1997 General Election

Question 1

who won the 1997 election? how many votes and seats did they win?

Answer 1

Tony Blair won the 1997 election for labour after 18 years of Conservatives in office with a landslide victory

Labour then went on to govern for 13 years (1997 to 2010)

Labour won 418 seats, an increase of 145, with around 43% of the vote

This was an 179 seat majority, the largest seen since 1945

Overall Tony Blair’s new Labour had gained a staggering 179 seat majority in the commons

Question 2

who lost the election? how many votes and seats did they win?

Answer 2

Conservatives only won 165 seats, a loss of 178, with around 31% of the vote

This was their worst election result since 1832

Question 3

who emerged as a significant third force?

Answer 3

The Liberal Democrats emerged as a significant third force at Westminster, winning 46 seats (28 more since the last election) and 17% of the vote

Question 4

what was the voter turnout?

Answer 4

Around 71%

Therefore only 31% of the electorate actually voted labour

This does not suggest a mass popular movement towards labour, the election was more so lost by the Conservatives than won by Labour

Question 5

how long was the campaigning period?

Answer 5

Prolonged campaign of six weeks

Question 6

who was the Conservative leader at the time?

Answer 6

John Major was the Conservative leader at the time and had taken over from Thatcher in 1992

Question 7

how was John Major portrayed in the media?

Answer 7

John Major was mocked on satirical TV shows such as Spitting Image for being grey, boring and uncharismatic as well as having a lack of control over his own party — Weak/poor leadership

Question 8

how did the Conservatives come across?

Answer 8

The Conservatives also came across as weaker than they had been before they were divided and therefore not united on issues regarding EU — ongoing divisions

There were huge failures amongst John Majors government between 1992 and 1997

Question 9

what was the impact of newspapers and the media?

Answer 9

Public opinion seemed to sway hugely towards Tony Blair after newspapers reported on a number of sex and corruption scandals in the Conservative party which led them to be referred to as the ‘sleazy’ party

The Sun had switched to support and back Labour — Labour had won the endorsement of the greater part of the press, including the Sun and the Times

There was also the cash for questions scandal

Question 10

how was Tony Blair seen?

Answer 10

Blair was very popular as he was young and charismatic, he made the Conservatives seem irrelevant and outdated in contemporary society

He was someone who would bring about change, he had rebranded labour and stepped away from old Labour beliefs and policies

He rewrote clause 4 of the Labour Party constitution and shifted labour more towards the centre by ditching its dedication to nationalisation and other left wing policies and taking up more typically ‘Conservative’ ideas

He also managed to appeal to more middle-class voters that were not happy with the Conservatives

Question 11

what were the Conservatives blamed for?

Answer 11

On the other hand people blamed the Conservatives after the GDP was withdrawn from the ERM and the stock market crashed at a cost of over £3.3 billion — known as Black Wednesday (1992)

There was also around £800 million in trade losses, this was because the pound was failing and was very weak

The Conservatives had essentially lost their reputation as being financially responsible and safe handlers of the economy, so had fallen behind Labour in terms of popularity

They were not given credit even though the economy was beginning to recover from the recession — Partly because the recovery of the economy near to the 1997 election was not felt in either tax cuts or public investment

Question 12

Labour policies

Answer 12

Tougher law and order — E.g. fast track punishment system for young offenders tough on crime tough on the causes of crime important issue following rising crime rates in the 1990s

No rise in income tax rates

Low inflation

Emphasised links to the business community

cut class sizes

Taking people off benefits

Ditched nationalisation, tax increases and alliance with trade unions, that had previously alienated middle-class voters

Constitutional reform — gave the party common ground with the Liberal Democrats

so liberal democrat supporters could now vote tactically for labour in marginal seats where their own candidates had no hope to win in order to stop a Conservative government forming — this may have added up to 30 seats to the Labour majority

Question 13

what had Blair done to the Labour Party?

