Margaret Thatcher’s re-election and landslide victory was a personal triumph.

She had performed the unusual feat of winning re-election, despite the mass unemployment her battle against inflation had seen.

But Thatcher took fewer votes than in 1979. Her landslide was caused by the almost equal split in support between Labour and the SDP-Liberal Alliance.

For Labour the 1983 election had been an unmitigated disaster. The only consolation for leader Michael Foot was that Labour had not lost second place to the strong challenge posed by the Alliance.

But although the Alliance could talk up the seven million votes it received it had actually won very few seats - leaving its dream of a breakthrough just that, a dream.