4.1 3 key general elections (EOY) Flashcards
1
Q
how many seats did the conservatives have after their victory in 1979
A
339
2
Q
what were the party policies and manifesto if the 1979 elections?
A
- both labour and conservatives gave priority to bringing down inflation.
- there was nothing in the conservatives manifesto which suggested they would move more right
3
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A
3
Q
A
4
Q
A
5
Q
A
6
Q
what happened in the election campaign of 1979
A
- conservatives adopted modern advertising under the guidance of 2 professional public specialists, reece and bell
- labour campaign lacked awareness of the finer points of presentation, whereas thatcher used photo opportunities.
- Callaghan was 20 points above of thatcher when asked who would make the better pm
- thatcher declined a debate which would have highlighted the difference between them
6
Q
what is the context to how the conservatives defeated labour in 1979?
A
- although Callaghan was relatively popular, labour was a mess and there was an election because of a vote of no confidence
- Callaghans failure to handle militant trade unions during the winter of discontent essentially handed the conservatives the victory
7
Q
what were the party policies and manifestos in 1997?
A
- new labour abandon old party policies such as nationalisation, trade union power and increased tax, gave signals of focus on law and order
- labour also wanted to reduce sized of primary school classes and waiting lists for hospitals
- no stark difference between the conservatives and labour
- Blair had an emphasis on constitutional reform, giving common ground with Lib Dems
8
Q
what was the election campaign like in 1997?
A
- labour employed public relations expert to handle the media and systematically targeted marginal seats instead of safe seats
- labours lead in opinion polls declined during he campaign
9
Q
what is the wider political context of the 1997 party
A
- economic policy was poor from conservatives and voters hadn’t forgotten black Wednesday in 1992
- conservatives also had a lot of scandals which gave them an image of incompetence
10
Q
what were the party policies and manifestos in 2010?
A
- clear need to reduce the budget deficit which was 163 billion after financial crisis of 2007-08
- conservatives were alone in calling for immediate cuts
- 59% of people in opinion polls thought the extra money that labour had spent had been wasted
11
Q
what was the election campaign like in 2010?
A
- labour faced an embarrassment when brown called a women a ‘bigoted women’
- there were also revised debated with the 3 main party leaders with brown considered to come across as rather wooden/
- although the Lib Dems managed to enter the coalition, they lost 5 seats
12
Q
what is the political context of the 2010 election
A
- brown obtained a bad reputation as it was thought he would call an autumn election to secure his personal mandate but he didn’t (bottler brown)
- brown then had to battle to recover the economic position, although independent commentator commended him for his emergency actions, he received little political credit
- brown was harshly treated in the media
13
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A
