2024 General Election stats Flashcards
how did Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves address concerns about the economy?
They constantly stressed the importance of economic stability.
How has newspaper influence on elections changed since 1997?
Newspaper circulation has dropped by an estimated 3/4
How have TV debates changed in significance since 2010?
Viewing figures have declined, with only 4.8 million watching the first 2024 ITV debate compared to 9.4 million in 2010.
What trend in voter information was confirmed by the 2024 election?
Social media has become an increasingly important source of political information.
How much did Labour and the Conservatives spend on digital advertising during the 2024 campaign?
Labour spent £2.9 million, while the Conservatives spent £1.7 million.
Why is social media a powerful tool in modern election campaigns?
It allows targeted advertising by age, gender, and locality, and engaging messages can be widely shared.
What was the voter turnout in the 2024 UK general election?
Around 60%, a significant drop from 67% in 2019.
How did the 2024 turnout compare to past elections?
It was only slightly higher than the post-war low of 59% in 2001.
What does the low turnout in 2024 suggest about public attitudes?
A degree of public disenchantment with mainstream party politics.
Where was voter turnout lowest in the 2024 election?
Northern England, the Midlands, and Northern Ireland.
Which socio-economic group was less likely to vote in 2024?
People from poorer backgrounds.
Why might poorer individuals be less likely to vote?
They may feel they lack a strong stake in society and that the outcome won’t improve their lives.
What new voting requirement was introduced in the 2024 election?
Voters had to show photo id at polling stations.
How many people were reportedly barred from voting due to ID requirements?
Around 400,000 people.
Which groups were disproportionately affected by voter ID requirements?
Poorer and less educated voters, and those from ethnic minorities.
How did Professor Sir John Curtice describe the 2024 election outcome?
As “the most disproportional electoral outcome in British electoral history.”
What percentage of seats did Labour win in 2024, and what was their vote share?
Labour won 63% of the seats with less than 34% of the vote.
How did Labour’s 2024 vote share compare to Jeremy Corbyn’s in 2017?
Labour won fewer votes in 2024 (under 34%) than in 2017 (40%), yet won outright, unlike in 2017.
When was the last time before 2024 that Labour won a majority of seats in England?
The 2005 general election.
How did the Liberal Democrats perform in relation to their vote share?
Their seat share was, for once, close to their vote share.
Which smaller parties were disadvantaged by First-Past-the-Post (FPTP)?
The Green Party and Reform UK.
How many seats would Labour and the Conservatives have won under the Additional Member System (AMS)?
Labour: 236 seats, Conservatives: 157 seats.
How many seats would the Green Party and Reform UK have won under AMS?
Greens: 42 seats, Reform UK: 94 seats.
How does the 2024 election outcome impact the case for electoral reform?
It strengthens the case, but the winning party (Labour) is unlikely to pursue it.
What argument in favor of FPTP was supported by the 2024 election?
That it usually produces governments with clear mandates.
What did the 2019 election suggest about the UK’s party system?
That the traditional two-party system was strong, with Labour and Conservatives winning 75% of the vote and 87% of the seats.
How did the 2024 election challenge the two-party system?
The rise of smaller parties and a large number of independent candidates cast doubt on its dominance.
How did Reform UK perform in 2024?
Reform - 5 seats + 14.3% of vote
How did the Greens perform in 2024?
4 seats and 6.4% of voted
What percentage of seats did the two largest parties (Labour and Conservatives) win in 2024?
They won almost 82% of the seats.
What percentage of votes did Labour and the Conservatives receive in 2024?
Just 57% of the votes cast.
Why is the 2024 outcome striking in terms of smaller parties?
Usually, support for smaller parties is squeezed as major parties regain voters, but this did not happen.
What does the 2024 election suggest about voter attitudes?
There is an increasing level of dissatisfaction with the established parties.
What is the number of seats Labour won in 2024?
411
What was the change in Labour’s seats from the 2019 election?
+211
What percentage of seats did Labour win?
63.2%
What percentage of the vote did Labour receive?
33.7%
What is the number of seats the Conservative Party won in 2024?
121
What was the change in Conservative seats from the 2019 election?
−251
What percentage of seats did the Conservative Party win?
18.6%
What percentage of the vote did the Conservative Party receive?
23.7%
How many seats did the Liberal Democrat Party win in 2024?
72
What was the change in Liberal Democrat seats from the 2019 election?
+64
What percentage of seats did the Liberal Democrat Party win?
11.1%
What percentage of the vote did the Liberal Democrat Party receive?
12.2%
How many seats did the SNP win in 2024?
9
What was the change in SNP seats from the 2019 election?
−39
What percentage of seats did the SNP win?
1.4%
What percentage of the vote did the SNP receive?
2.5%
How many seats did Reform UK win in 2024?
5
What was the change in Reform UK seats from the 2019 election?
+5
What percentage of seats did Reform UK win?
0.8%
What percentage of the vote did Reform UK receive?
14.3%
What did most polling firms predict about the 2024 election?
They predicted a large Labour victory.
What were the polling firms’ mistakes in the 2024 election?
They exaggerated the size of the Labour and Reform UK vote shares and underestimated the Conservative and Liberal Democrat votes.
What was the actual Labour lead in 2024?
The actual Labour lead was 10 percent.
What did most polling companies estimate the Labour lead to be?
They estimated the Labour lead to be between 15 to 20 percent.
