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1982 Strathclyde Regional Council election

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1982 Strathclyde Regional Council election
← 1978 6 May 1982 (1982-05-06) 1986 →

All 103 seats to Strathclyde Regional Council
52 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Lab
Con
Lib
Leader Dick Stewart Leonard Turpie
Party Labour Conservative Liberal
Last election 72 seats, 43.0% 25 seats, 30.0% 2 seats, 1.8%
Seats won 79 15 4
Seat change Increase7 Decrease10 Increase2
Popular vote 340,118 166,910 70,238
Percentage 45.8% 22.5% 9.5%
Swing Increase2.8% Decrease7.5% Decrease7.7%

Result of the election

Council Leader before election

Dick Stewart
Labour

Council Leader after election

Dick Stewart
Labour

Elections to Strathclyde Regional Council were held on Thursday 6 May 1982, on the same day as the eight other Scottish regional elections. This was the third election to the regional council following the local government reforms in the 1970s.

The election was the first to use the 103 electoral divisions created by the Initial Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in 1978. Each electoral division elected one councillor using first-past-the-post voting.[1]

Labour, who had won every previous election to Strathclyde Regional Council, retained a large majority by winning 79 of the 103 seats – up seven from the previous election in 1978. The Conservatives remained as the second largest party despite their vote share falling by 7.5%. The party won 15 seats, 10 fewer than in the previous election. The Liberal Party doubled their representation on the regional council after winning four seats. Despite coming third in the popular vote, the Scottish National Party (SNP) were the fourth-largest party on the regional council after they gained only one seat to hold three. The remaining two seats were won by independent candidates.

The Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) contested this election as a political alliance in which only one of the two parties would stand a candidate in any given seat.[2]

The Conservative group leader, Leonard Turpie, lost his seat to the SDP-Liberal Alliance. They also lost the adjoining seat to Labour. Both seats were contained within the Glasgow Hillhead constituency won in March by SDP figure Roy Jenkins.[3]

Following the election, there was an attempt to unseat the incumbent leader of Strathclyde Regional Council Dick Stewart, who had held the position since the council's creation. He was challenged for the leadership by his longtime friend and colleague Charles Gray at the first meeting of the Labour group following the election. The attempt however failed, with Stewart retaining the leadership with 40 votes to Gray's 38.[4]

Results

[edit]
1982 Strathclyde Regional Council election
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Labour 79 Increase6 76.7 45.8 340,118 Increase2.8
  Conservative 15 Decrease10 14.6 22.5 166,910 Decrease7.5
  Liberal 4 Increase2 3.9 17.8 70,238 Increase16.1
  SNP 3 Increase1 2.9 12.5 92,927 Decrease10.0
  Independent 2 Increase1 1.9 1.6 12,204 Increase0.9
  SDP 0 Steady0 0.0 7.6 56,470 New
  Communist 0 Steady0 0.0 0.3 2,165 Steady0.0
  Ecology 0 Steady0 0.0 569 New
  Protest Campaign Against the Papal Visit 0 Steady0 0.0 534 New
  Independent Labour 0 Steady0 0.0 402
  Workers Revolutionary 0 Steady0 0.0 205
  Twentieth Century Reformation Movement 0 Steady0 0.0 136 New
Total 103 742,878

Source:[5][6]

Electoral division results

[edit]

Argyll and Bute

[edit]
Kintyre
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative J. McCorkindale 2,444 65.6
Labour D. McMillan 1,274 34.2
Majority 1,170 31.4
Turnout 3,718 43.4
Conservative hold
Mid-Argyll/Islay
Party Candidate Votes %
SNP N. MacNeil 2,635 60.0
Conservative J. Mackie 1,396 28.2
Ecology C. Gladstone 352 8.0
Majority 1,240 31.4
Turnout 4,383 42.3
SNP hold
Lorn and Mull
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative D. Webster Unopposed
Conservative hold
Bute/West Cowal
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative J. McMillan 2,292 55.1
SNP R. Strong 1,232 29.6
Labour M. McGrorarty 624 15.0
Majority 1,060 25.6
Turnout 4,148 49.8
Conservative hold
Dunoon/East Cowal
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent J. Walsh 1,318 29.8
Conservative J. A. Douglas 1,121 25.3
Independent J. MacKinnon 603 13.6
Independent M. Murton 469 10.6
Liberal A. Lyall 456 10.3
Labour J. Cullen 456 10.3
Majority 197 4.5
Turnout 4,423 49.4
Independent gain from Liberal

