The 1981 Labour Party deputy leadership election took place on 27 September 1981 when Tony Benn

Tony Benn

Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...

 unsuccessfully challenged the incumbent deputy leader Denis Healey

Denis Healey

Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey CH, MBE, PC is a British Labour politician, who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979.-Early life:...

 at the party conference. Healey had been elected as deputy leader in the previous year.

As well as Healey and Benn, John Silkin

John Silkin

John Ernest Silkin, PC was an English Labour politician and solicitor.He was the third son of Lewis Silkin, 1st Baron Silkin, and a younger brother of Samuel Silkin, Baron Silkin of Dulwich. He was educated at Dulwich College, the University of Wales, and Trinity Hall at the University of...

 also stood in the election. It was the first election to take place using the party's electoral college. At this time 40% of the votes were given to affiliated unions and societies, and 30% each to the Parliamentary Labour Party

Parliamentary Labour Party

In UK politics, the Parliamentary Labour Party is the parliamentary party of the Labour Party in Parliament: Labour MPs as a collective body....

 and the individual members and activists of the party. When this plurality in favour of the unions was first introduced, it received considerable criticism from the more social democratic wing of the party. Ironically it transpired that if the unions had had an equal share to the PLP and the membership then Healey's narrow majority would have been wiped out and the more left-wing Benn won the contest.

Results

First round
Candidate		Votes
	Denis Healey	45.4%
	Tony Benn	36.6%
	John Silkin	18.0%
John Silkin eliminated

Second round
Candidate		Votes
	Denis Healey	50.4%
	Tony Benn	49.6%
Denis Healey re-elected