How accurate were the 2024 polls compared to previous elections?
The 2024 polls were less accurate than in 2019 but more accurate than in 2015 and 2017.
What was a major issue with the 2015 and 2017 polls?
In 2015, most polls predicted a hung parliament instead of a Conservative victory, and in 2017, they missed the Labour surge that resulted in a minority Conservative government.
Which type of poll was more accurate in the 2024 election?
Exit polls, where voters were asked how they voted as they left the polling station.
What did the 2024 exit poll by Ipsos predict?
Labour on 410 seats and the Conservatives on 131 seats.
What was the post election YouGov poll stats?
- Labour (26%)
- Reform UK (25%).
- Conservatives (22%),
- Lib Dems (14%)
- Green (8%)
What was the most important social factor determining voting behavior in 2024?
Age was the most important factor.
What was the Labour vote share among 18 to 24-year-olds in 2024?
41 percent.
What was the Labour vote share among over-70s in 2024?
20 percent.
How did Labour’s vote share change in 2024 compared to 2017 and 2019 across age groups?
Labour’s vote share was consistently high among all age groups up to 50, instead of declining with age.
What may explain the higher Labour vote among younger age groups in 2024?
Keir Starmer’s efforts to make Labour appear less threatening to ‘middle England’.
How did men and women vote in 2024?
- 34 percent of men and 35 percent of women voted Labour.
- 23 percent of men and 26 percent of women voted Conservative.
How did Reform UK perform with men and women in 2024?
Reform UK performed better with men than with women.
How did younger men vote compared to young women in 2024?
Younger men were more likely to vote Conservative or Reform UK than young women.
How important was class in determining voting behavior in 2024?
Class was less important in 2024 compared to previous elections.
How did Labour perform across socio-economic groups in 2024?
Labour won 36 percent of the ABC1 (highest) group and 33 percent of the C2DE (lowest) group.
How did the Conservative Party perform across socio-economic groups in 2024?
The Conservatives won 25 percent of the ABC1 vote and 23 percent of the C2DE vote.
How did education level affect voting behavior in 2024?
Labour won 42 percent of the graduate vote, while only 18 percent of graduates voted Conservative.
How did the Liberal Democrats perform across socio-economic and age groups in 2024?
- They performed evenly across all age groups, with a slight preference among higher social groups (14 percent of ABC1 and 11 percent of C2DE voters).
- They won 15 percent of the graduate vote.
How did Reform UK perform across socio-economic and education groups in 2024?
- Reform UK attracted 20 percent of C2DE voters but just 11 percent of ABC1 voters.
- Only 8 percent of graduates voted for them.
What percentage of MPs in the 2019-24 House of Commons were women?
2019 - 34%
2024 - 40%
What percentage of MPs in the 2019-24 House of Commons were from ethnic minorities?
2019 - 10%
2024 -14%
How many MPs in the 2019-24 House of Commons had never sat in parliament before?
2019 - 140 MPs
2024 - 334 MPs.
How many Conservative MPs stood down in 2019 compared to 2024 ?
2019 - 74 MPs
2024 - 75 Conservative MPs.
What was the average age of an MP in the 2019-2024 House of Commons?
2019 - 49 years old
2024 - 48 years old.
What percentage of MPs in the 2019-24 House of Commons attended comprehensive schools?
2019 - 63%
2024 - 54%
What percentage of MPs in the 2019-2024 House of Commons attended fee-paying schools?
2019 - 29%
2024 - 23%
What percentage of MPs in the 2019-24 House of Commons identified as LGBT?
2019 - 7%
2024 - 10%
What policies did Labour plan to pursue after the 2024 election?
Investment in green energy, rail renationalisation, a major house building programme, and enhanced workers’ rights.
What did the incoming Labour government have to address regarding the public finances?
The ‘£22 billion black hole’ left by the Conservatives, which would require spending restraint and tax increases to plug.
What was an early sign that Keir Starmer would not tolerate dissent within his party?
He refused to cancel the two-child cap on child benefit payments and removed the whip from seven backbench MPs who rebelled.
- Rebecca Long Bailey (former shadow business secretary), Zarah Sultana and John McDonnell (former shadow chancellor)
What was the Conservative Party’s situation after the 2024 election?
The Conservative opposition was left in a weak position with limited representation, especially in regions like south-west England, north-west England, and Wales.
What internal divisions did the Conservative Party face after the 2024 election?
Divisions between moderate ‘one nation’ Conservatives and right-wingers, some of whom favoured an alliance with Reform UK.
- Sir Edward Leigh - Conservative MP, suggested that there is a 70% likelihood of a merger or electoral pact between the Conservatives and Reform UK before the next general election
Why was selecting a new Conservative leader difficult after the 2024 election?
The defeat was so significant that uniting the party and making it a credible challenger for the 2028–29 election became problematic.
What happened to the possibility of Scottish independence after the 2024 election?
The push for Scottish independence retreated as the SNP suffered its worst performance since 2010.
How did Sinn Féin perform after the 2024 election?
Sinn Féin became the largest party in Northern Ireland, both in the Assembly and at the UK level.
What was the status of the Democratic Unionist Party after the 2024 election?
The DUP saw a reduction in representation, making the nationalist goal of a cross-border poll on Irish unification a step closer.
Why is an Irish unification referendum unlikely to happen in the short term?
It requires UK government approval and is sensitive due to the unionist–nationalist relationship.
