1983 United Kingdom general election in Wales

The 1983 United Kingdom general election in Wales took place on 9 June 1983 for all 38 Welsh seats to the House of Commons. The Labour Party again won a majority of Welsh MPs, but the party's vote share declined by 9.4% and they lost three seats. The governing Conservatives made a net gain of two seats, with the SDP–Liberal Alliance gaining one.[1]

1983 United Kingdom general election in Wales

9 June 1983
All 38 Welsh seats to the House of Commons
Leader Michael Foot Margaret Thatcher Party Labour Conservative Leader since 10 November 1980 11 February 1975 Last election 21 seats, 46.9% 11 seats, 32.2% Seats before 23[lower-alpha 1] 12[lower-alpha 1] Seats won 20 14 Seat change 3[lower-alpha 2] 2[lower-alpha 2] Popular vote 603,858 499,310 Percentage 37.5% 31.0% Swing 9.4% 1.2%   Leader David Steel (Lib) Roy Jenkins (SDP) Dafydd Wigley Party Alliance Plaid Cymru Leader since July 1976/July 1982 1981 Last election 1 seats, 10.6% 2 seats, 8.0% Seats before 1[lower-alpha 1] 2[lower-alpha 1] Seats won 2 2 Seat change 1[lower-alpha 2] Popular vote 373,358 125,309 Percentage 23.2% 7.8% Swing 12.6% 0.2%

Across the UK the Conservatives won a landslide majority and continued in office for a second term.[2]

Results

Below is a table summarising the results of the 1983 general election in Wales.[2]

Party		Seats					Votes
		Total	Gains	Losses	Net +/-	% seats	Total votes	% votes	Change
	Labour	20	0	3	3	52.6	603,858	37.5	9.4
	Conservative	14	3	1	2	36.8	499,310	31.0	1.2
	Alliance	2	1	0	1	5.3	373,358	23.2	12.6
	Plaid Cymru	2	0	0		5.3	125,309	7.8	0.2
	Other parties	0	0	0		—	7,151	0.4	1.9

Popular vote Labour   37.5% Conservative   31.0% SDP–Liberal Alliance   23.2% Plaid Cymru   7.8% Other   0.4%

Parliament seats Labour   52.6% Conservative   36.8% SDP–Liberal Alliance   5.3% Plaid Cymru   5.3%

References

1. "Ups and downs on Welsh vote trail". BBC News. 5 April 2005. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
2. "GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS, 9 JUNE 1983" (PDF). 1984. Retrieved 6 August 2018.

Notes

1. Notional 1979 results.
2. Indicates boundary change—so this is a nominal figure.