1983 United Kingdom general election in England

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1983 United Kingdom general election in England
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
  1979 9 June 1983 1987  

All 523 English seats in the House of Commons
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Margaret Thatcher (1983).jpg Michael Foot (1981).jpg
DavidSteel1987 cropped.jpg
Roy Jenkins 1977b.jpg
Leader Margaret Thatcher Michael Foot
Party Conservative Labour Alliance
Leader since 11 February 1975 10 November 1980
Leader's seat Finchley Blaenau Gwent
Last election306 seats, 47.2%203 seats, 36.7%7 seats, 14.9%
Seats before325 [lower-alpha 1] 193 [lower-alpha 1] 5 [lower-alpha 1]
Seats won36214813
Seat changeIncrease2.svg37 [lower-alpha 2] Decrease2.svg45 [lower-alpha 2] Increase2.svg8 [lower-alpha 2]
Popular vote11,711,5196,862,4226,714,957
Percentage46.0%26.8%26.4%
SwingDecrease2.svg1.2%Decrease2.svg9.8%Increase2.svg11.5%

The 1983 United Kingdom general election in England was held on 9 June 1983 for 523 English seats to the House of Commons. The Conservative Party won a landslide majority of English seats, gaining 37 seats for a total of 362. The Labour Party came second, winning 148 MPs, a decline of 45. Labour's share of the vote in England was its lowest since 1918, and its number of English MPs was its smallest since 1931. [1] The SDP–Liberal Alliance won 26.4% of the popular vote, just 0.4% behind Labour, but won only 13 seats compared to 148 for Labour, due to the first-past-the-post electoral system. [2] [3]

Contents

Results table

Party [1] SeatsVotes
TotalGainsLossesNet +/-% seatsTotal votes% votesChange
Conservative 362N/AN/AIncrease2.svg3769.211,711,51946.0Decrease2.svg1.2
Labour 148N/AN/ADecrease2.svg4528.36,862,42226.8Decrease2.svg9.8
Alliance 13N/AN/AIncrease2.svg82.56,714,95726.4Increase2.svg11.5
Other parties0N/AN/ASteady2.svg183,7480.7Decrease2.svg0.5
25,472,64672.5
Popular vote
Conservative
46.0%
Labour
26.8%
SDP–Liberal Alliance
26.4%
Other
0.7%
Parliament seats
Conservative
69.2%
Labour
28.3%
SDP–Liberal Alliance
2.5%

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Notional 1979 results.
  2. 1 2 3 Indicates boundary change—so this is a nominal figure.

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References

  1. 1 2 "GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS, 9 JUNE 1983" (PDF). 1984. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  2. Lindsay, Caron (2 April 2013). "The 1983 election: highlights and hindsight". Lib Dem Voice. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  3. Stats for Lefties [@LeftieStats] (25 September 2019). "It may seem unbelievable that Labour could outpoll the Lib Dems by just 2pts and win 198 more seats. But bear in mind that, in 1983, Labour won 26.8% in England. The SDP-Liberal Alliance won 26.4%. Labour won 148 seats. The Alliance won 13" (Tweet). Retrieved 31 May 2020 via Twitter.