1983 United Kingdom general election

1983 United Kingdom general election

9 June 1983
All 650 seats in the House of Commons 326 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout	72.7%, 3.3%
First party Second party Third party   File:David Steel crop.jpg Leader Margaret Thatcher Michael Foot David Steel (Lib) Roy Jenkins (SDP) Party Conservative Labour Alliance Leader since 11 February 1975 10 November 1980 7 July 1976 (Steel) 7 July 1982 (Jenkins) Leader's seat Finchley Blaenau Gwent Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale (Steel) Glasgow Hillhead (Jenkins) Last election 339 seats, 43.9% 269 seats, 36.9% 11 seats, 13.8% Seats before 339 261 11 Seats won 397 209 23 Seat change 58 60 12 Popular vote 13,012,316 8,456,934 7,780,949 Percentage 42.4% 27.6% 25.4% Swing 1.5% 9.3% 11.6%
Colours denote the winning party—as shown in § Results
Composition of the House of Commons after the election
Prime Minister before election Margaret Thatcher Conservative Prime Minister after election Margaret Thatcher Conservative

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 landslide majority of 144 seats.

Thatcher's first four years 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; the economy had also returned to growth. By the time Thatcher called the election in May 1983, the Conservatives were most people's firm favourites to win the general election. The resulting win earned the Conservatives their biggest parliamentary majority of the post-war era, and their second-biggest majority as a single-party government, behind only the 1924 election (they earned even more seats in the 1931 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 in 1980. They had fared well in opinion polls and local elections during this time, but issues developed which would lead directly to their defeat. Labour adopted a platform that was considered more left-wing than usual. Several moderate Labour MPs had defected from the party to form the Social Democratic Party (SDP); they then formed the SDP–Liberal Alliance with the existing Liberal Party.

The opposition vote split almost evenly between the Alliance and Labour. With its worst electoral performance since 1918, the Labour vote fell by over 3 million votes from 1979 and this accounted 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 sixty years prior. 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 had been a long-running Liberal Party campaign plank, and would later be adopted by 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 (Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Jeremy Corbyn) were first elected at this election; Blair and Brown went on to hold the office of Prime Minister. Former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson, Shirley Williams, Bill Rodgers, Joan Lestor, Tony Benn as well as Speaker of the House of Commons and former Labour cabinet minister George Thomas left the House of Commons as a result of this election, although Benn would return in a by-election the following year, and Lestor at the following general election. In addition, two future Leaders of the Liberal Democrats were first elected (Paddy Ashdown and Charles Kennedy), and one of the Conservative Party (Michael Howard).

Background and campaign

Michael Foot was elected leader of the Labour Party in 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. In 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".

The election did not have to be held for another year. 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. 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. 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 leaving exactly a month for the official election campaign.

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 employment, economic growth 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."

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:

UK General Election 1979

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	359			+20	55	44.9	13,703,429
	Labour	261			−8	40	37.7	11,512,877
	Liberal	9			−2	1	14.2	4,324,936
	SNP	2			0	0	1.6	497,128
	Plaid Cymru	2			0	0	0.4	135,241
	Other parties	17			+5	3	3.4	1,063,263

Timeline

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. The key dates were as follows:

Friday 13 May	Dissolution of the 48th Parliament and campaigning officially begins
Monday 23 May	Last day to file nomination papers; 2,579 candidates enter
Wednesday 8 June	Campaigning officially ends
Thursday 9 June	Polling day
Friday 10 June	The Conservative Party wins with a majority of 144 to retain power
Wednesday 15 June	49th Parliament assembles
Wednesday 22 June	State Opening of Parliament

Results

Further information: Results of the 1983 United Kingdom general election

The election saw a landslide victory for the Conservatives, 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 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 Tories 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 Tories being the largest unionist party.

On a UK-wide basis, the 1983 election was the worst result in Labour's modern history until the 2019 election. The 1983 result remains the worst-ever modern performance for Labour in England.

