# 1983 Adur District Council election

Elections to the Adur District Council were held on 5 May 1983, with one third of the council up for election. There was an additional vacancy in the Peverel ward and no elections for the Marine ward. Overall turnout climbed to 47.6%.
The election resulted in the Alliance losing control of the council to no overall control.

## Election result

Adur District Council Election Result 1983 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 7 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 50.0 | 47.6 | 10,115 | +2.9 |
| Alliance | 7 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 50.0 | 39.8 | 8,454 | -3.4 |
| Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 12.2 | 2,583 | 0.0 |
| Residents | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 92 | +0.4 |
This resulted in the following composition of the council:
| Party | Party | Previous council | New council |
| | SDP-Liberal Alliance | 20 | 19 |
| | Conservative | 16 | 17 |
| | Independent Residents | 2 | 2 |
| | Labour | 1 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 39 | 39 | 39 |
| Working majority | Working majority | 1 | -1 |

## Ward results

+/- figures represent changes from the last time these wards were contested.
Buckingham (4049) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Merrick A. | 1,311 | 67.1 | +0.9 |
| | Alliance | Miller A. | 643 | 32.9 | −0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 668 | 34.2 | +1.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,954 | 48.4 | +4.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.9 | |
Churchill (3758) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Alliance | Blunkett R. | 815 | 46.0 | +1.2 |
| | Conservative | Burley Y. Ms. | 791 | 44.6 | −1.1 |
| | Labour | Aldrich G. | 167 | 9.4 | −0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 24 | 1.4 | +0.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,773 | 47.8 | +8.2 |
| | Alliance gain from Conservative | Alliance gain from Conservative | Swing | +1.1 | |
Cokeham (3588) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Alliance | Cheal J. | 792 | 56.7 | −29.5 |
| | Conservative | Hart E. | 387 | 27.7 | +27.7 |
| | Labour | Burns F. | 219 | 15.7 | +1.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 405 | 29.0 | −43.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,398 | 39.2 | +10.8 |
| | Alliance hold | Alliance hold | Swing | -28.6 | |
Eastbrook (3659) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Coghlan J. | 998 | 51.1 | +7.0 |
| | Labour | Barnard I. | 955 | 48.9 | +12.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 43 | 2.2 | −5.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,953 | 53.6 | +4.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -2.9 | |
Hillside (3858) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Barber R. | 1,017 | 60.6 | +0.4 |
| | Labour | Woolgar J. | 359 | 21.4 | +3.2 |
| | Alliance | Watson W. | 303 | 18.0 | −3.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 658 | 39.2 | +0.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,679 | 43.7 | +6.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -1.4 | |
Manor (3362) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Alliance | Robinson C. | 884 | 47.1 | +5.0 |
| | Conservative | Wooven R. | 876 | 46.7 | −4.9 |
| | Labour | Aldrich S. Ms. | 117 | 6.2 | −0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8 | 0.4 | −9.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,877 | 53.5 | +6.4 |
| | Alliance hold | Alliance hold | Swing | +4.9 | |
Mash Barn (3011) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Alliance | Hartly J. | 701 | 55.2 | −32.0 |
| | Conservative | Chad R. | 416 | 32.8 | +32.8 |
| | Labour | Grafton R. | 153 | 12.0 | −0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 285 | 22.4 | −52.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,270 | 42.5 | +15.5 |
| | Alliance hold | Alliance hold | Swing | -32.4 | |
Peverel (3185) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Alliance | Davis G. | 808 | 51.1 | −10.0 |
| | Alliance | Driscoll D. | 681 | | |
| | Conservative | Bailey R. | 599 | 37.9 | +6.5 |
| | Labour | Bridgson J. | 175 | 11.1 | +3.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 209 | 13.2 | −16.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,582 | 42.5 | +5.3 |
| | Alliance hold | Alliance hold | Swing | | |
| | Alliance hold | Alliance hold | Swing | -8.2 | |
Southlands (3287) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Alliance | Little S. | 909 | 56.4 | +3.9 |
| | Conservative | Bond A. | 536 | 33.2 | +0.6 |
| | Labour | Taylor M. | 168 | 10.4 | −4.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 373 | 23.2 | +3.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,613 | 48.5 | +12.1 |
| | Alliance hold | Alliance hold | Swing | +1.6 | |
Southwick Green (3670) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Woolgar R. | 1,011 | 56.1 | −0.6 |
| | Alliance | Pellett K. | 791 | 43.9 | +11.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 220 | 12.2 | −11.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,802 | 53.7 | +11.8 |
| | Conservative gain from Alliance | Conservative gain from Alliance | Swing | -5.8 | |
St. Marys (973) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Warnham J. | 208 | 43.2 | N/A |
| | Alliance | Biggs A. | 92 | 19.1 | N/A |
| | Residents | Morris J. Ms. | 92 | 19.1 | N/A |
| | Labour | Gibson C. | 90 | 18.7 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 116 | 24.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 482 | 48.7 | N/A |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |
St. Nicolas (3556) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Lucraft M. | 1,102 | 56.3 | −0.7 |
| | Alliance | Pressley N. | 856 | 43.7 | +8.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 246 | 12.6 | −9.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,958 | 50.9 | +7.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -4.5 | |
Widewater (4143) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Floyd J. | 863 | 45.3 | −1.6 |
| | Alliance | Stanley A. | 860 | 45.2 | −0.8 |
| | Labour | Jacques W. | 180 | 9.5 | +2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3 | 0.1 | −0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,903 | 46.5 | +8.6 |
| | Conservative gain from Alliance | Conservative gain from Alliance | Swing | -0.4 | |