Answer 13

Blair had modernised and rebranded labour shifting the party more towards the centre and ditching left-wing policies to appeal to more people

Labour was now a moderate party with the interests of ‘Middle England at heart’

Question 14

Conservative policies

Answer 14

No stark differences between Labour and Conservative policies

The Conservative manifesto mainly focused on economic recovery and lower income tax

Question 15

what did the polls suggest?

Answer 15

Labours lead in the opinion polls actually declined over the course of the campaign

Question 16

economic and social factors in voting patterns

Answer 16

Age Conservatives did not remain dominant in the 65+ age-group 41% voted labour 36% Conservative

Class labour gained support from all classes but particularly saw a 19% increase in C1 support and a 15% increase in C2 support

Labour also gained ground in the upper classes AB and C1 34% voted labour 39% voted Conservative — Conservatives did have more votes but the gap between Labour and Conservative support in the upper classes was closer than ever before and enough for labour to secure a landslide victory

Race labour gained 43% of the white vote and 70% of the BME vote

Gender 44% of women voted labour and only 32% voted Conservative 45% of men voted labour 31% Conservative

Question 17

the election campaigns: what were the different party slogans? what was Labour’s campaigning strategy?

Answer 17

Labour slogan because Britain deserves better

Conservative slogan you can only be sure with Conservatives

Labour employed public relations experts to handle the media, used focus groups to assess public opinion and systematically targeted marginal seats

This was a very effective campaigning strategy

although this should not be exaggerated — they only increased their share of the vote in target seats by 12.5% but by 13.4% in seats it neglected

Question 18

what was the impact of this election?

Answer 18

The rise of new labour — Labour was more right-wing than ever before

Question 19

what were the main reasons for the fall in popularity and support for the Conservatives?

Answer 19

Conservative incompetency was felt again in a series of financial (e.g. cash for questions) and sexual scandals (sleaze)

people also felt the divisions in the party regarding the EU made it come across as weak

The Conservatives did little to change their image as the ‘nasty party’

Question 20

what happened due to by-elections?

Answer 20

Due to by-elections between 1992 and 97 major did not have an outright majority by election time and only had 321 seats, making the Conservative position very tenuous and major susceptible to rebellions from his own party

Question 21

what did Major reportedly call his cabinet?

Answer 21

Reports of major referring to rebel members of his cabinet as ‘bastards’

Question 22

what did the tensions within the Conservative Party lead John Major to do in 1995?

Answer 22

John Major resigned calling a leadership election in 1995 over the tensions in his party regarding Europe

He won by huge majority tightening his grip on the party until the 1997 election

Question 23

how did the Conservatives being in power for so long impact this election?

Answer 23

Because the Conservatives had been in power for so long since 1979 they were vulnerable to challenge

Question 24

what had some Conservative reforms led to?

Answer 24

Some reforms designed to reduce the burden on the taxpayer like privatisation of pensions had caused concern amongst the public

Question 25

key policies in the Labour manifesto

Answer 25

1) Education will be our number one priority and we will increase the share of national income spent on education
2) There will be no increase in the basic or top rates of income tax
3) We will provide stable economic growth with low inflation and promote dynamic and competitive business and industry at home and abroad
4) We will get 250,000 young unemployed people off benefits and into work
5) We will rebuild the NHS reducing spending on administration and increasing spending on patient care
6) We will be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime and half the time it takes persistent juvenile offenders to come to court

Question 26

key policies in the LibDem manifesto

Answer 26

1) Invest an additional £2 billion per year and education funded by an extra 1p in the pound on the basic rate of income tax
2) Lock in economic stability encourage saving and promote enterprise
3) raise the quality of Britain’s workforce through additional investment in education and training
4) as part of the strategy to build a sustainable economy we will shift the burden of taxation from employment to the depletion of natural resources
5) pursue practical measures to rebuild Britain’s communities tackle the causes of crime reduce homelessness and make people safer in their homes and on the streets

Question 27

key policies in the Conservative manifesto

Answer 27

The Conservatives mainly focused on economic recovery but internal divisions and presence of the pressure on them party meant the issue of Europe dominated the Conservative campaign leaving labour free to present its third way economic policy

