leadership

• Voters have begun to vote more imaginatively so image of party leaders have become more important
• Image - record in office, compassion, decisiveness, apparent honesty and sincerity, strong leadership and clear communication
• Good leadership - 1959 -> Macmillan (Cons) seen as cooly competent
• Good leadership - 1983 -> Thatcher (Cons) had a reputation for strong and focused leadership which contrasted Foot’s left wing intellectualism
• Good leadership - 2001 -> Blair’s charismatic personality meant there was little reason to shift to Hague’s weak and divided opposition
• Good leadership - 2017 -> Corbyn's enthusiasm
• Good leadership - 2019 -> Johnson's clear message on Brexit lead to largest Cons majority since 1987 -> 80 seats
• Opposition leadership - 1951 -> Churchill (Cons) ‘set the people free’ speech resonated = wanted to end rationing and reduce tax
• Opposition leadership - 1970 -> Heath’s (Cons) dogged principles contrasted distaste for Wilson’s (Lab) misplaced presidentialism
• Popularity - 1979 -> Callaghan (Labour) more popular than Thatcher, known as Sunny Jim. But Thatcher managed to win by focussing on government competence over the Winter of Discontent
• Minority leadership - 2010 -> Clegg’s engaging personality shone through televised leadership debates, led to 57 Lib Dem MPs + Coalition government
• Minority leadership - 2015 -> Sturgeon well-liked and focussed on Scottish issues, lead to SNP winning 56/59 Scottish seats