Despite being held by Labour since the second world war, the 1983 election saw Liberal Michael Meadowcroft overturn a majority of 10,000 to claim a shock victory over Joe Dean by a clear 2,000 votes, after a street-to-street campaign focusing on local issues. However, just as 1983 marked a low point in Labour's history, 1987 was to mark the beginning of a difficult time for centralist politicians. Just one term after victory, Mr Meadowcroft was defeated by John Battle, after voters felt his priorities were too rooted in municipal matters rather than parliamentary politics.