On Thursday 9 June 1983, the 1983 United Kingdom general election was held in England, to elect all 650 members of the House of Commons, with 523 constituencies being in England.
The number of seats for each region that were changed under the third periodic review of Westminster constituencies are indicated respectively. This was the first election following this review, with the number of English constituencies increasing from the 516 used between 1955 to 1979 to 523 constituencies, and over 90 per cent of boundaries of existing constituencies being changed.
Candidates
Below is a table summarising the candidates of the 1983 general election in England.
Analysis
The Conservative Party won a landslide majority of English seats, gaining 37 seats for a total of 362 under the new boundaries. The Labour Party came second, winning 148 MPs, a decline of 45. Labour's share of the vote in England was its lowest since 1918, and its number of English MPs was its smallest since 1931. The SDP–Liberal Alliance won 26.4% of the popular vote, just 0.4% behind Labour, but won only 13 seats compared to 148 for Labour, due to the first-past-the-post electoral system.
Two future leaders of the Labour Party were first elected to Parliament at this election in England: Tony Blair (1994–2007) in Sedgefield and Jeremy Corbyn (2015–2020) in Islington North. In addition, future Leader of the Liberal Democrats Paddy Ashdown was elected in Yeovil for the first time. Michael Howard, who later served as Home Secretary in government and as party leader from 2003 to 2005, was also first elected to Parliament in Folkestone and Hythe. Other prominent members in including Edwina Currie and Neil Hamilton for the Conservative Party and Clare Short for Labour also entered the House of Commons in English constituencies.
A number of prominent Members of Parliament stepped aside or lost their seats. Former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson stood down from Parliament after 38 years, while the Alliance's Shirley Williams and Bill Pitt lost their seats only a short time after having won them. Joan Lestor and Tony Benn and Speaker of the House of Commons and former Labour Cabinet Minister George Thomas also departed from Parliament at this election, although Benn would return after winning a by-election in Chesterfield the following year, and Lestor returned to Parliament after winning a seat at the next general election in 1987.
By region
Note: these results are based on the previously-used standard statistical regions, not the current regions of England established in 1994.
The number of seats for each region that were changed under the third periodic review of Westminster constituencies are indicated respectively.
North
This region included Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear and constituencies in the defunct county of Cleveland in the current English region of North East England, as well as Cumbria.
Yorkshire and the Humber
Like the current statistical region, this region included North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire constituencies in Humberside.
Labour won the most seats in the region; however, the Conservatives won more votes. A similar result in which Labour won more seats despite the Conservatives winning more votes would next occur in 2019.
East Midlands
Like the current statistical region, this region included Derbyshire, Lincolnshire (excluding North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire), Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Rutland.
East Anglia
This region included Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
Greater London
This consisted of the constituencies within the county and region of Greater London. These results are separate from those recorded in South East England.
South East England
This region included Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Kent, Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex within the current South East England. However, it also included Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex within the current East of England region.
In addition, the standard statical region included the results of the constituencies within the county and region of Greater London, though the results for Greater London were also recorded separately.
South West England
Like the current statistical region, this region included Cornwall, Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire, and the defunct county of Avon.
West Midlands
Like the current statistical region, this region included Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, the county of West Midlands, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
North West
This region included Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire.