The 1997 GE

Question 1

What was the conservative maj following 1992

Answer 1

23

Question 2

When was the last time the conservatives had had a worse electoral defeat than 1997

Answer 2

1906

Question 3

In which GE did Labour record their largest electoral victory

Answer 3

1997

Question 4

Seats won

Answer 4

Labour - 418

Conservative - 165

Lib Dem - 46

Other - 30

Question 5

Seat change since 1992

Answer 5

Labour - +145

Conservative - -165

Lib Dem - +30

Others - +6

Question 6

% of votes won

Answer 6

Labour - 43

Conservatives - 31

Lib Dem - 17

Others - 9

Question 7

% vote swing since 1992

Answer 7

Labour - +9

Conservative - -11

Lib Dem - -1

Others - +3

Question 8

What did Blair and the New Labour leadership realise about the working class vote

Answer 8

They recognised that the trad working class, Labour’s core vote, was diminishing in size and the party could no longer rely on it to get them into power; it simply did not have enough votes

Question 9

How did the Blair and the New Labour leadership respond to this pressure to shift away from the working class vote

Answer 9

Decided to woo the middle classes, part of the conservative core vote, by adopting centrist third way policies. This was achieved to great effect. The young were also persuaded to vote Labour as it represented a break from traditional, out of date politics

Question 10

How was valence and the economy a factor in swinging votes towards Labour

Answer 10

The image of the conservative party was tired after having been in power for 18 years and also disunited over the issue of Europe. The conservative had presided over a deep recession in the 1990s, so competence was an issue. In contrast, Labour had no economic recor to defend and appeared to be a younger, fresher party, united around a defineable set of third way policies. The main problem for the conservatives was that the electorate could remember the aforementioned recession and blamed them for it, there was a general sense that the conservatives had mismanaged the economy

Question 11

How were party leaders a factor

Answer 11

Huge contrast. Major seemed grey and weak, whereas Blair was young and attractive with a clear vision and in command of his party. Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown also had a positive reputation and this was reflected by a good election for his party

Question 12

Importance of participation

Answer 12

First signs of a long term decline in turnout. 71% figure seems healthy by modern standards but was much lower than typical historical levels. There does not seem to have been any impact on the result, but it was a watershed moment in political participation

Question 13

Describe the main political issues

Answer 13

Two main issues were the NHS and the state of education. Both services had been in decline. Labour promised to make huge investments to raise standards. Brown promised to be a responsible chancellor, an important message considering the Labour reputation as the party of tax and spend. Labour was fortunate enough to preside over a period of economic growth when it came into office, meaning it could pay for the improvements to public services that it had promised

Between 1992-4 the conservatives had been hopelessly divided over the Maastricht Treaty, which transferred large amounts of power to the EU. The hangover from this and the culture of sleaze still loomed ocer rhe party in 1997

Question 14

How was the campaign duration different

Answer 14

It lasted 6 weeks, far longer than the 31 day average going back to 1959

Question 15

Why did Major call a longer campaign than usual

Answer 15

He hoped it would expose Labour divisions and put pressure on Blair

Question 16

How were both campaigns similar

Answer 16

Both campaigns focused on the leaders, touring marginal seats and using campaign buses and planes

Question 17

What did Labour’s campaign focus on

Answer 17

Strict and well organised campaign run from the Milibank Media Centre. The use of media soundbites like ‘education, education, education’ helped galvanise the public

Question 18

What did the conservative campaign focus on

Answer 18

They focused on fears of Labour restoring TU power and Blair being untrustworthy. They were forced to spend much of their time dealing with issues of sleaze and financial corruption, distracting from its wider campaign

Question 19

What was the key difference in focus between the conservative and labour campaigns

Answer 19

The conservatives launched a negative, anti labour campaign, whereas labour launched a positive, pro-Blair campaign

Question 20

Evaluate the impact that the campaigns had

Answer 20

They did little to change the results but they did see a big step towards the disciplined, media focused electioneering based on US politics

Question 21

What policies did the conservatives focus on

Answer 21

They tried to focus on economic recovery, but the issue of Europe divided the party and dominated, especially due to the prominence of the Referendum Party

Question 22

What policies did Labour focus on

Answer 22

Focus on five specific pledges

1) Cut class sizes in schools

2) Introduce fast track punishments for young offenders

3) Cut NHS waiting lists

4) Get 250,000 unemployed under 25s back into work

5) Cut VAT on heating and not raise income tax

All these policies were designed to promote the New Labour Third Way

Question 23

Significance of opinion polls

Answer 23

Having been spectacularly wrong in 1992, opinion polls made a more concerted effort to survery a wider cross section of society. They were much more accurate in 1997, but the legacy of distrust from 1992 meant that New Labour did not believe them and kept campaigning as if it might lose. There is also a case for suggesting that by presenting New Labour as the clear favourite to win a large maj , turnout may have been suppressed slightly

Question 24

Describe regional voting in this election

Answer 24

Labour made gains across all regions, bucking the trend towards a conservative south and a labour north. The conservatives were wiped out in Scotland and Wales and reduced to only 11 MPs in London, becoming a party of the English suburbs and shires

Question 25

Describe class voting

Answer 25

Labour gained across all groups, most notably with C1 (+19%) and C2 (+15%) but the conservative still won the AB vote and the C1 vote was tied

Question 26

Describe gender voting

Answer 26

Labour closed the gender gap with men and women equally likely to vote Labour

Question 27

Describe age voting

Answer 27

Conservatives remained dominant with the over 65s, but Labour won decisively among all other age groups

Question 28

Describe ethnicity voting

Answer 28

Labour beat the conservative among white voters, with 43% of the vote, and BAME voters, with 70% of the vote. The conservatives only got 32% of the white vote and 18% of the BAME vote