1979 election

• the turnout was 76%
• prior to the election, Labour was a gov under a small majority and suffered the loss of MPs and small crises
• Conservatives won 339 seats to Lab's 269
• Margret Thatcher was the leader of the Cons party, was seen as distant and unlikeable especially with her background as Education Secretary in the 1970s
• James Callaghan was known as Sunny Jim, and was seen as reliable, optimistic and likeable
• Callaghan had a leading role in every Lab government since 1964
• Callaghan said 'Crisis? What crisis?' in response to questions about the Winter of Discontent
• the campaign was the first where the media had a prominent role, and campaign activities were timed to coincide with broadcasts e.g. timing press conferences with midday news
• Class - Cons dominated AB and C1 and gained overall, but Lab won C2 and DE
• Regional - all areas swinged Cons, especially Southern England
• Gender - evenly split between men, but women had a slight preference for Cons
• Age - Lab won amongst 18-24, but Cons won across all else
• Ethnicity - lack of data for BAME voters, made up 5%