↓ 

style="background:Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color; width:61.1%;" | 397	style="background:Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color; width:32.2%;" | 209	style="background:Template:SDP–Liberal Alliance/meta/color; color:black; width:3.5%;" | 23	21
Conservative	Labour	Alliance	O

1983 UK general election

All parties with more than 500 votes shown.

			Candidates						Votes
Party		Leader	Stood	Elected	Gained	Unseated	Net	% of total	%	No.	Net %
	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher	633	397	47	10	+37	61.1	42.4	13,012,316	−1.5
	Labour	Michael Foot	633	209	4	55	−51	32.2	27.6	8,456,934	−9.3
	Alliance	David Steel & Roy Jenkins	636	23	12	0	+12	4.5	25.4	7,794,770	+11.6
	SNP	Gordon Wilson	72	2	0	0	0	0.3	1.1	331,975	−0.5
	Ulster Unionist	James Molyneaux	16	11	3	1	+2	1.7	0.8	259,952	0.0
	DUP	Ian Paisley	14	3	2	1	+1	0.5	0.5	152,749	+0.3
	SDLP	John Hume	17	1	0	1	−1	0.2	0.4	137,012	0.0
	Plaid Cymru	Dafydd Wigley	38	2	0	0	0	0.3	0.4	125,309	0.0
	Sinn Féin	Ruairí Ó Brádaigh	14	1	1	1	0	0.2	0.3	102,701	N/A
	Alliance	Oliver Napier	12	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.2	61,275	−0.1
	Ecology	Jonathon Porritt	109	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.2	54,299	+0.1
	Independent	N/A	73	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.1	30,422	N/A
	National Front	Andrew Brons	60	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.1	27,065	−0.5
	UPUP	James Kilfedder	1	1	1	0	+1	0.2	0.1	22,861	N/A
	Independent Labour	N/A	8	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.1	16,447	0.0
	Workers' Party of Ireland	Tomás Mac Giolla	14	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	14,650	−0.1
	BNP	John Tyndall	54	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	14,621	N/A
	Communist	Gordon McLennan	35	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	11,606	−0.1
	Independent Socialist	N/A	1	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	10,326	N/A
	Ind. Conservative	N/A	10	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	9,442	0.0
	Independent Communist	N/A	2	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	4,760	N/A
	Workers Revolutionary	Michael Banda	21	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	3,798	−0.1
	Monster Raving Loony	Screaming Lord Sutch	11	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	3,015	N/A
	Wessex Regionalist	N/A	10	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	1,750	0.0
	Mebyon Kernow	Richard Jenkin	2	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	1,151	N/A
	Independent DUP	N/A	1	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	1,134	N/A
	Licensees	N/A	4	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	934	N/A
	Nationalist Party	N/A	5	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	874	N/A
	Labour and Trade Union	Peter Hadden	1	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	584	N/A
	Revolutionary Communist	Frank Furedi	4	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	581	N/A
	Freedom Party	N/A	1	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	508	N/A

Government's new majority	144
Total votes cast	30,671,137
Turnout	72.7%

Votes summary

Seats won in the election (outer ring) against number of votes (inner ring)

Popular vote Conservative   42.4% Labour   27.6% SDP–Liberal   25.4% Scottish National   1.1% Ulster Unionist   0.9% Independent   0.3% Others   2.4%

Seats summary

Parliamentary seats Conservative   61.1% Labour   32.2% SDP–Liberal   3.5% Ulster Unionist   1.7% Others   1.5%

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The disproportionality of the House of Commons in the 1983 election was "20.62" according to the Gallagher Index, mainly between the Conservatives and the Alliance.

