general elections Flashcards
what contributed to labours win in the 1997 general election
-the conservatives suffered internal divisions (eg. Europe), poor leadership and wasn’t relevant to contemporary society
-They hadn’t dealt with the 1990s financial crisis well
-Blair modernised the labour party which appealed to middle-class voters and emphasised constitutional reform
1997 election- age
-Labour achieved more votes across all age groups
-Particularly the 18 to 24 female group (53%)
-The conservatives largest reduction in votes was the 35 to 54 age group
1997 election- class
-approximately 50% of the working class voted labour and 1/3 of the middle-class
1997 election- gender
-The male/female vote for labour was 45/44%
-More women were working by the 90s
-new Labour had more family friendly policies
1997 election- ethnicity
-70% of all non-white voters voted labour, 18% for the Conservatives
-labour gain 66% of Asian votes and 82% of black votes
1997 election- media
-The press turned against the Conservative party
-The Conservatives faced scandals
-Labour had a highly polished campaign
1997 election- employment status
-45% of all employed voted labour and 64% of unemployed
-The percentage was slightly lower for the self employed and those in the private sector
2017 general election- age
-Young people were less likely to vote than old people
-in the 10 constituencies with the highest proportion of 18 to 24-year-olds, there were increases of 14% in the labour vote
2017 general election- gender
-Women were equally split between labour and conservative
-Men slightly more in favour of Conservatives
2017 General election-education
-conservatives support decreased among the more educated voter, this was opposite for labour and lib dem
2017 General election- class
-Class is no longer a good indicator voting intention
-Labour best among semi and unskilled manual workers, unemployed people and those in the lowest grade jobs
2017 General election- employment status
-The Conservative party was 39 points ahead among retirees
-Labour was 45 points ahead among full time students
2017 general election- brexit
-Cut across party loyalties and contributed to the revival of the Conservative and labour parties
-Labour was seen as the soft Brexit party
-UKIP votes collapsed and were picked up by the conservatives
What was the issue with Callaghan in the 1979 election
He was a centrist labour PM and resisted calls to be more radical and left wing
Why had Callaghan struggled as PM
He had a minority government
How did Callaghan try to control inflation
Imposed a 5% cap on wage rises
How many ford employees went on strike during the winter of discontent
57,000
What are other examples of workers who went on strike during the winter of discontent
Lorry drivers, nurses, railway + ambulance drivers, Liverpool gravediggers, London rubbish men
How did the tories use the media in the 1979 election
Hired PR specialists while labour was relying on fair reporting
What did the tories do weaken the labour party before the 1979 election
They tabled a vote of no confidence in March, labour lost by one vote so the government fell
-Callaghan didn’t get to call the election when he wanted
-labour was seen as defeated
Why was John major not a strong candidate in the 1997 election
-difficulty keeping the party together
-only got the job as the least divisive candidate
-won the 1992 election but majority had dropped from 102 to 21
Example of Tory controversy before the 1997 election
Minister resigns after his wife commits suicide apparently over his affairs
What were the four elements that helped labour win the 1997 election
-appeal to the middle classes
-appeal to the tabloid press
-appeal to lib dem voters
-tories economic reputation
Why did Gordon brown lose the 2010 election
-timing (didn’t call an election before the financial crisis struck, he had no mandate)
-personal image (not charismatic)
-the press was unkind to the labour party
What was unique about the 2010 election campaign
First ever televised debate between the party leaders
-cameron came across ok
-brown was a bit wooden
-clegg came across well
Why did the 2010 election lead to a coalition
Brown was unpopular but Cameron wasn’t popular enough to win outright
