination papers; 2,579 candidates enter
Wednesday 8 JuneCampaigning officially ends
Thursday 9 JunePolling day
Friday 10 JuneThe Conservative Party wins with a majority of 144 to retain power
Wednesday 15 June49th Parliament assembles
Wednesday 22 JuneState Opening of Parliament

Results

The election saw the Conservatives win a landslide victory,[9] improving on their 1979 result and achieving their best results since 1935. Although there was a slight drop in their share of the vote, they made significant gains at the expense of Labour. The Tories have yet to match their 1983 seat total in any subsequent general election, although they recorded a higher share of the popular vote in 2019.

The night was a disaster for the Labour Party; their share of the vote fell by over 9%, which meant they were only 700,000 votes ahead of the newly formed third party, the SDP–Liberal Alliance. The massive increase of support for the Alliance at the expense of Labour meant that, in many seats, the collapse in the Labour vote allowed the Conservatives to gain. Despite winning over 25% of the national vote, the Alliance got fewer than 4% of seats, 186 fewer than Labour. The most significant Labour loss of the night was Tony Benn, who was defeated in the revived Bristol East seat. SDP President Shirley Williams, then a prominent leader in the Social Democratic Party, lost her Crosby seat which she had won in a by-election in 1981. Bill Rodgers, another leading figure in the Alliance (like Williams, one of the "Gang of Four") also failed to win his old seat that he previously held as a Labour MP.

In Scotland, both Labour and the Conservatives sustained modest losses to the Alliance. Labour remained by far the largest party, with 41 seats to 21 for the Scottish Conservatives. The Scottish Conservatives have been unable to match their 1983 Westminster seat total since, although they did record a slightly larger share of the Scottish vote in 2017, by which time the Scottish National Party had become the dominant party in Scotland with the Conservatives being the largest unionist party, with 13 seats won in 2017; their strongest performance in Scotland in 34 years.

On a nationwide basis, the 1983 UK general election was the worst result in Labour's modern history until the 2019 general election, in terms of seats won. The result in 1983 remains the worst-ever modern performance for Labour in England.

|-|+ style="caption-side: bottom; font-weight:normal" |All parties with more than 500 votes shown.|}

Government's new majority144
Total votes cast30,671,137
Turnout72.7%

Seats summary

Incumbents defeated

PartyNameConstituencyOffice held whilst in ParliamentYear electedDefeated byParty
Tony BennBristol South East (contested Bristol East)Secretary of State for Energy (1975–1979)1950Jonathan Sayeed
Albert BoothBarrow and FurnessSecretary of State for Employment (1976–1979)1966Cecil Franks
Arthur DavidsonAccrington (contested Hyndburn)Shadow Attorney General (1982–1983)1966Ken Hargreaves
Neil CarmichaelGlasgow Kelvingrove (contested Glasgow Hillhead)Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department of Industry (1975–1976)1962Roy Jenkins MP
Bob CryerKeighley1974Gary Waller
Joseph DeanLeeds WestLord Commissioner of the Treasury (1978–1979)1974Michael Meadowcroft
David EnnalsNorwich NorthSecretary of State for Social Services (1976–1979)1974Patrick Thompson
John GarrettNorwich South1974John Powley
Ted GrahamEdmontonLord Commissioner of the Treasury (1976–1979)1974Ian Twinn
William HomewoodKettering (contested Corby)1979William Powell
Frank HooleySheffield Heeley (contested Stratford-on-Avon)1966Alan Howarth
Russell KerrFeltham and Heston1966Patrick Ground
Joan LestorEton and Slough (contested Slough)Chair of the Labour Party (1977–78)1966John Watts
Alex LyonYork1966Conal Gregory
Jim MarshallLeicester South1974Derek Spencer
Roland MoyleLewisham EastMinister of State for Health (1976–1979)1966Colin Moynihan
Stan NewensHarlow1974Jerry Hayes
Oswald O'BrienDarlington1983Michael Fallon
Christopher PriceLewisham West1974John Maples
Gwilym RobertsCannock (contested Cannock and Burntwood)1974Gerald Howarth
John SeverBirmingham Ladywood, contested (Meriden)1977Iain Mills
John SpellarBirmingham Northfield1982Roger Douglas King
David StoddartSwindonLord Commissioner of the Treasury (1975–1978)1970Simon Coombs
Shirley SummerskillHalifaxUnder-Secretary of State for the Home Department (1976–1979)1964Roy Galley
Ann TaylorBolton West (contested Bolton North East)1974Peter Thurnham
John TilleyLambeth Central (contested Southwark and Bermondsey)1978Simon Hughes MP
Frank WhiteBury and Radcliffe (contested Bury North)1974Alistair Burt
Phillip WhiteheadDerby North1970Greg Knight
William WhitlockNottingham NorthUnder-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1968–1969)1959Richard Ottaway
Kenneth WoolmerBatley and Morley (contested Batley and Spen)1979Elizabeth Peacock
Tom Bradley[10] Leicester East1962Peter Bruinvels
Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler[11] North West Norfolk1970Henry Bellingham
Ronald BrownHackney South and Shoreditch1964Brian Sedgemore
Richard CrawshawLiverpool Toxteth (contested Liverpool Broadgreen)Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means (1979–1981)1964Terry Fields
George CunninghamIslington South and Finsbury1970Chris Smith
Tom EllisWrexham (contested Clwyd South West)1970Robert Harvey
David GinsburgDewsbury1959John Whitfield
John GrantIslington Central (contested Islington North)Under-Secretary of State for Employment (1976–1979)1970Jeremy Corbyn
John HoramGateshead West (contested Newcastle upon Tyne Central)Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (1976–1979)1970Piers Merchant
Ednyfed Hudson DaviesCaerphilly (contested Basingstoke)1979Andrew Hunter
Edward LyonsBradford West1966Max Madden
Dickson MabonGreenock and Port Glasgow (contested Inverclyde)Minister for Energy (1976–1979)1955Anna McCurley
Tom McNallyStockport South (contested Stockport)1979Anthony Favell
Bryan MageeLeyton1974Harry Cohen
Bob MitchellSouthampton Itchen1971Christopher Chope
Eric OgdenLiverpool West Derby1964Bob Wareing
William RodgersStockton-on-Tees (contested Stockton North)Secretary of State for Transport (1976–1979)1962Frank Cook
John RoperFarnworth (contested Worsley)SDP Chief Whip (1981–83)1970Terry Lewis
Neville SandelsonHayes and Harlington1971Terry Dicks
Jeffrey ThomasAbertillery (contested Cardiff West)1970Stefan Terlezki
Michael ThomasNewcastle upon Tyne East1974Nick Brown
James WellbelovedErith and Crayford1965David Evennett
Shirley WilliamsCrosby (elected as SDP)Secretary of State for Education and Science (1976–1979)1981Malcolm Thornton
David MylesBanffshire (contested Orkney and Shetland)1979Jim Wallace
Iain SproatAberdeen South (contested Roxburgh and Berwickshire)1970Archy Kirkwood
Delwyn WilliamsMontgomeryshire1979Alex Carlile
Hamish GrayRoss and Cromarty (contested Ross, Cromarty and Skye)Minister of State for Energy (1979–1983)1970Charles Kennedy
Ben FordBradford North1964Geoffrey Lawler
Arthur LewisNewham North West1945Tony Banks
Michael O'HalloranIslington North1969Jeremy Corbyn
Gerry Fitt[12] Belfast West1966Gerry Adams
Owen CarronFermanagh and South Tyrone1981Ken Maginnis
Bill PittCroydon North West1981Humfrey Malins

