Voting Behaviour & Media - 1997 General Election

Question 1

Election result

Answer 1

• Tony Blairs new Labour was elected with 418 seats & labour remained in power until 2010
• achieved a 179 seat majority

Question 2

Result - political context

Answer 2

• conservatives were unpopular after john major governments failing from the past 5 years and only won 30% of the vote
• conservatives were viewed as economically weak (black Wednesday - 1992)
• conservatives were also involved in a number of sexual & financial scandals before the election, wearing their appeal

Question 3

Result - campaign

Answer 3

• Labour used PR experts to handle media & focus groups to under the public opinion
• campaign involved targeting marginal seats (seats with a small majority & only require a small swing of the vote)

Question 4

Result - party policies

Answer 4

• ‘new Labour’ had modernised policy, in which the party moved away from traditional labour policies of increasing taxes, strengthening trade unions & nationalisation
• new labour was tough on law & order
• labours constitutional reform policy appealed to Lib Dem voters who supported labour in seats as their cabinet has no chance of winning