1) Remain in the EU and not to have a federal Europe
2) Lower income taxation on peoples salaries and keep inflation low to stop changing prices
3) An increase in Social Security through personal savings
4) Children will be provided with a great education
5) Plan to continue year by year to increase the real resources committed to the NHS so NHS spending will continue to share in a growing economy

Question 28

the campaign:

Answer 28

It was a six week campaign as opposed to the usual 31 days but this extra campaigning time did little to help the Conservatives

Question 29

the campaign:

Answer 29

It was the first election where there was heavy focus on the personalities and ideologies of the leaders themselves

Question 30

the campaign:

Answer 30

Both major parties picked at each other

the Conservatives highlighted the dangers of Blair and the Labour Party restoring power and their influence on trade unions

Labour highlighted the many sexual scandals associated with the Conservative party with the word ‘sleaze’ becoming a common term to describe many Conservative MPs

Question 31

the campaign:

Answer 31

Labour slogans (“things can only get better” and “because Britain deserves better”) were subtle digs at the Tories ‘sleazy’ reputation

this changed the publics opinion to one that felt that the Tories had abused their time in power (‘nasty party’)

Question 32

the campaign:

Answer 32

The Sun dealt a massive blow to the Conservatives when it started to back labour (“Give Change A Chance”)

Question 33

the campaign:

Answer 33

MPs such as Piers Merchant (the Conservative MP for Beckenham) had their private and personal affairs found out and written in the Sun, damaging the reputation of the party and losing the voters’ trust

For example the Sun wrote that he had had an inappropriate adulterous affair with a 17-year-old Soho nightclub hostess

Other cases of this kind of misconduct were further reported on by the press with different MPs, leading to 12 resigning, thus showing weakness in the party and therefore disrupting the Conservative campaign, Taking the focus away from their policies and onto their scandals

Question 34

what were the valence issues in 1997?

Answer 34

It was universally agreed that the economy must stay stable in light of its recent recovery after the crash of the early 1990s

Public lost faith and trust in the Conservatives due to their background of scandals in addition to the large debt, Labour proposed economic third way policies which saw them to the win

Most people agreed that the infighting in parliament was causing weaknesses mainly in the Conservative party and that it should be stopped although how it should be resolved exactly was divisive

Question 35

what were the salient issues?

Answer 35

The NHS — Increasing the efficiency and quality of health care was seen to be key and labour promised to reduce waiting lists whilst the Lib Dems said they would re-introduce free eye and dental checks and the Conservatives promised increased real term spending on NHS resources

Education — Labour made clear in a 10 point Contract with the people that education would be the governments top priority promising to reduce class sizes and introduce free nursery places for 3 to 4-year-olds and the Lib Dems promised an extra £2 billion towards education funded by an extra 1p on income tax

Taxes — Labour were very much in a position where they had to prove they had lost the ‘tax-and-spend’ attitude adopted by previous Labour leaders so they promised not to increase income tax

whilst the Conservatives promised to introduce a tax break for married couples where one partner stayed at home and committed the Tories to establish a basic tax rate of 20p and the Lib Dems said they would add 1p onto the income tax rate to pay for Britain to become an ‘educational powerhouse’

Question 36

effect of leaders on election result:

Answer 36

Strong sense that Britain was more presidential than in previous election campaigns

the personalities of leaders were as important as the policies themselves in many ways

Question 37

effect of leaders on election result:

Answer 37

Major was mocked on spitting image for being grey and uncharismatic and boring

Many people saw major as weak after he lost his majority and because the Tory party had so many rebels who were against him there was a feeling that despite winning the party leadership election he did not have a strong hold on his party

Blair at PMQ said of Major “I lead my party, he follows his” reinforcing his weak image

Question 38

effect of leaders on election result:

Answer 38

Before the Iraq war Blair was very popular he was considered young energetic and relatable

He made himself look very powerful having stamped his New Labour ideology onto the party

Question 39

effect of leaders on election result:

Answer 39

Major labelled Blair a ‘chicken’ when when he refused to take part in the TV debate

this resulted in The Mirror (Labour supporting) to follow the Conservative campaign for a while

Question 40

effect of leaders on election result:

