# 1980 United Kingdom local elections

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 | Details |
| Bolton ‡ | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Bradford ‡ | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Calderdale ‡ | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Coventry ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Doncaster ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Leeds ‡ | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Liverpool ‡ | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Rochdale ‡ | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Rotherham ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Sheffield ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| St Helens ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Stockport ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Tameside ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Trafford ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Walsall ‡ | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Wigan ‡ | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Wirral ‡ | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
‡ New ward boundaries

#### Third of council

19 metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Barnsley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Birmingham | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Bury | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Dudley | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Gateshead | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Kirklees | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Knowsley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Manchester | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| North Tyneside | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Oldham | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Salford | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Sandwell | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Sefton | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Solihull | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| South Tyneside | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Sunderland | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Wakefield | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Wolverhampton | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |

### 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 | Details |
| Adur | Conservative | Liberal gain | Details |
| Amber Valley | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Barrow-in-Furness | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Basildon | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Basingstoke and Deane | Conservative | Conservative hold | 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 | Labour hold | Details |
| Cherwell | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Chester | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Chorley | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Colchester | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Congleton | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Craven | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Crawley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Crewe and Nantwich | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Daventry | Conservative | No overall control gain | 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 ‡ | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Halton | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Harlow | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Hart | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Hartlepool | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Hastings | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Havant | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Hereford | No overall control | Liberal gain | Details |
| Hertsmere | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Huntingdon | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Hyndburn | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Ipswich | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Leominster | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Lincoln | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Macclesfield | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Maidstone | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Milton Keynes | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Mole Valley | No overall control | Independent 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 | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Pendle | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Penwith | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Peterborough | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Preston | Conservative | Labour gain | 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 | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Scunthorpe | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Shrewsbury and Atcham | Conservative | No overall control gain | 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 | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Tandridge | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Thamesdown | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Three Rivers | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Thurrock | No overall control | No overall control hold | 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 | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Winchester | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Woking | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Wokingham | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Woodspring | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Worcester | Conservative | Labour gain | Details |
| Wyre Forest | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| York | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
‡ New ward boundaries

## Scotland
### District councils

| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Aberdeen | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Angus | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Annandale and Eskdale | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Argyll | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Badenoch and Strathspey | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Banff and Buchan | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Bearsden and Milngavie | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Berwickshire | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Caithness | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Clackmannan | SNP | Labour gain | Details |
| Clydebank | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Clydesdale | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Cumbernauld and Kilsyth | SNP | Labour gain | Details |
| Cumnock and Doon Valley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Cunninghame | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Dumbarton | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Dundee | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Dunfermline | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| East Kilbride | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| East Lothian | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Eastwood | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Edinburgh | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Ettrick and Lauderdale | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Falkirk | SNP | Labour gain | Details |
| Glasgow | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Gordon | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Hamilton | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Inverclyde | Liberal | Labour gain | Details |
| Inverness | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Kilmarnock and Loudoun | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Kincardine and Deeside | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Kirkcaldy | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Kyle and Carrick | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Lochaber | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Midlothian | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Monklands | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Moray | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Motherwell | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Nairn | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Nithsdale | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| North East Fife | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Perth and Kinross | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Renfrew | | | Details |
| Ross and Cromarty | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Roxburgh | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Skye and Lochalsh | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Stewartry | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Stirling | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Strathkelvin | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Sutherland | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Tweeddale | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| West Lothian | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Wigtown | Independent | Independent hold | Details |