Did The Result Of The 1970 General Election Owe More To Labour Weaknesses Or Conservative Strengths

Question 1

What was the results of the June 1970 election?

Answer 1

Conservative: 46.4% of the vote, 330 seats
Labour: 43.0% of the vote, 287 seats
Liberal: 7.5% of the vote, 6 seats
SNP: 1.1% of the vote, 1 seat
Plaid Cymru: 0.6% of the vote, 0 seats

Question 2

What was the opinion poll favouring going into the 1970 Election?

Answer 2

51% for Labour, 28% for the Conservatives

Question 3

What did senior cabinet minister Richard Crossman put as the reason for Labour being defeated in 1970?

Answer 3

Too many Labour supporters did not bother to vote

Question 4

What was the membership of Labour in 1964 and 1970?

Answer 4

1964: 830,000
1970: 680,000

Question 5

Why did many Labour activists and MPs though the Labour government of the 1960s was too right-wing?

Answer 5

Britains foreign policy had even too supportive of the USA
Too much money had been spent on defence and not enough in welfare, education and economic regeneration
The policy of maintain the sterling had only benefit the City of London and the Americans
The working class has been made poorer by the government’s policies
The government had abandoned its historic commitment to socialism and the interest of the working class, as seen with ‘In Place Of Strife’

Question 6

What car did Labour introduce in 1970 to win the support of women?

Answer 6

The 1970 Equal Pay Act

Question 7

What was Conservative policy proposals in the 1970 election?

Answer 7

Industrial relations law would be reform to reduce the number of strikes and inflationary pay settlements
Less state intervention in industry, especially if enterprises were loss-making
Attempts to control prices and incomes by law would end
Britain would apply to join the EEC

Question 8

What stats did Heath use to relentless attack Wilson’s economic record in the 1970 election?

Answer 8

The Retail Price Index had a 33% inflation rise and 200,000 more unemployed since 1964