Election statistics

Question 1

What were the techniques used in the Conservative 1979 manifesto?

Answer 1

• Included ‘broad strokes’ which focused generally on the economy and reducing the power of trade unions.
• Many points linked to ideas of a meritocracy and family life.

Question 2

What were techniques used by Thatcher’s campaign in 1979?

Answer 2

• Saw a turn towards populism/ the appeal of the working class.
• Thatcher’s campaign revolved around cultivating a pristine image and highlighting the failures of Labour under Callaghan.
• The campaign was managed by her publicity director who employed the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. They polished Thatcher’s public image by employing a voice coach to soften her speech. She was to appear friendly, the image of ‘the housewife’s friend’ which increased her chances with the electoral demographic of working and middle-class housewives.
• ‘Photo ops’ for the media were arranged, and Thatcher was seen tea-tasting and holding a calf.
• Saatchi & Saatchi’s ‘Labour isn’t working’ advertising campaign launched in 1978 to highlight the weaknesses of the Labour gov and its negative impact on the economy.

Question 3

What was the media’s influence in 1979?

Answer 3

• The media made much of Callaghan’s apparent obliviousness to the Winter of Discontent, with The Sun newspaper publishing the famous headline ‘Crisis? What crisis?’.
• The campaign was managed by her publicity director and former TV producer Reece, who employed the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi.
• ‘Photo ops’ for the media were arranged, and Thatcher was seen tea-tasting and holding a calf.
• Saatchi & Saatchi’s ‘Labour isn’t working’ advertising campaign launched in 1978 to highlight the weaknesses of the Labour gov and its negative impact on the economy.

Question 4

What was the wider political context of the 1979 general election?

Answer 4

• Labour won the 2nd election of 1974 with a majority of 3 seats.
• They formed a pact with the Liberal Party in 1977, known as the Lib-Lab pact. When this fell through in 1978, Labour turned to the support of the SNP.
• In March 1979, a ref was held on the 1978 Scotland Act to gauge whether there was sufficient public support for devolution. The results were inconclusive, leading the gov to repeal the Act.
• This fared badly with SNP, leading to a Vote of No Confidence.
• Both the Liberal Party and the SNP voted against him, and Callaghan lost the motion by one vote.
• He was forced to call an election, setting the date in May 1979. According to a Gallup poll, the Cons reached a 20% lead over Labour by the end of the Winter of Discontent in Feb 1979.

Question 5

What was the Winter of Discontent?

Answer 5

In the winter of 1978–79, a wave of strikes erupted across Britain as workers rejected the Labour government’s attempt to impose wage limits in the face of rising inflation.

Question 6

What was the turnout of the 1979 election?

Answer 6

76%

Question 7

What was the % swing from Labour to Conservatives in 1979?

Answer 7

5%

Question 8

What % of the vote did the liberal democrats get in 1979?

Answer 8

14%

Question 9

What seat majority did Labour gain in 1997?

Answer 9

179, gained 145

Question 10

What % of men and women voted Labour in 1997?

Answer 10

Women- 44%
Men- 45%

Question 11

What points relate to age from the 1997 election?

Answer 11

• Labour gained more votes than the Conservatives in every age group.
• Those aged 55+ were most likely to vote Conservative.

Question 12

Where did Labour gain the highest proportion of votes regionally in 1997?

Answer 12

The North (62%)

Question 13

Where did the Conservatives gain the highest proportion of votes regionally in 1997?

Answer 13

Southeast (41%)

Question 14

What % of non-white voters voted Labour in 1997?

Answer 14

70%

Question 15

What was the wider political context of the 1997 election?

Answer 15

• The Conservatives had been in power for 18 years. People had become increasingly disillusioned with the party & began to distrust them, whilst Lab’s modernisation & reforms gained popularity.
• During 80s, the policies of Thatcher had divided the party.
• Also increasingly split into pro-Europeans & eurosceptics severely weakening the party.
• Britain experienced a recession at the beginning of both the 80s & 90s.
• Thatcher’s policies increased unemployment whilst tackling inflation.
• Economic hardship made the Cons unpopular.

Question 16

What points were made on the 1997 Conservative manifesto, and why were they ineffective?

Answer 16

• Con campaign: ‘You can only be sure with the Conservatives.’ This was ineffectual against a background of Thatcherism, economic decline & scandals.
• Major promised a return to traditional values such as a tax break for married couples when one partner stayed at home. By 1997 these ideas were outdated.
• Promised to keep Europe at arm’s length but did not have much credibility due to division over Europe.
• Attacked Labour’s plans for devolution, warning that it would break up the union. This alienated potential voters in Scotland & Wales who supported devolution.

Question 17

What were the elements of the 1997 labour campaign?

Answer 17

• ‘New Labour, New Life for Britain’ which promoted Labour’s new centrist approach.
• The campaign focused on middle & lower-middle classes, which had become a large majority, as well as maintaining traditional working-class support. Was very effective as the party gained more votes than the Cons in every age, gender, and ethnic group and most regions of the UK.
• Spin doctors which judged the public mood & present gov policies in a favourable light.
• Blair promised that there would be no income tax rises & VAT would be cut and explained how this would be achieved.
• Labour vowed to reduce the size of infant school classes & cut waiting times for the NHS.
• Labour promised to tackle crime rates, especially among young people. This helped to entice middle-class voters.

Question 18

What was the impact of leaders in 1997?

Answer 18

• Major was a likeable, but bland & uninspiring.
• Blair had a great impression on the British public. He was younger, and captured the public’s attention.

