The final elections to West Yorkshire County Council were held in May 1981. Labour continued their majority control.

Ward Results

The full results for all counties are available here: Local Elections Handbook 1981^[1]

Leeds Ward Results

Aireborough^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Janet Ann Brown	4,296	40.2
	Conservative	John D. Atkinson	4,141	38.8
	Labour	K.P. Evans	2,069	19.4
	Ecology	R. Cresswell	179	1.7
Majority			155	1.4
Turnout			10,685	45.1
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

Leeds No. 1 Armley and Castleton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	P.M. McCarthy	3,196	48.3
	Labour	A.R. Gunter	2,607	39.4
	Conservative	G. Broadbent	762	11.5
	Communist	J.A. Light	57	0.9
Majority			589	8.9
Turnout			6,622	38.7
	Liberal hold		Swing

Leeds No. 2 Beeston and Holbeck^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dennis Burrill Mathews	4,883	64.2
	Conservative	William Birch	1,616	21.2
	Liberal	J.W. Ellis	1,011	13.3
	National Front	P.A. Spink	97	1.3
Majority			3,267	43.0
Turnout			7,607	38.2
	Labour hold		Swing

Leeds No. 10 Bramley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Michael J. Meadowcroft	3,043	49.5
	Labour	Frank H. Watson	2,412	39.2
	Conservative	L. Hargreaves	691	11.2
Majority			631	10.3
Turnout			6,146	41.2
	Liberal gain from Labour		Swing

Leeds No. 14 Burley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ken J. Patterson	2,026	57.0
	Liberal	David A. Gazey	703	19.8
	Conservative	H.B. Woodhead	632	17.8
	Ecology	R. Mitchell	130	3.7
	Communist	B. Jackson	64	1.8
Majority			1,323	37.2
Turnout			3,555	37.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Leeds No.3 Burmantofts and Richmond Hill^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Margaret Grace Clay	4,984	57.5
	Labour	Pat J. Kelly	3,007	34.7
	Conservative	K. Robinson	600	6.9
	National Front	B. Wadsworth	72	0.8
	Communist	M. Monkman	102	0.8
Majority			1,977	22.8
Turnout			5,624	44.5
	Liberal gain from Labour		Swing

Leeds No. 4 Chapel Allerton and Scott Hall^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert Alexander Charles (aka Alec) Wilson	4,028	57.5
	Conservative	Richard M. Barker	3,642	18.4
	Liberal	T.W.J. Garbett	1,106	12.3
	Ecology	H.J. Terry	163	1.8
	Communist	Lynette Willoughby	78	0.9
Majority			386	4.3
Turnout			9,017	40.4
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Leeds No. 5 City and Woodhouse^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Irene Ruby Levy	2,346	57.5
	Conservative	R. Simpson	657	16.1
	Liberal	Elizabeth Bee	751	18.4
	Ecology	Roger D Boyle	175	4.3
	Communist	J.M. Rodgers	148	3.6
Majority			1,595	39.1
Turnout			4077	28.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Leeds No. 6 Cookridge and Weetwood^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Adrian J.A. Lodge	5,346	52.5
	Labour	C. Burgon	2,484	24.1
	Liberal	Margaret Gardham	2,032	20.0
	Ecology	Claire Nash	313	3.1
Majority			2,826	28.1
Turnout			10,175	36.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Garforth No. 1 North and Barwick^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Tweddle	3,813	48.5
	Labour	L. Graham	2,891	36.7
	Liberal	B. Hutchinson	827	10.5
	Ecology	D.T. Corry	338	4.4
Majority			922	11.7
Turnout			7896	43.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Leeds No. 8 Gipton and Whinmoor^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J.D. Moynihan	5,188	68.5
	Conservative	J.C. Suttenstall	1,521	20.1
	Liberal	N.R. Mackie	863	11.4
Majority			3,667	48.4
Turnout			7,572	31.2
	Labour hold		Swing

Leeds No. 11 Halton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W.K. Hedley	3,149	51.9
	Labour	Annie Margaret McQueenie	2,050	33.8
	Liberal	Keith Cecil Norman	869	14.3
Majority			1,099	18.1
Turnout			6,068	40.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Leeds No. 9 Harehills and Roundhay^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Maisie Maria Eade	3,631	43.1
	Conservative	Gilbert Raymond Lax	3,491	41.5
	Liberal	Patricia Jean Arnold	1,078	12.8
	Ecology	Penelope Jane Sanders	219	2.6
Majority			140	1.7
Turnout			8,419	38.9
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Leeds No. 12 Headingley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Best	2,828	46.5
	Conservative	Alan Sydney Pedley	2,007	33.0
	Liberal	M.J. Hipshon	890	14.6
	Ecology	Christine Rushworth	214	3.5
	Communist	Barry Cooper	139	2.3
Majority			821	13.5
Turnout			6,078	36.2
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Horsforth^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	J.P. Hopkinson	3,275	47.5
	Conservative	L.W. Robinson	2,341	34.0
	Labour	E. Barlow	1,131	16.4
	Ecology	R. Price	147	2.1
Majority			934	13.5
Turnout			6894	41.6
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

