WI : Tony Benn is the Labour leader in 1983

[OSR stands with Israel]

Do the Liberal Alliance come in 2nd , and does Thatcher win an even bigger landslide?

[ViaActiva]

Moderate right MPs (Roy Hattersley, John Smith) and trade unions defect to the SDP. The Alliance is easily second in the popular vote, but Labour remains the official Opposition despite heavy losses, due to its base of working-class seats in the North of England.

Conservatives: ~44% / ~420 seats
Labour: ~24% / ~150 seats
Liberal / SDP Alliance: ~30% / ~60 seats

Tony Benn remains leader during the miners' strike, but the victory of the government leads to a backlash against Benn within the party among the soft left. Robin Cook is elected leader of the Labour Party in 1986.