1997 Election Case Study Flashcards
What were the results of the 1997 General Election?
Labour: 418 seats with 43.2% of the vote.
Conservatives: 165 seats with 30.7% of the vote.
Liberal Democrats: 46 seats with 16.8% of the vote.
What was the manifesto of the Conservative Party in 1997?
- There was little change from the Thatcher era manifestos with an emphasis on giving the public more control and reducing big government.
- A tax allowance policy which would encourage people to have nuclear families however, this only applied when the woman was not working which was incredibly unpopular.
-They also wanted to remain relatively distant from the EU.
What was the manifesto of the Labour Party in 1997?
-They promised to cut class sizes to 30 for 5, 6 and 7 year olds showing an emphasis on education.
- Fast track punishment for repeat youth offenders.
- Cut waiting times by treating 100’000 patients by cutting £100m in NHS red tape.
- Getting 250’000 unemployed people under 25 off of benefits and into work.
- No rise in income tax which is a complete switch in usual Labour policy.
What was the impact of manifestos and policy on the 1997 election?
Many people believed that the policies of the Conservative Party were not keeping up with the ideals of modern Britain with their views on the nuclear family not representing modern demographics and remaining distant from the EU. Meanwhile Labour appealed to both left and right wing voters with their sheer variety of clear and innovative policy.
What techniques did the Conservative Party use in their 1997 election campaign?
- He called on British people to “get back to basics” which included a nod towards the traditional family but the media focused heavily on a series of sex scandals.
- They acted like they could be trusted on the economy by continuing with Thatcherite policies but people couldn’t get over black Monday.
What techniques did the Labour Party use in their 1997 election campaign?
- They branded themselves as New Labour to present themselves as keeping up with changing times.
- They appealed much more to middle class voters who had become alienated with the Conservative Party.
- They used the song Things can only get better and used slogans such as “Britain deserves better”, “New Labour: New Britain” and “Labours coming home”.
- John Prescott had a “battle bus” to ensure support from working people.
What was the wider political context during the 1997 Election?
The Conservative Party had been in power for 18 years at this point and had changed Britain drastically, Thatcher had been forced to resign in 1990 and was replaced by Major who subsequently won the 1992 election. The Conservatives had been rocked by a number of sleaze scandals and had also caused black Monday which led to a brief economic decline. Labour on the other hand had drifted to the right and asserted themselves as the party to lead Britain into the 21st Century.
How did Men and Women vote in the 1997 General Election?
Men: 45% Labour and 31% Conservative.
Women: 44% Labour and 32% Conservative.
8 Point swing towards Labour in men and 10 point swing towards Labour in women.
More Women had generally voted Conservative in the past and most likely changed their alliance as many more women were now in work furthermore, the impact of Thatcher had significantly declined.
How did people of different ages vote in the 1997 General Election?
Labour was the most supported party in all age brackets with Labour having a 20 point lead amongst people younger than 45. The biggest collapse in Conservative support was people aged 45-64 with a swing of 16%.
How did people of different ethnic groups vote in the 1997 General Election?
- Labour had a 10 point lead amongst white voters.
- 82% of Black people voted Labour with just 12% voting Conservative.
- 66% of Asians voted in favour of Labour with 22% voting Conservative.
This isn’t particularly unique as Labour often performs better with minority groups due to their past stance on immigration.
How did various regions vote in 1997?
Labour performed incredibly well in Wales, Scotland, the North in general as well as Yorkshire and the Humber, London also voted in favour of Labour. The Conservatives performed well in the South although they only had a one point lead in East Anglia. The SNP performed better than the Conservatives in Scotland and Lib Dems dominated the South West especially in Cornwall.
How did Class dealignment pose an issue to Labour in earlier elections?
Labour had often relied upon working class people heavily which meant that as the middle class expanded and the manufacturing industry and trade unions declined Labour had less of a core voting base.
How did various voting classes vote in the 1997 General election?
41% of AB voted Conservative whilst 31% voted Labour.
50% of C2 voted Labour and 59% of DE voted Labour.
Amongst AB the Conservatives had lost 15% of their vote share as Labour made gains on all fronts.
How did Blair utilise the media?
He made sure to get the Sun on side which he managed to do whilst the Times which was traditionally neutral leaned towards Labour.
How did Blair utilise spin doctors?
He utilised Alistair Campbell and Peter Mandelson to get the media on board which enabled Blair to present himself in the best possible light by giving them access to perfectly tailored news that was designed to garner public support.
