Local elections were held in the United Kingdom in 1980. These were the first annual local elections for the new Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Though the Conservatives in government lost seats, the projected share of the vote was close: Labour Party 42%, Conservative Party 40%, Liberal Party 13%. Labour were still being led by the former prime minister James Callaghan, who resigned later in the year to be succeeded by Michael Foot.
Labour gained 601 seats, bringing their number of councillors to 8,011. The Conservatives lost 484 seats, leaving them with 11,738 councillors. The Liberal Party gained 90 seats and finished with 1,149 councillors.
Changes in control of councils were as follows: Labour gain from no overall control: Amber Valley, Birmingham, Kirklees, Leeds, Peterborough, Rochdale, Walsall, Wolverhampton Labour gain from Conservative: Bolton, Bradford, Hyndburn, Oldham, Oxford, Preston, Tamworth, Worcester Conservative lose to no overall control: Calderdale, Daventry, Dudley, Great Yarmouth, Hastings, Rushmoor, Shrewsbury and Atcham, Weymouth and Portland Liberal gain from Conservative: Adur Independent gain from no overall control: Mole Valley
England
Metropolitan boroughs
Whole council In 17 metropolitan boroughs the whole council was up for election.
In 17 boroughs there were new ward boundaries, following electoral boundary reviews by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.
Council Previous control Result DetailsBolton ‡ gainDetailsBradford ‡ gainDetailsCalderdale ‡ gainDetailsCoventry ‡ holdDetailsDoncaster ‡ holdDetailsLeeds ‡ gainDetailsLiverpool ‡ holdDetailsRochdale ‡ gainDetailsRotherham ‡ holdDetailsSheffield ‡ holdDetailsSt Helens ‡ holdDetailsStockport ‡ holdDetailsTameside ‡ holdDetailsTrafford ‡ holdDetailsWalsall ‡ gainDetailsWigan ‡ holdDetailsWirral ‡ holdDetails
‡ New ward boundaries
Third of council 19 metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.
Council Previous control Result DetailsBarnsley holdDetailsBirmingham gainDetailsBury holdDetailsDudley gainDetailsGateshead holdDetailsKirklees gainDetailsKnowsley holdDetailsManchester holdDetailsNewcastle upon Tyne holdDetailsNorth Tyneside holdDetailsOldham gainDetailsSalford holdDetailsSandwell holdDetailsSefton holdDetailsSolihull holdDetailsSouth Tyneside holdDetailsSunderland holdDetailsWakefield holdDetailsWolverhampton gainDetails
District councils In 103 districts one third of the council was up for election.
A further 59 councils had passed a resolution under section 7 (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972, requesting a system of elections by thirds. They could do so because they had had their new ward boundaries introduced at the 1979 elections.
Council Previous control Result DetailsAdur gainDetailsAmber Valley gainDetailsBarrow-in-Furness holdDetailsBasildon holdDetailsBasingstoke and Deane holdDetailsBassetlaw holdDetailsBath holdDetailsBlackburn holdDetailsBrentwood holdDetailsBroadland holdDetailsBroxbourne holdDetailsBurnley holdDetailsCambridge holdDetailsCannock Chase holdDetailsCherwell holdDetailsChester holdDetailsChorley holdDetailsColchester holdDetailsCongleton holdDetailsCraven holdDetailsCrawley holdDetailsCrewe and Nantwich holdDetailsDaventry gainDetailsDerby holdDetailsEast Devon holdDetailsEastbourne holdDetailsEastleigh holdDetailsEllesmere Port and Neston holdDetailsElmbridge holdDetailsEpping Forest holdDetailsFareham holdDetailsGillingham holdDetailsGloucester holdDetailsGosport holdDetailsGreat Grimsby holdDetailsGreat Yarmouth ‡ gainDetailsHalton holdDetailsHarlow holdDetailsHart holdDetailsHartlepool holdDetailsHastings gainDetailsHavant holdDetailsHereford gainDetailsHertsmere holdDetailsHuntingdon holdDetailsHyndburn gainDetailsIpswich holdDetailsLeominster holdDetailsLincoln holdDetailsMacclesfield holdDetailsMaidstone holdDetailsMilton Keynes holdDetailsMole Valley gainDetailsNewcastle-under-Lyme holdDetailsNorth Hertfordshire holdDetailsNorwich holdDetailsNuneaton and Bedworth holdDetailsOadby and Wigston holdDetailsOxford gainDetailsPendle holdDetailsPenwith holdDetailsPeterborough gainDetailsPreston gainDetailsPurbeck holdDetailsReigate and Banstead holdDetailsRochford holdDetailsRossendale holdDetailsRugby holdDetailsRunnymede holdDetailsRushmoor gainDetailsScunthorpe holdDetailsShrewsbury and Atcham gainDetailsSouth Bedfordshire holdDetailsSouth Cambridgeshire holdDetailsSouth Herefordshire holdDetailsSouth Lakeland holdDetailsSouthampton holdDetailsSouthend-on-Sea holdDetailsSt Albans holdDetailsStevenage holdDetailsStoke-on-Trent holdDetailsStratford-on-Avon holdDetailsSwale holdDetailsTamworth gainDetailsTandridge holdDetailsThamesdown holdDetailsThree Rivers holdDetailsThurrock holdDetailsTonbridge and Malling holdDetailsTunbridge Wells holdDetailsWatford holdDetailsWelwyn Hatfield holdDetailsWest Lancashire holdDetailsWest Lindsey holdDetailsWest Oxfordshire holdDetailsWeymouth and Portland gainDetailsWinchester holdDetailsWoking holdDetailsWokingham holdDetailsWoodspring holdDetailsWorcester gainDetailsWyre Forest holdDetailsYork gainDetails
‡ New ward boundaries
Scotland
District councils
Council Previous control Result DetailsAberdeen gainDetailsAngus holdDetailsAnnandale and Eskdale holdDetailsArgyll holdDetailsBadenoch and Strathspey holdDetailsBanff and Buchan holdDetailsBearsden and Milngavie holdDetailsBerwickshire holdDetailsCaithness holdDetailsClackmannan gainDetailsClydebank gainDetailsClydesdale holdDetailsCumbernauld and Kilsyth gainDetailsCumnock and Doon Valley holdDetailsCunninghame gainDetailsDumbarton gainDetailsDundee gainDetailsDunfermline holdDetailsEast Kilbride gainDetailsEast Lothian holdDetailsEastwood holdDetailsEdinburgh gainDetailsEttrick and Lauderdale holdDetailsFalkirk gainDetailsGlasgow gainDetailsGordon holdDetailsHamilton holdDetailsInverclyde gainDetailsInverness holdDetailsKilmarnock and Loudoun gainDetailsKincardine and Deeside holdDetailsKirkcaldy gainDetailsKyle and Carrick gainDetailsLochaber holdDetailsMidlothian gainDetailsMonklands holdDetailsMoray holdDetailsMotherwell holdDetailsNairn holdDetailsNithsdale holdDetailsNorth East Fife holdDetailsPerth and Kinross holdDetailsRenfrewDetailsRoss and Cromarty holdDetailsRoxburgh holdDetailsSkye and Lochalsh holdDetailsStewartry holdDetailsStirling gainDetailsStrathkelvin gainDetailsSutherland holdDetailsTweeddale holdDetailsWest Lothian gainDetailsWigtown holdDetails
References Notes
Sources Local elections 2006. House of Commons Library Research Paper 06/26. Vote 1999 BBC News Vote 2000 BBC News