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
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