Voting Behaviour And The Media- 1979 Case Study General Election Flashcards
Results of 1997 election
+ The Conservative Party won a 43-seat majority.
+ Labour lost 62 seats.
+ The House of Commons was dominated by Labour and the Conservatives, with little representation for smaller parties.
+ Margaret Thatcher became the first female prime minister.
+ This marked the beginning of 18 consecutive years of Conservative government.
Social factors of 1997 election
+ The growing size of the middle class and shrinking working class gave the
Conservatives a natural advantage.
+ Thatcher’s attempt to become the ‘housewives’ friend’, with a focus on food prices, may have tempted more women to vote Conservative.
+ The Conservatives managed to win 41% of the C2 vote, up from 21% in 1974.
Valence issues of 1997 election
+ Governing competency: there had been a wave of public-sector strikes in 1978-79. Voters punished Labour for not controlling trade union power.
+ Economic competence: Labour became associated with high inflation.
+ Party unity: Labour was beginning to appear disunited between its left wing and its moderates.
Salient issues of 1997 election
+ The extent to which the state should regulate and control industry became a key issue.
+ The Conservative promise to expand home ownership was popular.
The 1997 election campaign
+ Labour ran a poor election campaign, implying that the country should not elect a woman.
+ In contrast, the Conservatives responded with a slick, media-driven campaign that involved hiring the Saatchi Brothers. This advertising agency developed the ‘Labour isn’t working’ advertising campaign.
Media influence of 1997 election
+ The Sun switched allegiance from Labour to Conservative and ran the damning headline of ‘Crisis, what crisis?’ when reporting on Labour leader James Callaghan’s supposed blasé attitude towards the industrial unrest.
