The 1983 election was called for 9th June, a year earlier than was necessary. The Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher had had three years of deep unpopularity, but victory in the Falklands War (April-June 1982) saw a turn-around in their approval. Labour was deeply divided having swung to the left and seen the right wing of the party split to form the SDP. This and an 'improving' economy gave Ms.Thatcher the opportunity to go to the polls expecting victory.
A manifesto was produced entitled "Politics for Life". It was a 40 page booklet with the first half outlining the principles behind green politics, and the second half giving detailed policy proposals. The conclusion was titled "Politics as if People Mattered"
The 108 candidates entitled the Ecology Party to an election broadcast again. "Planet Earth and its Future" was the introductory line. The voice over is by Jonathon Porritt who was the Election Coordinator at the time. He appears talking to camera at the end.
The total votes cast for ECO was 54,899 (53,848) 1, an absolute increase over 1979 but with over twice as many constituencies being contested the actual share of the vote fell to 1.04% across constituencies contested. Nonetheless Tony Jones, member of the Eco Election Coordinating Committee, managed to find reasons to be optimistic in an article in the July-August 1983 issue of GreenLine (page 9).
Candidates and Results
| Constituency | Ecology Candidate | Votes | Share |
| Aberdeen North | Ms. ME Harty | 367 | 0.90% |
| Altrincham and Sale | Mrs CMH Marsh | 629 | 1.31% |
| Angus East | Mrs PM Ross | 239 | 0.55% |
| Ashford | Dr. CA Porter | 569 | 1.19% |
| Bath | DP Grimes | 441 | 0.92% |
| Batley and Spen | CR Lord | 493 | 0.91% |
| Battersea | Mrs SG Willington | 377 | 0.86% |
| Bexhill and Battle | Miss APM Rix | 538 | 1.19% |
| Birkenhead | Miss HI Clarke | 337 | 0.72% |
| Birmingham Edgbaston | Dr. J Hurdley | 516 | 1.41% |
| Bournemouth East | TD Dykes | 273 | 0.58% |
| Bradford South | R Adsett | 308 | 0.62% |
| Bridlington | SJO Tooke | 803 | 1.48% |
| Bristol East | Mrs GA Dorey | 311 | 0.64% |
| Bristol South | G Collard | 352 | 0.71% |
| Bristol West | JFK Scott | 872 | 1.69% |
| Bromsgrove | JC Churchman | 716 | 1.44% |
| Canterbury | DR Conder | 962 | 1.87% |
| Cardiff West | GP Jones | 352 | 0.86% |
| Carmarthen | B Kingzett | 374 | 0.72% |
| Carshalton and Wallington | RW Steel | 784 | 1.58% |
| Ceredigion & Pembroke North | Miss MA Smith | 431 | 0.92% |
| Cheltenham | DG Swindley | 479 | 0.83% |
| Chichester | J Sherlock | 838 | 1.51% |
| Chingford | JE Morgan | 479 | 1.17% |
| Chipping Barnet | EA Parry | 552 | 1.34% |
| Chorley | AS Holgate | 451 | 0.78% |
| Corby | Miss RJ Stanning | 505 | 1.03% |
| Cornwall South East | J Chadwick | 337 | 0.66% |
| Crosby | PM Hussey | 415 | 0.64% |
| Croydon North West | TAJ Rowe | 286 | 0.73% |
| Derby South | E Wall | 297 | 0.64% |
| Devon North | RN Joanes | 669 | 1.31% |
| Dover | MJ Potter | 404 | 0.77% |
| Dulwich | RCL Baker | 237 | 0.62% |
| Dundee West | PSH Marks | 302 | 0.65% |
| Dunfermline West | SJ Dobson | 321 | 0.89% |
| Edinburgh Pentlands | AT Nicol-Smith | 687 | 1.58% |
| Edinburgh South | Mrs LM Hendry | 450 | 1.00% |
| Enfield North | Miss TM Persighetti | 320 | 0.65% |
| Epping Forest | RW Boenke | 452 | 0.93% |
| Exeter | PR Frings | 779 | 1.36% |
| Fife Central | DA Allison | 297 | 0.75% |
| Fife North East | TGP Flinn | 242 | 0.65% |
| Finchley | Mrs SJ Wilkinson | 279 | 0.73% |
| Fulham | Miss JM Grimes | 277 | 0.70% |
| Gainsborough and Horncastle | GW Dixon | 279 | 0.55% |
| Glasgow Hillhead | A Whitelaw | 239 | 0.58% |
| Gloucester | JH Waters | 479 | 0.85% |
