Britons go to local polls in test of Thatcher's hold

May 8, 1981

Britons voted Thursday in local elections, the first major test of support for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher since she took office two years ago. As the party in power traditionally fares badly in local elections, the opposition Labour Party was expected to regain many of the 900 seats on city and county authorities it lost to the Conservative Party, then in opposition, in 1977.