Question 19

What was the turnout in 2015 and 2019?

Answer 19

• 2015- 66%
• 2019- 67%

Question 20

What % of the vote did UKIP get in 2015?

Answer 20

13%

Question 21

What % of the vote did the Conservatives get in 2015?

Answer 21

37%

Question 22

What were the techniques used by the Conservative party in 2015?

Answer 22

• Cons distributed detailed surveys to voters in marginal seats, and merged this data with info from electoral rolls and commercial market research to produce a comprehensive picture of who might be persuaded to vote Conservative.
• The party’s campaign director laid out a plan known as the 40/40 strategy. The party would focus single-mindedly on holding 40 marginal seats and winning another 40.

Question 23

How much did SNP and the Liberal democrats spend in 2015?

Answer 23

• SNP: £1.5million
• Lib Dems: £3million

Question 24

What was the impact of Opinion polls in 2015?

Answer 24

• Opinion polls predicted a close result but still underestimated cons.
• In con campaigns it promoted fear in the public of another coalition.

Question 25

What was the wider political context of the 2015 election?

Answer 25

- The 2007–2008 financial crisis/Global Financial Crisis, was a severe worldwide economic crisis. - Was the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression. - Many of the public distrusted the Labour party.

Question 26

What was the impact of leaders in 2015?

Answer 26

- Miliband was perceived as a weak leader. - In his speech at the Labour party conference in 2014, he forgotten to discuss the proposal Cameron had made that morning to join the US bombing of Isis in Iraq. - He also fell off the stage at the final televised debate in 2015. - His polling was poor compared to Cameron, who came across as stronger.

Question 27

What were features of the Conservative manifesto 2015?

Answer 27

- Con manifesto: **‘Party of working people’**. - **Extension of the right-to-buy scheme to housing association tenants in England.** - **Doubling free childcare allowance for 3 & 4 -year-olds** to 30 hrs. - Increasing the **inheritance tax threshold on family homes** to £1m by 2017. - An **extra £8bn a year for the NHS by 2020.** - An **EU referendum** by 2017.

Question 28

What were features of the Labour manifesto in 2015?

Answer 28

- Freeze energy bills & reducing tuition fees to £6,000. - Raising the minimum wage. - Introducing a new National Primary Childcare Service, guaranteeing childcare from 08:00 to 18:00. - No increase to the basic or higher rates of income tax, National Insurance or VAT.

Question 29

What groups did Labour have a clear lead among in 2015?

Answer 29

- 18-34s - DE voters - Private and social renters - BME voters

Question 30

What age group were the conservatives most successful in 2015?

Answer 30

Those aged 65+

Question 31

What social group did the Conservatives gain a 3 point swing from Labour in 2015?

Answer 31

ABs

Question 32

What was the political context of 2019?

Answer 32

- In Jan 2019, May's gov was defeated in the HofC by a margin of 230 votes in the first 'meaningful vote' on her deal to leave the EU. - It was the largest majority against a UK gov in history. - May resigned and an election was called. - The general election was heavily emphasised as a way to ‘get Brexit done’, encouraging a large con majority to quicken the process.

Question 33

What did YouGov say about the relationship between aging and voting Conservative in 2019?

Answer 33

Estimated that the chances of someone voting Conservative increased by around 9 points with every 10 years of age.

Question 34

What was the point lead among 18-24 year olds for Labour in 2019?

Answer 34

43 points

Question 35

What % of seats in the UK's core cities were won by Labour in 2019?

Answer 35

71%

Question 36

What do the UK's 'core cities' tend to have?

Answer 36

- Lower home ownership. - Larger young and BME populations.

Question 37

What % of BME voters voted Labour in 2019?

Answer 37

64%

Question 38

What % of voter share did Labour gain among all social grades in 2019?

Answer 38

33%

Question 39

What % of men and women voted Conservative in 2019?

Answer 39

- men: 46% - women: 44%

Question 40

What statistics demonstrate that class was not significant in 2019?

Answer 40

- Conservatives comfortably outperformed Labour across all social grades. - Conservatives did better amongst C2DE voters (48%) than ABC1 voters (43%)

Question 41

What % of those who did not hold a degree vote conservative in 2019?

Answer 41

58%

Question 42

What were points made on the 2019 Conservative manifesto?

Answer 42

- Extra funding for NHS, with 50,000 more nurses & 50mil more GP surgery appointments a year. - 20,000 more police and tougher sentencing for criminals. - Reaching Net Zero by 2050 with investment in clean energy solutions & green infrastructure to reduce carbon emissions/ pollution. - *“Getting Brexit done. Investing in our public services and infrastructure. Supporting workers and families. Strengthening the Union. Unleashing Britain’s potential.”*

Question 43

What were some points made on the Labour manifesto 2019?

Answer 43

- Increase health budget by 4.3% (at the top end of what health think tanks and analysts have been calling for. ) - Hold a second ref on Brexit. - Raise minimum wage to £10. - Stop pension age rises. - Introduce a National Care Service (devolved, only applies to England), - Bring forward net-zero targets to within 2030s. - Nationalise key industries. - Abolish private schools’ charitable status and tuition fees (education devolved, only apply to England). - Free bus travel for under 25s. (Transport partly devolved, apply to England only.)

Question 44

Where was the Conservative voter share at its highest in 2019?

Answer 44

East of England (57%)

Question 45

Where was the Labour voter share at its highest in 2019?

Answer 45

London (48%)