Lothian Regional Council election, 1982

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 election. The turnout was also an increase of 3.7% on the turnout for the 1978 elections.^[2]

Background

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, 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]

Trivia

Among the Labour councillors elected was a 29-year-old Alistair Darling, then a hardline Labour activist, who would later go on to become an MP and Chancellor of the Exchequer.^[3]

Aggregate results

Lothian Regional election, 1982^[4]
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	22					33.9		2.8
	Labour	22					28.9		9.6
	SDP–Liberal Alliance	3					26.9		21.7
	SNP	1					10.3		8.7
	Independent	1

References

Scottish Regional Elections 1982: Results and Statistics; J.M. Bochel and D.T. Denver

Elections in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Corporation	1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973

City of Edinburgh District Council	1974 1977 1980 1984 1988 1992

Lothian Regional Council	1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994

City of Edinburgh Council	1995 1999 2003 2007 2012 2017

General Elections	1997 2001 2005 2010 2015

Referendums	2005

Council elections in East Lothian

East Lothian Council	1974 1977 1980 1984 1988 1992 1995 1999 2003 2007 2012

Lothian Regional Council	1974 1978 1982 1985 1990 1994 Abolished

Council elections in Midlothian

Midlothian Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1974 1977 1980 1984 1988 1992 1995 1999 2003 2007 2012

Lothian Regional Council	1974 1978 1982 1985 1990 1994 Abolished

Council elections in West Lothian

West Lothian Council	1974 1977 1980 1984 1988 1992 1995 1999 2003 2007 2012

Lothian Regional Council	1974 1978 1982 1985 1990 1994 Abolished

(1981 ←) United Kingdom local elections, 1982 (→ 1983)

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Regional councils (Scotland)	Borders Central Dumfries and Galloway Fife Grampian Highland Lothian Orkney Shetland Strathclyde Tayside Western Isles

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