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1982 Lothian Regional Council election

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Map showing results by Lothian Regional Electoral District.

The second election to Lothian Regional Council was held on 6 May 1982 and yielded a swing to the Conservatives. Whilst the Labour presence was reduced, the Conservatives were unable to win an outright majority, and both parties exited the election with 22 seats. The council Conservative group, under Brian Meek, was able to take over the council however due to support from the SDP-Liberal Alliance councillors.[1]

Turnout was 47.6%, giving the Lothians the highest regional turnout rates in the 1982 Scottish regional elections. The turnout was also an increase of 3.7% on the turnout for the 1978 elections.[2]

Background

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The Lothian Regional Council had been a key battleground in a fierce ideological battle between a new, younger generation of radical left-wing Labour activists elected in the 1980 election, and the incumbent Thatcherite Conservative government. In a precursor to the Rate-capping rebellion, several Scottish councils had refused to implement spending cuts necessitated due to a cut in funding from George Younger, the then Secretary of State for Scotland. Lothian in particular had seen its funding cut to the tune of £47 million in July 1981.[1]

The Labour leader of Lothian Regional Council; John Mulvey, pursued a policy of resisting the cuts, and claimed that Labour had a popular mandate to protect jobs and services through increasing local expenditure. The Lothian council, alongside the councils of certain other Scottish regions, planned spending above government guidelines. Younger responded by cutting the Lothian budget by a further £30 million, and the council caved in to pressure.[1]

Aggregate results

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Lothian Regional election, 1982[3]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Labour 22 Steady0 Decrease4 Decrease4 44.90 30.65 85,452 Decrease9.6
  Conservative 22 Increase4 Steady0 Increase4 44.90 30.37 84,673 Decrease2.8
  Alliance 3 Increase2 Steady0 Increase2 6.12 26.14 72,860 Increase21.7
  SNP 1 Steady0 Decrease2 Decrease2 2.04 11.63 32,412 Decrease8.7
  Independent 1 Steady0 Steady0 Steady0 2.04 0.74 2,059 Decrease0.8
  Protestant Crusade Against the Papal Visit (PCAPV) 0 Steady0 Steady0 Steady0 0.00 0.25 694 New
  Ecology 0 Steady0 Steady0 Steady0 0.00 0.11 334 New
  Communist 0 Steady0 Steady0 Steady0 0.00 0.10 288 Decrease0.3

278,772

Ward results

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References

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  • Scottish Regional Elections 1982: Results and Statistics; J.M. Bochel and D.T. Denver
  1. ^ a b c Hassan, Gerry; Shaw, Eric (2012). The Strange Death of Labour Scotland. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780748655571.
  2. ^ https://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1842/9136/1983_6_Towards%20a%20four%20party%20system.pdf;jsessionid=27E104652661E4C136096D50BE13D81B?sequence=1 p.74
  3. ^ https://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1842/9136/1983_6_Towards%20a%20four%20party%20system.pdf;jsessionid=27E104652661E4C136096D50BE13D81B?sequence=1 p.75