Incumbents defeated

Labour

• Tony Benn (Bristol South East) contested (Bristol East), former Secretary of State for Energy (1975–1979)
• Albert Booth (Barrow and Furness), former Secretary of State for Employment (1976–1979)
• Arthur Davidson (Accrington) contested (Hyndburn), Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales
• Neil Carmichael (Glasgow Kelvingrove) contested (Glasgow Hillhead)
• Robert Cryer (Keighley)
• Joseph Dean (Leeds West), former Government Whip (1978–1979)
• David Ennals (Norwich North), former Secretary of State for Social Services (1976–1979)
• John Garrett (Norwich South)
• Edward Graham (Edmonton), former Lord Commissioner of the Treasury (1976–1979)
• William Homewood (Kettering) contested (Corby)
• Frank Hooley (Sheffield Heeley) contested (Stratford-on-Avon)
• Russell Kerr (Feltham and Heston)
• Joan Lestor (Eton and Slough) contested (Slough)
• Alex Lyon (York)
• Jim Marshall (Leicester South)
• Roland Moyle (Lewisham East), former Minister of State for Health
• Stan Newens (Harlow)
• Ossie O'Brien (Darlington)
• Christopher Price (Lewisham West)
• Gwilym Roberts (Cannock) contested (Cannock and Burntwood)
• John Sever (Birmingham Ladywood, contested (Meriden)
• John Spellar (Birmingham Northfield, by-election win)
• David Stoddart (Swindon)
• Shirley Summerskill (Halifax)
• Ann Taylor (Bolton West) contested (Bolton North East), former Assistant Government Whip (1977–1979)
• John Tilley (Lambeth Central) contested (Southwark and Bermondsey)
• Frank White (Bury and Radcliffe) contested (Bury North)
• Phillip Whitehead (Derby North
• William Whitlock (Nottingham North)
• Kenneth Woolmer (Batley and Morley) contested (Batley and Spen)

Social Democratic Party

• Tom Bradley (Leicester East)
• Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler (North West Norfolk), only Conservative MP to join SDP
• Ronald Brown (Hackney South and Shoreditch)
• Richard Crawshaw (Liverpool Toxteth) contested (Liverpool Broadgreen), former Second Deputy Chairmen of Ways and Means (1979–1981)
• George Cunningham (Islington South and Finsbury)
• Tom Ellis (Wrexham) contested (Clwyd South West)
• David Ginsburg (Dewsbury)
• John Grant (Islington Central) contested (Islington North)
• John Horam (Gateshead West) contested (Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
• Ednyfed Hudson Davies (Caerphilly) contested (Basingstoke)
• Edward Lyons (Bradford West)
• Dickson Mabon (Greenock and Port Glasgow) contested (Renfrew West and Inverclyde), former Minister for Energy (1976–1979)
• Tom McNally (Stockport South) contested (Stockport)
• Bryan Magee (Leyton)
• Bob Mitchell (Southampton Itchen)
• Eric Ogden (Liverpool West Derby)
• William Rodgers (Stockton-on-Tees) contested (Stockton North) , former Secretary of State for Transport (1976–1979)
• John Roper (Farnworth) contested (Worsley), Chief Whip, Social Democrat Party (from 1981)
• Neville Sandelson (Hayes and Harlington)
• Jeffrey Thomas (Abertillery) contested (Cardiff West)
• Michael Thomas (Newcastle-upon-Tyne East)
• James Wellbeloved (Erith and Crayford)
• Shirley Williams (Crosby), former Secretary of State for Education and Science (1976–1979), President of the Social Democratic Party (from 1982)

Independent Labour

• Ben Ford (Bradford North), formerly Labour, stood as independent after being de-selected
• Arthur Lewis (Newham North West), formerly Labour, stood as independent after being de-selected
• Michael O'Halloran (Islington North), formerly Labour and SDP but stood as independent when not selected for seat

Sinn Féin

• Owen Carron (Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

Independent Socialist

• Gerry Fitt (Belfast West)

Liberal Party

• Bill Pitt (Croydon North West)