Dumbarton

[edit]
Dumbarton
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour I. MacDonald 3,751 44.5
Liberal J. Murricane 2,178 25.9
Conservative R. Graham 1,632 19.4
SNP G. Clarkson 851 10.1
Majority 1,573 18.6
Turnout 8,412 45.2
Helensburgh
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent W. Petrie 6,735 73.5
SDP R. Sawyer 1,337 14.6
Labour J. Carleton 609 6.6
SNP J. B. Cowey 465 5.1
Majority 5,398 58.9
Turnout 9,146 50.4
Independent hold
Vale of Leven
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour D. Mills 6,181 62.0
SNP N. McEwan 1,609 16.1
Conservative P. Grant 1,250 12.5
Communist J. Bollan 496 5.0
Independent Labour G. Muir 402 4.0
Majority 4,572 45.9
Turnout 9,938 48.9
Labour hold
Drumry/Summerhill
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour A. McLean 3,460 63.5
SNP T. Humble 1,445 26.5
Conservative D. Gibson 436 8.0
Communist A. Jackson 96 1.8
Majority 2,015 37.0
Turnout 5,437 35.0
Labour hold

Glasgow

[edit]
Blairdarrie/Knightscliffe
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour J. W. MacKechnie 3,253 46.2
SDP G. Beattie 1,521 21.6
Conservative C. A. Lawson 1,340 19.1
SNP J. Ruddy 912 13.0
Majority 1,732 24.6
Turnout 7,026 40.0
Labour hold
Yoker/Knightswood
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour W. Perry 4,175 62.1
Conservative E. Ledgewood 1,211 18.0
SNP J. Lang 1,203 17.9
Communist J. Moffat 117 1.7
Majority 2,964 44.1
Turnout 6,706 37.2
Labour hold
Scotstoun/Broomhill
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour K. Murray 2,835 32.5
SDP C. Ainsworth 2,385 27.4
Conservative L. M. Rosin 2,227 25.6
SNP W. Lindsay Jnr. 1,141 13.1
Communist L. D. Bain 124 1.4
Majority 450 5.1
Turnout 8,712 45.7
Kelvinside/Kelvindale
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal C. M. Mason 3,833 40.7
Conservative L. MacK Turpie 3,809 40.5
Labour C. F. Rushton 1,223 13.0
SNP P. D. Johnson 435 4.6
Ecology A. Whitelaw 104 1.1
Majority 24 0.2
Turnout 9,404 47.7
Liberal gain from Conservative

Kilmarnock North

[edit]
Kilmarnock North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour J. Hunter 4,707 62.0 Increase 9.6
Liberal W. George 1,697 22.4 New
SNP G. Gibson 984 13.0 Decrease 14.5
Twentieth Century Reformation Movement J. Sloan 136 1.8 New
Majority 3,010 39.6 Increase 14.7
Turnout 7,524 39.7 Decrease 8.4
Registered electors 19,125
Labour hold Swing Increase 12.0

Source:[5][6]

Kilmarnock South

[edit]
Kilmarnock South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour R. Carson 3,894 45.4 Increase 6.4
Conservative A. McCluskey 1,904 22.2 Decrease 9.5
SDP G. Gunn 1,804 21.0 New
SNP T. Kennaugh 956 11.2 Decrease 17.9
Majority 1,990 23.2 Increase 16.9
Turnout 8,558 41.5 Decrease 4.6
Registered electors 20,634
Labour hold Swing Increase 7.9

Source:[5][6]

Stewarton and Irvine Valley

[edit]
Stewarton and Irvine Valley
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour D. Fulton 4,321 46.3 Increase 3.5
Conservative A. MacDougall 2,345 25.1 Decrease 4.2
Liberal A. Dick 1,638 17.5 New
SNP A. Young 1,022 10.9 Decrease 16.9
Majority 1,976 21.2 Increase 7.7
Turnout 9,326 44.3 Decrease 6.9
Registered electors 21,054
Labour hold Swing Increase 3.8

Source:[5][6]

Cumnock

[edit]
Cumnock
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour J. Boyd 4,430 68.0 Increase 16.1
SNP R. Esquierdo 812 12.5 Increase 2.1
Conservative N. Martin 706 10.8 Decrease 1.8
SDP M. Dwan 551 8.5 New
Majority 3,618 55.5 Increase 28.5
Turnout 6,499 39.8 Decrease 6.3
Registered electors 16,347
Labour hold Swing Increase 20.5

Source:[5][6]

New Cumnock and Doon Valley

[edit]
New Cumnock and Doon Valley
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour W. Goudie 4,147 59.2 Increase 10.9
SDP M. Ali 1,975 28.2 New
Conservative P. Richards 871 12.4 Decrease 2.0
Majority 2,172 31.0 Increase 19.8
Turnout 6,993 41.1 Decrease 6.0
Registered electors 17,034
Labour hold Swing Increase 24.0

Source:[5][6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Initial Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements". Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  2. ^ Cook, Chris (2010). A Short History of the Liberal Party: The Road Back to Power (seventh ed.). Houndmills and New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-21044-8.
  3. ^ "Crushing Blow to Tories". The Glasgow Herald. 7 May 1982. p. 1.
  4. ^ "Challenge to Strathclyde Leader Fails". The Glasgow Herald. 8 May 1982. p. 13.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1982). The Scottish Regional Elections 1982: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T.; McHardy, B. J. (1978). The Scottish Regional Elections 1978: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. Retrieved 6 December 2022.