key elections Flashcards
what do the elections of ‘79 ‘97 and ‘10 have in common
-a change in government
-a start of a long-term prime ministerships
-interesting shift in voting behaviour
when was margaret thatcher born
1825
who was thatchers father
alfred roberts was a grocer, preacher, and for a short while a mayer of grantham, linconshire
where did Thatcher study
Oxford- to study chemistry
what did thatcher abandon chemistry to become instead
a barrister
when was Thatcher elected as an MP
1959
what was thatchers first ministerial position and who was it under
education secretary, 1970-74 under edward heath
when was thatcher elected Tory leader
1975
when did jim callaghan become PM
1976
why did calllaghan become an PM
because harold wilson resigned two years into his term
what was inflation like under callaghan
it was in the double didgets
when should callaghan have called an election
1978
why was callaghan delaying the election such a bad decision
because in 1979 he went through the ‘winter of discontent’
when was the winter of discontent
1978-79
what did callaghan do to wages to try and cap inflation
he put a 5% cap on wage rises
when did ford employees strike
september- october 1978
how many ford employees striked
57,000
what did the wage raise cap effectivelly cause a ‘wage cut’
because inflation was above 10% it produces a ‘real terms’ pay cut
when did lorry drivers strike (wod) and what did this cause
in january
no petrol tankers= no fuel
who else (not lorry drivers) went on strike in january
nurses
railway
ambulence drivers
who went on strike in february (WoD)
liverpools gravediggers
londons rubbishmen
what was the wether like in the winter of discontent
coldest winter for 16 years, heavy snow
what was Thatcher’s focus on in the 79’ election
inflation
what type of PM was callaghan (left right etc)
he was a centerist PM and resisted calls to be more left wing
what did callaghan warn of
that thatcher was a right-wing candidate, but it was not explicit in her manifesto
what did the torys do in the 79’ election that was NEW
hired PR specialists
who did people apparently prefer before the 79’ election
the expirenced man (callaghan) over the female newcommer
what did thatcher refuse
TV debate
what type of government did callaghan have (minority/majority)
minorityy