Leeds No. 7 Hunslet East and West^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Gunnell	5,057	76.1
	Liberal	M. Day	1,066	16.0
	Conservative	T.R. Davies	449	6.8
	National Front	E. Morrison	72	1.1
Majority			3,991	60.1
Turnout			6,644	38.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Garforth No. 2 Kippax and Swillington^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	N. Cooper	3,985	67.7
	Conservative	A.C. Taylor	1,289	21.9
	Liberal	Diane Philipa Hadwin	613	10.4
Majority			2,696	45.8
Turnout			5,887	41.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Leeds No. 13 Kirkstall^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Brian Selby	2,997	60.4
	Conservative	Albert A. Walkington	1,443	29.1
	Liberal	J. Ackrill	523	10.5
Majority			1,554	31.3
Turnout			4,963	40.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Leeds No. 15 Middleton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	St John Binns	3,405	77.9
	Conservative	Anthony J. Larvin	434	9.9
	Liberal	Shirley Ward	534	12.2
Majority			2,871	65.7
Turnout			4,327	31.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Leeds No. 16 Moortown^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth T Davison	2,166	46.9
	Labour	D.M. Winter	1,583	34.3
	Liberal	Rosemary Judith Clay	696	15.1
	Ecology	K.M. Rushworth	170	3.7
Majority			583	12.6
Turnout			4,615	34.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Morley No. 1 North^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Linda Rose Middleton	3,388	48.5
	Conservative	G. Rogerson	2,784	39.8
	Liberal	Anne Kathryn Gilchrist	818	11.7
Majority			604	8.6
Turnout			6,990	39.1
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Morley No. 2 South^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Darrington	4,019	66.2
	Conservative	S.D. Hodgson	1,423	23.4
	Liberal	Marrion Elisa Hirst	631	10.4
Majority			2,596	42.7
Turnout			6,073	37.4
	Labour hold		Swing

Leeds No. 17 Osmondthorpe^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John M. Sully	2,909	68.7
	Conservative	Jean Higham	709	14.6
	Liberal	Anne Weatherley	619	16.7
Majority			2,200	51.9
Turnout			4,237	34.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Otley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Barry Peters	4,052	48.6
	Conservative	Clive J. Fox	3,112	37.4
	Labour	Audrey Joyce Slee	841	10.1
	Ecology	A. Marriot	215	2.6
	SDP	G.J. Malcolm	109	1.3
Majority			940	11.3
Turnout			8,329	55.2
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

Pudsey No. 1 North^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harry Gill	2,743	40.3
	Labour	Neil G. Rhodes	2,602	38.3
	Liberal	A.R. Booker	1,332	19.6
	Ecology	N. A. Strudwick	123	1.8
Majority			141	2.1
Turnout			6,800	43.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Pudsey No. 2 South^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andrew R Jarosz	2,111	35.2
	Conservative	C. Critchley	2,014	33.5
	Liberal	D.N. Collins	1,879	31.3
Majority			97	1.6
Turnout			6,004	41.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Rothwell^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. H. Banks	4,874	62.5
	Conservative	D. Boynton	1,665	21.4
	Liberal	R.C James	1,168	15.0
	Communist	R Horsbrough	90	1.2
Majority			3,209	41.2
Turnout			7,797	35.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Leeds No. 18 Seacroft^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Len Hodgson	3,450	73.6
	Conservative	J.M. Suttenstall	688	14.7
	Liberal	A. Wood	460	9.8
	Communist	B.S. Wilson	91	1.9
Majority			2,762	58.9
Turnout			4,689	30
	Labour hold		Swing

Leeds No. 19 Stanningley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Sarah Cliff	2,763	61.0
	Conservative	A. Holmes	906	20.0
	Liberal	S. J. Gillien	863	19.0
Majority			1,857	41.0
Turnout			4,532	35.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Leeds No. 20 Talbot^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Bird	2,622	52.1
	Liberal	G. Macpherson	1,128	22.4
	Labour	J. W. Hall	1,059	21.1
	Ecology	S. Barnes	219	4.4
Majority			1,494	29.7
Turnout			5,028	34.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Wetherby^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Yvonne Brenda Garden	5,504	67.4
	Labour	I. K. Adams	1,233	15.1
	Liberal	June Cutliffe Scott	942	11.5
	Ecology	D. Rawson	482	5.9
Majority			4,271	52.3
Turnout			8,161	37.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Leeds No. 21 Wortley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Webster	2,499	44.4
	Conservative	Frank Stubley	1,589	28.3
	Liberal	W.T. Moss	1,536	27.3
Majority			910	16.2
Turnout			5,624	38.9
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Leeds Ward Casual Vacancies

Leeds No. 10 Bramley 8 Aug 1983^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Margaret Jones
	Labour
	Conservative
Majority			247
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Leeds No. 4 Chapel Allerton and Scott Hall 17 June 1984^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Marie Stinson
	Conservative
	Alliance
	Ecology
Majority
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

References

^ Local Elections Handbook 1981Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1981. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai Yorkshire Post

v t e Council elections in West Yorkshire
Mayor	2021
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West Yorkshire CC	1973 1977 1981 Abolished
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See also: Wards Boundary changes

v t e (1980 ←) 1981 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1982)
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Sui generis	Isles of Scilly

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