1997 general election Flashcards
Why was the 1997 general election called?
Because the government lost its majority in parliament
The conservatives wanted to ensure that the formal campaign would go on for 6 weeks
They believed that it would expose labour and spread the conservative message
How long has the government been in power?
Conservatives since 1997-1997
M thatcher 1979-90 John Major 90-97
Circumstances at the time of the election?
New labour scheme
John Major crashed economy ‘black wednesday’ devaluing value of stearling and lost billions of pounds,
-Scandals of conservative illicit sexual affair ‘Tory sleaze’
-Privatisation of coal and british rail
Black wednesday?
-16th sept 1992
-UK govt forced to withdrawal stealing from ERM (exchange rate mechanism) but couldn’t keep exchange rates lower
-J Major suffered after this due to lack of trust
-In order to prop up the value of the pound the british government spent £3.3. bill pounds in one say raising interest rate by 15%
-1997 economy flourished again but voters couldn’t forgive him
-Reason conservatives voted for new labour
How popular were conservatives during election?
Damaged reputation due to thatcherism and black wednesday
Not popular
How popular were labour during election?
Very popular due to new labour
T Blair had support
Reminder of Bill Clinton
How popular were liberal democrat during election?
Quite well liked
But tactical voting
Key issues at the time?
Black wednesday
New labour (class size cut, fast track punishment, cut NHS waiting list and no rise income task)
-Tory sleaze
-Reaction against 18 yrs of ruling
-Lib dem turned liberal snp alliance
Sociological model- gender?
Wasn’t a huge factor
Men and women most likely to vote labour (Lab 14 lead with men and 13 women)
Sociological model- age?
Age wasn’t a huge factor, alway had majority vote for labour
5% lead over 65
55+ most likely to boye labour 31% cons and lib dem 20%
Sociological model- class?
Middle class ABC1 most likely to vote conservative 39% (only a 5% lead)
Skilled w/c labour 50%
Unskilled w/c labour 59%
Sociological model- ethnic minority’s?
Huge lead
Labour won seats in home countrys
Media influence?
-First time sun backed labour ‘its the sun wot won it’
-John Major mocked in cartoons
-Opinion polls predicted labour would be far ahed
-Times: neutural
-Sun, star, guardian, inderpendant and mirror: Labour (visited+god child)
-Express, telegraph, financial time: Conservative
-Newspaper began to decline
-Tory sleeze ‘we will win if we can make daily mail 10% less hostile to us’
Leadership- Blair?
Great impression very well liked
Captured public attention due to new labour
In his first year he had highest approval rates
Leadership- John Major?
Used to be but not anymore, due to black wednesday people lost turst
Negative campaigns
Soap box campaign was outdated
Leadership- Ashdown?
Charismatic
Turnout?
71%
Electoral system effect- Labour?
418 seat won 43.2% of vote
Huge winners bonus
Favoured
Electoral system effect- Conservatives?
165 seats 30.7%
Disproportional vote vs seats
Electoral system effect- lib dems?
46 seats 16.8%
not that far of labour but ultimately get a lot less seats