| Gravesham | MD Sewell | 495 | 0.90% |
| Hackney North & Stoke Newington | DJ Fitzpatrick | 492 | 1.35% |
| Halesowen and Stourbridge | DJ Rudd | 582 | 1.00% |
| Hammersmith | Mrs DM Sutherland | 325 | 0.99% |
| Harborough | B Fewster | 802 | 1.46% |
| Hereford | Ms. VC Murray | 463 | 0.95% |
| Hornchurch | KM Crowson | 219 | 0.48% |
| Hornsey and Wood Green | PSI Lang | 854 | 1.62% |
| Horsham | PH Spurrier | 925 | 1.54% |
| Huntingdon | TMB Eiloart | 444 | 0.81% |
| Hyndburn | F Smith | 266 | 0.58% |
| Keighley | MJ Penney | 302 | 0.60% |
| Kensington | JE Porritt | 649 | 2.09% |
| Kingston upon Thames | Miss A Presant-Collins | 290 | 0.71% |
| Leeds North West | A Laurence | 673 | 1.39% |
| Leicester South | CJ Davies | 495 | 0.93% |
| Leicestershire North West | Mrs DG Freer | 637 | 1.15% |
| Leominster | Miss FM Norman | 668 | 1.30% |
| Lewes | RPC Mutter | 1221 | 2.44% |
| Lewisham East | AJ Hassard | 270 | 0.63% |
| Loughborough | DG Whitebread | 591 | 1.08% |
| Milton Keynes (NE) | AH Francis | 494 | 0.84% |
| Newark | Mrs PA Hewis | 463 | 0.95% |
| Newcastle upon Tyne Central | DN Jacques | 478 | 1.07% |
| Northavon | KR Radmall | 499 | 0.87% |
| Norwich South | AD Carter | 468 | 0.96% |
| Ogmore | Dr. NB Thomas | 1161 | 2.94% |
| Oxford West and Abingdon | Ms. SG Starmer | 544 | 1.09% |
| Paisley North | Dr. Nicolette Carlaw | 439 | 1.27% |
| Paisley South | DG Mellor | 271 | 0.72% |
| Pembroke | DL Hoffman | 478 | 0.90% |
| Peterborough | NA Callaghan | 511 | 0.88% |
| Plymouth Sutton | SR Shaw | 470 | 1.03% |
| Pontypridd | AK Jones | 449 | 1.01% |
| Putney | Mrs FR Baillie-Grohman | 190 | 0.40% |
| Reading East | G Darnton | 519 | 1.09% |
| Reigate | DR Newell | 1029 | 2.03% |
| Rushcliffe | Mrs M Pook | 518 | 0.96% |
| Rutland and Melton | Ms. HA Goddard | 532 | 0.97% |
| Shipley | S Shepherd | 521 | 1.00% |
| Slough | IE Flindall | 325 | 0.63% |
| South Hams | Ms. WJ Morgan | 518 | 0.93% |
| St. Ives | HS Hoptrough | 439 | 0.93% |
| Stockport | MJ Shipley | 369 | 0.84% |
| Surbiton | J MacLellan | 551 | 1.65% |
| Swansea West | GE Oubridge | 265 | 0.62% |
| The City of London & Westminster South | RE Shorter | 419 | 1.19% |
| Tooting | Miss EM Shaw | 255 | 0.55% |
| Twickenham | JJ Clarke | 424 | 0.85% |
| Walthamstow | SW Lambert | 424 | 1.28% |
| Wanstead and Woodford | Mrs C Warth | 476 | 1.21% |
| Warrington South | NS Chantrell | 403 | 0.74% |
| Warwick and Leamington | NJ Charlton | 685 | 1.31% |
| Westbury | PW Ekins | 609 | 1.01% |
| Westminster North | TH Cooper | 527 | 1.19% |
| Westmorland and Lonsdale | RA Gibson | 805 | 1.66% |
| Wiltshire North | E Barnham | 678 | 1.16% |
| Wimbledon | A Jones | 717 | 1.54% |
| Worcestershire South | GHM Woodford | 866 | 1.60% |
In terms of votes the best result was RPC Mutter in Lewes with 1221. Dr.Thomas and D.R. Newell in Reigate were the only others to get over 1000 votes.
Looking at vote share Thomas in Ogmore got 2.94%, while Mutter gained 2.44% and Newell 2.03%. The only other candidate to poll over 2% share was Jonathon Porritt in Kensington, the fifth smallest constituency in England with only 31,055 electors on the register. It was the smallest constituency contested by Ecology.
It was certainly a disappointment for many in Eco that no progress had been made since 1979.
Notes: 1. The figure of 109 and 54,899 votes comes from the Green Line article. The figure of 108 and 53,848 votes is from election results reported by UK-Elect. Most likely one Eco candidate either failed to get the correct party label on the ballot paper, or the UK-Elect figures have misallocated one candidate. The results table uses the UK-Elect data as the most complete set we have found.