用戶:Hinnia/沙盒/2

1979 general election

What led up to the election

• Oct 1974, under PM Harold Wilson, Labour won 319 seats
• Heath (Cons) won 277
• James Callaghan replaced Wilson, became PM
• 3 by-elections defeated
• forced them into minority government
• lot of key issues put the Labour government in question
• Following the defeat of the Scottish Devolution Referendum
• a vote of no confidence was tabled by Thatcher, leader of the conservatives
• (who prior to this defeated Heath with 130 and 146 membership votes in the 1st and 2nd Ballots respectively as Heath had lost 3 out of the 4 General election contested.)
• vote of no confidence passed by just one vote
• forces Callaghan to request a dissolution of the parliament
• triggered the 1970 General Election

Key Policies and Campaign

Labour

• tried to focus on its ability to:
• deal with trade unions,
• reiterate their support for the NHS,
• and full employment

Conseratives

• tried to persuade the UK public that 'Labour isn't working'
• insisted that Britain could be better with them in charge

"Labour isn't Working" Poster

advertising campaign run by the Conservatives

designed by Saatchi & Saatchi

Marmite Politician

Marmite: either love it or hate it

Examples: Thatcher, Jeremy Corbyn, BoJo

1983 general election

Result of the Election

Turnout: 72.7%

Conservatives: the most decisive election victory since that of the Labour Party in 1945.

Labour: had its worst electoral performance since 1931, fell by over 3,000,000 votes from 1979.

Things to Note: Last general election until 2019 in which a governing party increased its number of seats.

Result of the 1983 General Election

Party	Votes	Percentage of Votes	Candidates	Seats won
Con	13,012,316	42.4%	633	397
Lab	8,456,934	27.6%	633	209
Lib+SDP Alliance	7,780,949	25.4%	633	23
Plaid Cymru and SNP	457,284	1.5%	110	4
Other	963,654	3.1%	569	17
Total	30,671,137	100	2578	650

Reasons for the Result

Voting Behaviour

• Thatcher
  • Falklands War led to a recovery of her popularity.
  • Economic growth had begun to resume.
• Labour
  • Had been led by Michael Foot since the resignation of James Callaghan
  • New policies were considered more left-wing than before
    • Several moderate Labour MPs had defected from the party to form the Social Democratic Party (SDP)
      • Which then formed the SDP–Liberal Alliance with the existing Liberal Party
  • Further harmed by its promise to withdraw from the European Economic Community
    • Alienated Pro-European groups.

Difference in Leadership

• Thatcher
  • perceived as a strong nationalistic leader after victory in the Falklands war
• Foot
  • considered scruffy
  • particularly criticised for wearing a donkey jacket (untailored work jacket) when laying a wreath on Remembrance Day

Notable Media Coverage

Opinion polls pointed to a Conservative victory

Most national newspapers backed the re-election of the Conservative government.

Check Page 329 for more info