Answer 40

Blair was public-schooled and an Oxford barrister so not a typical Labour leader

he had been shadow Home Secretary and an MP in the Thatcher era so Had experience in politics and positions of responsibility but no actual experience of government

Question 41

effect of leaders on election result:

Answer 41

His moving of labour to the right to form new Labour was both criticised and applauded

depending on opinion he was and remains highly divisive

Question 42

effect of leaders on election result:

Answer 42

The LibDem campaign under the leadership of Paddy Ashdown ran very smoothly apart from one blip

When a nurse approached the Lib Dems with the story of the needless death of a young man due to what she described as the Conservative mismanagement of the health service Mr Ashdown was accused of “shroud waving”

Ashdown had already led the Lib Dems in 1992 so had a degree of leadership experience along with Major, whereas Blair had not yet run for Prime Minister

Question 43

social factors affecting election outcome: geography

Answer 43

Labour gained votes across all regions mainly in the north with the Conservatives gaining the majority of their votes in the south

Conservative votes were essentially non-existent in Scotland and Wales

The Conservatives lost seats in London managing only 11 seats

The Liberal Democrat votes were evenly spread but mainly in the Southwest

Question 44

social factors affecting election outcome: class

Answer 44

Labour gained support throughout the election from all classes mainly in the C1 category 19% and the C2 category 15%

Question 45

social factors affecting election outcome: gender

Answer 45

Men and women were both likely to support labour closing the gender gap for the first time

Minimal gender voting differences for the other parties

Question 46

social factors affecting election outcome: age

Answer 46

Conservatives only remained dominant in the 65+ age group, with labour being dominant in every other group

48 to 49% of all 18 to 44-year-olds Voted labour showing how widely popular labours policies were

Question 47

social factors affecting election outcome: other factors

Answer 47

White voters were more likely to vote Labour than Conservative

48% of home renters voted labour whilst 41% of homeowners voted Conservative

Question 48

the influence of the media: PRINT MEDIA

Answer 48

The Sun dealt a massive blow to the Conservatives when it started to back labour (“Give Change A Chance”)

MPs such as Piers Merchant Tory MP for Beckenham had their private and personal affairs found out and written in the Sun, damaging their reputation and losing the voters’ trust

the Sun wrote that he had had an inappropriate adulterous affair with a 17-year-old Soho nightclub hostess

other cases of this kind of misconduct were further reported on by the press with different MPs, leading to 12 resigning, showing weakness in the party and therefore disrupting the Conservative campaigns

Question 49

influence of the print media throughout different elections

Answer 49

Most of the print media endorsed the winning party in 2001

this reflects a trend dating back to Margaret Thatcher’s 1979 victory — Thatcher’s electoral success cemented a relationship between her party and the so-called ‘Tory press’, these papers attacked labour and its leadership

Conservative victories in 1987 and 1992 led some to conclude that the press might have a certain degree of influence over voter attitudes

the press realignment during the 1997 election Also aligned with the election results, with once Tory papers now supporting the seemingly invincible Tony Blair

at the very least, this removed a public impediment to labour

Question 50

the influence of the media: RADIO

Answer 50

Despite the dominating presence of television radio played an important role during the election

Whilst commercially own organisations relegated the campaign to brief mentions on their news bulletins, the BBC’s public service ethos meant it devoted considerable time to following developments

A network of regional and local radio stations offered election features, discussion and debate

The relaxation of legal restrictions meant broadcasters found it much easier to invite individual candidates on to their programs

Radio 5 Live provided round-the-clock news from the campaign, adding to the sense that this election was much more presidential and candidate focused than its predecessors

Question 51

the influence of the media: TV / BROADCAST

Answer 51

Television is widely regarded as the most important medium of political communication

Therefore every day at the main parties’ morning press conferences broadcast journalists were given regular opportunities to cross examine the relevant spokesperson on the platform

This was because spin doctors calculated that they were more likely to gain favourable exposure of the party’s message if they prioritised the requirements of those reporters contributing to the major TV channels news programmes

Although impartiality laws did somewhat inhibit the influence of broadcast media