ABSTRACT
The United Kingdom went to the polls on 9 June 1983, just over four years after the previous general election, and nearly a year before Mrs Thatcher, the Prime Minister, was constitutionally required to face the electorate. Her decision to hold an election paid off handsomely. The Conservatives were returned to power with a majority of 144 seats, the largest majority won by any party since the Labour party’s famous victory in 1945.
