1983 general election Flashcards
Background information?
Thursday 9th june 1983
Conservative won a huge majority
Why was the election called?
M Thatcher saw the opinion polls and believed she had a chance of winning larger majority due to popularity from falklands war
How long were previous govt in power?
Conservatives since 1979
Main party leaders?
Cons- M Thatcher
Lab- Micheal Foot
Lib + SDP allience- David Steele and Roy Jenkins
Circumstances at the time?
-SDP and Lib dem allience due to labours very far left under foot
-Gang of 4 left labour
-Falkland war
-Labour hadnt got over oerivious defete
Popularity of m thatcher?
M Thatcher became liked due to economic grown and falkland
Popularity of Labour?
Unpopular
Very far left (manifesto longest suicide note in history)
Popularity of allience?
Very well liked
But conservatives became more popular due to falklands
Key issues at time?
Falklands (in modern times no single issue had affected the result of a general election more than falkland)
Liberal and SDP alliance
-Labour publishing secret tory manifesto`
-Foot not well liked, thatcher more presidential
Leadership style?
Thatcher wasn’t well liked for 2 yrs but economic and falklands huge success
-But during her leadership, became disliked due to mass unemployment ‘the witch is dead’
-People didn’t like foots style of government
-Alliance confused people
Turnout?
73%
Electoral system- conservative?
42.4% of vote huge landslide
397 seats
Huge winners bonus
Electoral system- Labour?
27.6% vote
209 seats
Overly favoured
Electoral system- Lib dem?
25.4% of vote but 23 seats
Hugely unfair only 2.2% less than labour but 186 seat difference
Sociological model- gender?
Not huge factor
Men and women mainly voted conservative 40.5%
Women more conservative as women as pm
Men labour
Alliance women
Sociological model- age?
All ages seemed to mostly vote conservative
19-24 Labour
25-34 alliance
Sociological model- class?
Middle and skilled working class conservative
Semi and unskilled labour
Labour didn’t do well with m/c
Alliance didn’t do well with skilled, semi and unskilled w/c
Media outcome?
M Thatcher’s tax cuts promise on front page ‘Tories promise tax cuts’
-Sun backed Thatcher ‘vote for maggie’ ‘Iron Lady’
-Labour wasn’t well liked
-Most news paper backed conservative
-Right wing newspaper ‘looney left’
-Michael foot attacked
