4.4.4 - Case Study of 2017 Election Flashcards
When did Theresa May call a snap election?
18 April 2017
What were the predictions for the 2017 election?
A 200 seat Conservative majority.
Why did some consider the 2017 a true watershed?
- Class and partisan dealignment rapidly continued.
- The campaign was the biggest deciding factor in electoral result.
- The television debates proved to be incredibly influential.
- The negative press of Corbyn proved to have little effect on the result.
- Issues mattered more than perceived competence of party leaders.
- Young people are not necessarily apathetic towards politics.
- Social media proved vital to mobilise young voters.
However, Conservative and Labour vote shares were the highest since 1970, contrasting with assumptions the UK had entered multiparty politics.
How did political journalist Andrew Rawnsley describe the Conservative campaign?
‘The worst campaign in living memory’.
Why was the Conservative campaign received so poorly?
It operated on the assumption that the electorate would consider Corbyn unelectable, which proved to be untrue.
Who composed the Conservative manifesto?
Fiona Hill
Nick Timothy
(May’s key advisers)
What was the most unpopular Conservative manifesto promise, and what was its nickname?
Proposals to make wealthier pensioners pay a higher share of NHS homecare.
‘Dementia Tax’
Why was the Labour campaign received much better by the electorate?
- Abolishment of tuition fees.
- Increase spending on police.
- No increase in direct taxes for those earning less than £80k per annum.
- Anti-austerity (paid for by heavily taxing those above £330,000)
- Campaign was taken to the people.
- ‘For the many, not the few’
- Interview with JME.
- Appearance on the cover of NME.
Why was the Conservative campaign receieved so poorly?
- May’s stance as a powerful leader offering ‘strong and stable’ leadership backfired.
- She gave a series of lacklustre and heavily stage managed speeches.
‘Maybot’. - Didn’t bother to attend televised leader debates. (For the debate on Green policy, she was replaced by a melting ice statue.)
- Invitation-only rallies.
Why did the press seem to be so weak in 2017?
- The Daily Mail attempted to associate Corbyn, McDonnell and Abbott with IRA terrorism had little effect as only older voters had any memories of ‘the Troubles’, and were already more likely to vote Tory anyway. Reinforcing, not changing.
- The Sun’s headline of the 2017 Eleciton was reciminiscent of the 1992 headline: ‘If Kinnock wins today will the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights’. ‘Don’t chuck Britain in the Cor-bin’ did not resonate at all.
Why did May expect governing competence to be a major factor in winning the election?
She thought she could contrast the competence of her government with a ‘coalition of chaos’ with Corbyn.
Why did May’s expectance of governing competence to be a major factor backfire?
Many voters were willing to overlook gaffs from prominent Labour frontbenchers, and focused less on valence issues of competence rather than on specific issues.
What was the core issue of the election?
Brexit.
Who strangely voted Conservative due to the issue of Brexit?
Economically vulnerable DE voters who felt the Conservatives would impose the toughest Brexit.
Who strangely voted Labour due to the issue of Brexit?
Pro-European AB voters and younger voters who thought Labour would impose a much softer Brexit.