Tables of target seats

Conservative targets

RankConstituency1983 winner
1Isle of Wight
2Oxford East
3Cunninghame North
4Corby
5Nottingham East
6Hertfordshire West
7Mitcham and Morden
8Derbyshire South
9Leicestershire North West
10Southampton Itchen
11Halifax
12Stockton South
13Lewisham West
14Edmonton
15Stevenage
16York
17Darlington
18Ceredigion and Pembroke North
19Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber
20Bridgend

Labour targets

To regain an overall majority, Labour needed to make at least 65 gains.

RankConstituency1983 winner
1Birmingham Northfield
2Bury South
3Dulwich
4Liverpool Broadgreen
5Nottingham South
6Aberdeen South
7Stirling
8Hornchurch
9Luton South
10Calder Valley
11Pendle
12Bolton North East
13Cardiff Central
14Croydon North West
15Fulham
16Cambridge
17Birmingham Erdington
18Dudley West
19Welwyn Hatfield
20Glasgow Cathcart

SDP–Liberal Alliance targets

RankConstituency1983 winner
1Roxburgh and Berwickshire
2Richmond and Barnes
3Montgomeryshire
4Chelmsford
5Wiltshire North
6Cornwall North
7Hereford
8Colne Valley
9Gordon
10Southport
11Salisbury
12Devon North
13Gainsborough and Horncastle
14Cornwall South East
15Clwyd South West
16Liverpool Broadgreen
17Newbury
18Yeovil
19Pudsey
20Ross, Cromarty and Skye

Opinion polls

See main article: Opinion polling for the 1983 United Kingdom general election.

See also

Further reading

  • the standard scholarly study

Manifestos

Notes and References

  1. Book: David Butler and Dennis Kavanagh. The British General Election of 1979 . 1980 . Macmillan Publishers Limited. London . 0333269349. 197 .
  2. Book: Julian Haviland . The Times Guide to the House of Commons June 1983 . 1983 . Times Books Ltd . London . 0-7230-0255-X . 23 . The June 1983 Election Campaign:Conservative lead was never challenged.
  3. News: Parkhouse . Geoffrey . Go for June election, agents urge Thatcher . 11 July 2020 . The Glasgow Herald . 27 April 1983 . 1.
  4. Book: Richards . Steve . The Prime Ministers We Never Had; Success and Failure from Butler to Corbyn . 2021 . Atlantic Books . London . 978-1-83895-241-9 . 70–71.
  5. Book: Richards . Steve . The Prime Ministers We Never Had; Success and Failure from Butler to Corbyn . 2021 . Atlantic Books . London . 978-1-83895-241-9 . 71.
  6. Book: Julian Haviland . The Times Guide to the House of Commons June 1983 . 1983 . Times Books Ltd . London . 0-7230-0255-X . 26 . The June 1983 Election Campaign:Conservative lead was never challenged.
  7. Book: Craig . F.W.S. . The BBC/ITN Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies . 1983 . Parliamentary Research Services . Chichester . 978-0-90017-814-6 .
  8. News: Thatcher Sets June 9 For Election . 10 May 1983 . The Washington Post . Osnos . Peter . 14 May 2023.
  9. Book: David Butler and Dennis Kavanagh. The British General Election of 1979 . 1980 . Macmillan Publishers Limited. London . 0333269349. 197 .
  10. Elected as a Labour MP
  11. Elected as a Conservative Party
  12. Elected as a SDLP MP