The 1980 Leeds City Council election took place on 1 May 1980 to elect members of Leeds City Council in England.

Quick Facts All 99 seats on Leeds City Council 50 seats needed for a majority, First party ...

1980 Leeds City Council election

← 1979 1 May 1980 1982 →
All 99 seats on Leeds City Council 50 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader George Mudie Peter Sparling Party Labour Conservative Leader's seat Seacroft Moortown Seats won 62 29 Seat change 18 16 Popular vote 94,460 74,442 Percentage 43.7% 34.4%
Council control before election Minority administration Conservative Council control after election Majority administration Labour

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A full boundary review of Leeds's electoral wards increased the number of wards from 32 to 33, also increasing the number of councillors from 96 to 99. This prompted the entire council needing to be elected.^[1]

The boundary changes added an extra ward to the existing 32 - increasing the councillor total by three to 99 - with just half the ward names surviving the changes:

Abolished:

1. Armley and Castleton
2. Beeston and Holbeck
3. Burley
4. Burmantofts and Richmond Hill
5. Chapel Allerton and Scott Hall
6. City and Woodhouse
7. Cookridge and Weetwood
8. Garforth North and Barwick
9. Kippax and Swillington
10. Gipton and Whinmoor
11. Harehills and Roundhay
12. Hunslet East and West
13. Osmondthorpe
14. Otley
15. Stanningley
16. Talbot

Created:

1. Armley
2. Barwick & Kippax
3. Beeston
4. Burmantofts
5. Chapel Allerton
6. City & Holbeck
7. Cookridge
8. Garforth & Swillington
9. Harehills
10. Hunslet
11. North
12. Otley & Wharfedale
13. Richmond Hill
14. Roundhay
15. University
16. Weetwood
17. Whinmoor

The drop in Conservative support - which seen them set lows in vote share and seats won - allowed Labour to win record representation and comfortably regain control of the council from the Conservatives, with a 25-seat strong majority. Labour also managed highs in votes and vote share, once the previous year's totals are omitted for unrepresentatively high turnout (which were gained from coinciding with the general election that year).^[1]

The Liberals, who fielded their first full-slate of candidates, also achieved party records but were rewarded with fewer seats in the new landscape; their gains confined to Armley, Horsforth and Otley, looking unlikely to win the new seats replacing the formerly favourable seats for Hunslet and Pudsey.^[1]

Elsewhere, the Ecologists bettered their previous efforts with an increased outing, standing candidates in over a half of the wards, surpassing Liberal support in a number of them. Beyond the regular Communist slate, there was also another appearance from an Independent in Morley North, an Independent Liberal standing in Rothwell and the first appearance of a Residents Association by way of a candidate each in Headingley, Kirkstall and Weetwood.^[1]

This result has the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections: