# 1982 United Kingdom local elections

Local elections were held in the United Kingdom in 1982. The elections coincided with rising popularity of the Conservative government and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which was mostly attributed to the Falklands War. The projected share of the vote was Conservatives 40%, Labour 29%, Liberal-SDP Alliance 27%.
Elections were held in several English boroughs, including all those in London.
The Conservatives held their ground, losing only 98 seats, leaving them with 10,447 seats.
The main opposition Labour Party, under the leadership of Michael Foot, lost 225 seats, finishing with 8,774 councillors.
For the newly formed Liberal-SDP Alliance, the 1982 local elections were the first nationwide electoral test. They gained 395 seats and finished with 1,850 councillors. This meant that the Alliance had almost as many votes as Labour, but Labour still had nearly five times as many councillors.

## England
### London boroughs

In all 32 London boroughs the whole council was up for election.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Barking and Dagenham | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Barnet | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Bexley | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Brent | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Bromley | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Camden | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Croydon | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Ealing | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Enfield ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Greenwich | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Hackney | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Haringey | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Harrow | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Havering | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Hillingdon | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Hounslow | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Islington | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Kensington and Chelsea | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Kingston upon Thames | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Lambeth | Labour | No overall control gain | Details |
| Lewisham | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Merton | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Newham | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Redbridge | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Richmond upon Thames | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Southwark | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Sutton | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Tower Hamlets | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Waltham Forest | Labour | No overall control gain | Details |
| Wandsworth | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Westminster | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
‡ New ward boundaries

### Metropolitan boroughs
#### Whole council

In 13 metropolitan boroughs the whole council was up for election.
In 13 boroughs there were new ward boundaries, following electoral boundary reviews by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Birmingham ‡ | Labour | Conservative gain | Details |
| Dudley ‡ | No overall control | Conservative gain | Details |
| Gateshead ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Kirklees ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Knowsley ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Manchester ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Newcastle upon Tyne ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| North Tyneside ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Salford ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| South Tyneside ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Sunderland ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Wakefield ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Wolverhampton ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
‡ New ward boundaries

#### Third of council

23 metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Barnsley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Bolton | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Bradford | Labour | No overall control gain | Details |
| Bury | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Calderdale | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Coventry | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Doncaster | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Leeds | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Liverpool | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Oldham | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Rochdale | Labour | No overall control gain | Details |
| Rotherham | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Sandwell | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Sefton | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Sheffield | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Solihull | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| St Helens | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Stockport | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Tameside | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Trafford | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Walsall | Labour | No overall control gain | Details |
| Wigan | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Wirral | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |

### District councils

In 103 districts one third of the council was up for election.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Adur | Alliance | Alliance hold | Details |
| Amber Valley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Barrow-in-Furness | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Basildon | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Basingstoke and Deane | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Bassetlaw | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Bath | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Blackburn | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Brentwood | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Broadland | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Broxbourne | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Burnley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Cambridge | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Cannock Chase | Labour | No overall control gain | Details |
| Cherwell | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Chester | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Chorley | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Colchester | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Congleton | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Craven | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Crawley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Crewe and Nantwich | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Daventry | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Derby | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| East Devon | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Eastbourne | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Eastleigh | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Ellesmere Port and Neston | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Elmbridge | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Epping Forest | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Fareham | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Gillingham | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Gloucester | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Gosport | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Great Grimsby | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Great Yarmouth | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Halton | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Harlow | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Hart | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Hartlepool | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Hastings | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Havant | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Hereford | Alliance | Alliance hold | Details |
| Hertsmere | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Huntingdon | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Hyndburn | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Ipswich | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Leominster | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Lincoln | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Macclesfield | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Maidstone | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Milton Keynes | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Mole Valley | Independent | No overall control gain | Details |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| North Hertfordshire | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Norwich | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Nuneaton and Bedworth | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Oadby and Wigston | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Oxford | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Pendle | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Penwith | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Peterborough | Labour | No overall control gain | Details |
| Preston | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Purbeck | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Reigate and Banstead | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Rochford | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Rossendale | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Rugby | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Runnymede | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Rushmoor | No overall control | Conservative gain | Details |
| Scunthorpe | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Shrewsbury and Atcham | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| South Bedfordshire | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| South Cambridgeshire | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| South Herefordshire | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| South Lakeland | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Southampton | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Southend-on-Sea | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| St Albans | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Stevenage | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Stoke-on-Trent | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Stratford-on-Avon | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Swale | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Tamworth | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Tandridge | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Thamesdown | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Three Rivers | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Thurrock | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Tonbridge and Malling | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Tunbridge Wells | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Watford | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Welwyn Hatfield | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| West Lancashire | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| West Lindsey | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| West Oxfordshire | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Weymouth and Portland | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Winchester | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Woking | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Wokingham | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Woodspring | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Worcester | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Wyre Forest | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| York | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |

## Scotland
### Regional councils

| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Borders | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Central | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Dumfries and Galloway | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Fife | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Grampian | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Highland | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Lothian | Labour | No overall control gain | Details |
| Orkney | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Shetland | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Strathclyde | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Tayside | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Western Isles | Independent | Independent hold | Details |