# 1981 United Kingdom local elections

Local elections were held in the United Kingdom in May 1981.

## Summary of results

The results were a mid-term setback for the Conservative government, which lost 1,193 seats, leaving them with 10,545 councillors. The projected share of the vote was more respectable for the government, however: Labour 41%, Conservatives 38%, Liberals 17%. This was in spite of opinion polls showing a much wider Labour lead over the Conservatives. These were the first elections to be contested by Labour under the leadership of Michael Foot, who had succeeded James Callaghan in late 1980.
Elections took place for the county councils and the Greater London Council, which elected 50 Labour councillors, 41 Conservatives and 1 Liberal.
In terms of the county councils, changes in party control were as follows;
Labour gain from Conservative: Cumbria, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire
Labour gain from no overall control: Northumberland
Conservative lose to no overall control: Bedfordshire, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire
Liberal gain from Conservative: Isle of Wight
Labour gained 988 overall seats, bringing their number of councillors to 8,999. This was the first electoral test for Labour leader Michael Foot, who had become Labour leader in November 1980.
The Liberal Party gained 306 seats and finished with 1,455 councillors. The 1981 local elections were to be the last to be held before the Liberals formed an alliance with the new Social Democratic Party (SDP) in June 1981.

## England
### Unicameral area

This was the last election to the council before it was abolished by the Local Government Act 1985.
| Council | Previous control | Previous control | Result | Result | Details |
| Greater London | | Conservative | | Labour gain | Details |

### Metropolitan county councils

These were the last elections to the county councils before they were abolished by the Local Government Act 1985.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Greater Manchester | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Merseyside | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| South Yorkshire | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Tyne and Wear | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| West Midlands | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| West Yorkshire | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |

### Non-metropolitan county councils

| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Avon ‡ | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Bedfordshire | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Berkshire | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Buckinghamshire | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Cambridgeshire | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Cheshire ‡ | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Cleveland | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Cornwall | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Cumbria ‡ | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Derbyshire ‡ | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Devon | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Dorset | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Durham ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| East Sussex | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Essex ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Gloucestershire | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Hampshire ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Hereford and Worcester | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Hertfordshire ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Humberside ‡ | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Isle of Wight ‡ | Conservative | Liberal gain | Details |
| Kent ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Lancashire ‡ | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Leicestershire | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Lincolnshire ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Norfolk | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| North Yorkshire | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Northamptonshire ‡ | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Northumberland ‡ | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Nottinghamshire ‡ | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Oxfordshire | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Shropshire ‡ | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Somerset ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Staffordshire ‡ | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Suffolk | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Surrey ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Warwickshire ‡ | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| West Sussex | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Wiltshire ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
‡ New electoral division boundaries

### Sui generis

| Council | Previous control | Previous control | Result | Result | Details |
| Isles of Scilly | | | | | Details |

## Northern Ireland

| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Antrim | UUP | No overall control | Details |
| Ards | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Armagh | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Ballymena | DUP | DUP | Details |
| Ballymoney | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Banbridge | UUP | UUP | Details |
| Belfast | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Carrickfergus | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Castlereagh | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Coleraine | UUP | No overall control | Details |
| Cookstown | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Craigavon | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Down | SDLP | No overall control | Details |
| Dungannon | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Fermanagh | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Larne | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Limavady | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Lisburn | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Londonderry | No overall control | SDLP | Details |
| Magherafelt | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Moyle | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Newry and Mourne | SDLP | SDLP | Details |
| Newtownabbey | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| North Down | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Omagh | No overall control | No overall control | Details |
| Strabane | No overall control | No overall control | Details |

## Wales
### County councils

| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Clwyd | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Dyfed | Independent | No overall control gain | Details |
| Gwent | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Gwynedd | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Mid Glamorgan | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Powys | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| South Glamorgan | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| West Glamorgan | Labour | Labour hold | Details |