1982 Scottish regional elections

Regional elections were held in Scotland on Thursday 6 May 1982, as part of the wider 1982 United Kingdom local elections. Whilst the 1982 elections saw the Conservatives hold up relatively well in England, the Tories did comparatively poorly in Scotland, where their already disadvantageous position worsened. The Conservatives did particularly poorly in Strathclyde, where the Conservative group leader lost his seat.[1]

1982 Scottish regional elections

6 May 1982 (1982-05-06)
Registered	3,828,322
Turnout	42.9
First party Second party   Leader Michael Foot Margaret Thatcher Party Labour Conservative Leader since 10 November 1980 11 February 1975 Seats won 186 119 Percentage 37.6 25.1   Third party Fourth party   Leader David Steel Gordon Wilson Party Alliance SNP Leader since 1976 15 September 1979 Seats won 25 23 Percentage 18.1 13.4
Colours denote the winning party with outright control
Results by ward

Despite this poor performance, the Conservatives were actually seen as doing somewhat well in the overall Scottish context; the Conservative vote had, prior to the election, been languishing around 18% in Scotland. This was somewhat credited to a modest "Falkland Effect;" a surge in Conservative support due to their handling of the ongoing Falklands War.[2]

The SDP-Liberal Alliance managed to displace the SNP into fourth place, although this increase in support ultimately did not translate into major seat gains due to the FPTP nature of the ward electoral system.[2]

Also notable was the success of candidates in Shetland supportive of Home Rule for the islands, who wished for something similar to that enjoyed by the Faroe Islands. Whilst no candidates appeared on the ballot as members of the Shetland Movement (all Shetland candidates were independents), the Shetland Movement did publish a list of candidates supportive of Shetland Home Rule. Ultimately, of the 25 members of the Shetland Islands Council, 14 were supporters of the movement.[3]