Conservative

• David Myles (Banffshire), contested Orkney and Shetland
• Iain Sproat (Aberdeen South), contested Roxburgh and Berwickshire
• Delwyn Williams (Montgomeryshire)
• Hamish Gray (Ross and Cromarty) contested Ross, Cromarty and Skye, Minister of State for Energy

Target tables

Conservative targets

Rank	Constituency	1983 winner
1	Isle of Wight style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFD700;" data-sort-value="SDP–Liberal Alliance" |	Alliance
2	Oxford East style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
3	Cunninghame North style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
4	Corby style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
5	Nottingham East style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
6	Hertfordshire West style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
7	Mitcham and Morden style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
8	Derbyshire South style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
9	Leicestershire North West style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
10	Southampton Itchen style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
11	Halifax style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
12	Stockton South style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFD700;" data-sort-value="SDP–Liberal Alliance" |	Alliance
13	Lewisham West style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
14	Edmonton style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
15	Stevenage style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
16	York style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
17	Darlington style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
18	Ceredigion and Pembroke North style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFD700;" data-sort-value="SDP–Liberal Alliance" |	Alliance
19	Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFD700;" data-sort-value="SDP–Liberal Alliance" |	Alliance
20	Bridgend style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative

Labour targets

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

Rank	Constituency	1983 winner
1	Birmingham Northfield style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
2	Bury South style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
3	Dulwich style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
4	Liverpool Broadgreen style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" |	Labour
5	Nottingham South style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
6	Aberdeen South style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
7	Stirling style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
8	Hornchurch style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
9	Luton South style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
10	Calder Valley style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
11	Pendle style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
12	Bolton North East style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
13	Cardiff Central style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
14	Croydon North West style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
15	Fulham style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
16	Cambridge style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
17	Birmingham Erdington style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" |	Labour
18	Dudley West style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
19	Welwyn Hatfield style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
20	Glasgow Cathcart style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" |	Labour

SDP–Liberal Alliance targets

Rank	Constituency	1983 winner
1	Roxburgh and Berwickshire style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFD700;" data-sort-value="SDP–Liberal Alliance" |	Alliance
2	Richmond and Barnes style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
3	Montgomeryshire style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFD700;" data-sort-value="SDP–Liberal Alliance" |	Alliance
4	Chelmsford style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
5	Wiltshire North style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
6	Cornwall North style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
7	Hereford style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
8	Colne Valley style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFD700;" data-sort-value="SDP–Liberal Alliance" |	Alliance
9	Gordon style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFD700;" data-sort-value="SDP–Liberal Alliance" |	Alliance
10	Southport style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
11	Salisbury style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
12	Devon North style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
13	Gainsborough and Horncastle style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
14	Cornwall South East style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
15	Clwyd South West style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
16	Liverpool Broadgreen style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" |	Labour
17	Newbury style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
18	Yeovil style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFD700;" data-sort-value="SDP–Liberal Alliance" |	Alliance
19	Pudsey style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |	Conservative
20	Ross, Cromarty and Skye style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFD700;" data-sort-value="SDP–Liberal Alliance" |	Alliance

See also

• List of MPs elected in the 1983 United Kingdom general election
• 1983 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland
• 1983 United Kingdom general election in England
• 1983 United Kingdom general election in Wales
• 1983 United Kingdom local elections

Further reading

• Butler, David E.; et al. (1984), The British General Election of 1983, the standard scholarly study{{citation}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
• Craig, F. W. S. (1989), British Electoral Facts: 1832–1987, Dartmouth: Gower, ISBN 0900178302
• Clarke, Harold D.; Mishler, William; Whiteley, Paul (1990), "Recapturing the Falklands: models of Conservative popularity, 1979–83", British Journal of Political Science, 20 (1): 63–81, doi:10.1017/S0007123400005706

Manifestos

• The Challenge of Our Times, 1983 Conservative Party manifesto
• The New Hope for Britain, 1983 Labour Party manifesto
• Working Together for Britain, 1983 SDP–Liberal Alliance manifesto