1985 Norwegian parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 8 and 9 September 1985. The Labour Party remained the largest party in the Storting, winning 71 of the 157 seats. It was the first election since 1885 in which the Liberal Party failed to win a seat.

1985 Norwegian parliamentary election

8 and 9 September 1985
All 157 seats in the Storting 79 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	84%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Gro Harlem Brundtland Erling Norvik Kjell Magne Bondevik Party Labour Conservative Christian Democratic Last election 37.2%, 66 seats 35.3%, 53 seats 12.5%, 15 seats Seats won 71 50 16 Seat change 5 3 1 Popular vote 1,061,712 791,537 214,969 Percentage 40.8% 30.4% 8.3%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Johan J. Jakobsen Theo Koritzinsky Carl I. Hagen Party Centre Socialist Left Progress Last election 7.8%, 11 seats 4.9%, 4 seats 4.5%, 4 seats Seats won 12 6 2 Seat change 1 2 2 Popular vote 171,770 141,950 96,797 Percentage 6.6% 5.5% 3.7%
Results by county
Prime Minister before election Kåre Willoch Conservative Prime Minister after election Kåre Willoch Conservative

Contesting parties

See also: List of political parties in Norway

Name			Ideology	Position	Leader	1981 result
						Votes (%)	Seats
	Ap	Labour Party Arbeiderpartiet	Social democracy	Centre-left	Gro Harlem Brundtland	37.2%	66 / 155
	H	Conservative Party Høyre	Conservatism	Centre-right	Erling Norvik	31.7%	53 / 155
	KrF	Christian Democratic Party Kristelig Folkeparti	Christian democracy	Centre to centre-right	Kjell Magne Bondevik	8.9%	15 / 155
	SV	Socialist Left Party Sosialistisk Venstreparti	Democratic socialism	Left-wing	Theo Koritzinsky	4.9%	4 / 155
	FrP	Progress Party Fremskrittspartiet	Classical liberalism	Right-wing	Carl I. Hagen	4.4%	4 / 155
	Sp	Centre Party Senterpartiet	Agrarianism	Centre	Johan J. Jakobsen	4.2%	6 / 155
	V	Liberal Party Venstre	Social liberalism	Centre	Arne Fjørtoft	3.2%	2 / 155

Campaign

Slogans

Party		Original slogan	English translation
	Labour Party	Ny vekst for Norge
	Conservative Party
	Centre Party
	Christian Democratic Party	La livet leve
	Liberal Party
	Progress Party	Vi vil gjøre noe med det!
Sources:

Debates

1985 Norwegian general election debates
Date	Organizers	P  Present    I  Invitee  N  Non-invitee
		Ap	H	KrF	Sv	Frp	Sp	V	Rv	Dlp	NKP	Refs
9 October 1984	NRK	P Gro Harlem Brundtland	P Kåre Willoch	N Kjell Magne Bondevik	N Hanna Kvanmo	N Carl I. Hagen	N Johan J. Jakobsen	N Odd Einar Dørum	N Jorunn Gulbrandsen	N Halfdan Hegtun	N Hans Ingemann Kleven
6 September 1985	NRK	P Einar Førde, Gro Harlem Brundtland	P Kåre Willoch, Kaci Kullmann Five	P Kjell Magne Bondevik	P Hanna Kvanmo	P Carl I. Hagen	P Johan J. Jakobsen	P Odd Einar Dørum	P Jorunn Gulbrandsen	P Halfdan Hegtun	P Hans Ingemann Kleven

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Labour Party	1,061,712	40.81	71	+5
	Conservative Party	791,537	30.42	50	–3
	Christian Democratic Party	214,969	8.26	16	+1
	Centre Party	171,770	6.60	12	+1
	Socialist Left Party	141,950	5.46	6	+2
	Progress Party	96,797	3.72	2	–2
	Liberal Party	81,202	3.12	0	–2
	Red Electoral Alliance	14,818	0.57	0	0
	Liberal People's Party	12,958	0.50	0	0
	Pensioners' Party	7,846	0.30	0	New
	Communist Party	4,245	0.16	0	New
	Sunnmøre List	2,013	0.08	0	New
	Freely Elected Representatives			0	0
	Society Party			0	New
	Non-Partisan List			0	New
Total		2,601,817	100.00	157	+2
Valid votes		2,601,817	99.86
Invalid/blank votes		3,619	0.14
Total votes		2,605,436	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		3,100,479	84.03
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Voter demographics

Cohort	Percentage of cohort voting for
	Ap	H	KrF	Sp	Sv	FrP	V	Others
Total vote	40.8%	30.4%	8.3%	6.6%	5.5%	3.7%	3.12%
Gender
Females	43.4%	27.6%	10.7%	5.5%	5.7%	2.6%	2.9%
Males	38.4%	33%	6%	7.6%	5.2%	4.8%	3.2%
Age
18–30 years old	34.4%	33.9%	5.5%	4.1%	8.6%	7.6%	4.5%
30-59 years old	40.5%	32%	7.5%	6.6%	5.3%	3%	3.6%
60 years old and older	47.3%	24.1%	12.6%	8.8%	2.9%	1.5%	0.7%
Work
low income	44.6%	23.3%	9.3%	8.4%	5.5%	4.4%	2.9%
Average income	45.5%	26.6%	8.3%	6%	6.5%	2.8%	2.9%
High income	28.6%	46.5%	6.1%	4.4%	4.4%	4.4%	3.7%
Education
Primary school	60.2%	16.3%	7.4%	7%	4.4%	3%	1.1%
High school	38.2%	33.6%	8.6%	6.8%	4.7%	4.6%	2.4%
University/college	14.8%	44.7%	9.3%	5.8%	9.6%	2.6%	8.7%
Source: Norwegian Institute for Social Research

Seat distribution

Constituency	Total seats	Seats won
		Ap	H	KrF	Sp	SV	Frp
Akershus	12	5	5		1	1
Aust-Agder	4	2	1	1
Buskerud	7	4	2		1
Finnmark	4	3	1
Hedmark	8	5	1		1	1
Hordaland	15	5	5	2	1	1	1
Møre og Romsdal	10	4	3	2	1
Nord-Trøndelag	6	3	1		2
Nordland	12	6	3	1	1	1
Oppland	7	5	1		1
Oslo	15	5	7	1		1	1
Østfold	8	4	3	1
Rogaland	10	3	4	2	1
Sogn og Fjordane	5	2	1	1	1
Sør-Trøndelag	10	4	3	1	1	1
Telemark	6	3	2	1
Troms	6	3	2	1
Vest-Agder	5	2	2	1
Vestfold	7	3	3	1
Total	157	71	50	16	12	6	2
Source: Norges Offisielle Statistikk