1981 West Midlands County Council election

1981 West Midlands County Council election

← 1977 7 May 1981 Abolished →
104 seats to the West Midlands County Council 52 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	36.6% ()
First party Second party Third party   Party Labour Conservative Liberal Last election 18 seats, 31.3 82 seats, 58.7% 3 seats, 4.3% Seats won 74 25 5 Seat change 56 57 2 Percentage 50.0% 36.7% 9.8% Swing 18.7% 22.0% 5.5%
Map showing the results of the 1981 West Midlands County Council election by electoral division.
Council control before election Conservative Council control after election Labour

Local elections to the West Midlands County Council, a Metropolitan County Council encompassing the West Midlands, were held on 7 May 1981, resulting in large swings to Labour, giving them control of the council.

This was the last election to the West Midlands County Council, after metropolitan county councils were scrapped on 31 March 1986 under the Local Government Act 1985 by the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher. The councils' abolition followed several high profile clashes between mostly Labour metropolitan county councils and the Conservative government over issues, including spending and rates charges.

Results

West Midlands County Council election, 1981 ^[1]

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	74					50.0		18.7
	Conservative	25					36.7		22.0
	Liberal	5					9.8		5.5
	Independent	0					0.5		0.1
	Green	0					0.4		0.3
	Other parties	0					2.5		2.5

Council composition

After the election the composition of the council was:

↓

74	25	5
Labour	Conservative	Liberal

Borough summary

Results of the West Midlands County Council election, 1981
by Metropolitan Borough

Borough	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	Total Cllrs
	Labour		Conservative		Liberal		Green		Independent		Others
Birmingham	49.7	30	35.0	9	12.4	3	0.8	0	0.1	0	2.0	0	42
Coventry	49.3	9	37.1	3	12.3	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	1.4	0	12
Dudley	57.2	9	40.2	2	1.7	0	0.7	0	0.0	0	0.2	0	11
Sandwell	60.5	9	28.9	1	9.9	2	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.7	0	12
Solihull	31.8	2	46.1	5	12.6	0	0.5	0	0.0	0	9.0	0	7
Walsall	44.1	7	35.0	3	10.3	0	0.0	0	3.8	0	6.8	0	10
Wolverhampton	53.0	8	42.1	2	3.4	0	0.0	0	0.7	0	0.9	0	8
Total	50.0	74	36.7	25	9.8	5	0.5	0	0.4	0	2.5	0	104

Party receiving the most votes by Metropolitan Borough

References

1. p.2-3