key general election case studies

• What was the political context of the 1997 General Election?

  John Major's government weakened by scandals
• Why did Labour appear modern in the 1997 General Election?

  Blair's New Labour seemed united and modern
• What were the key features of the 1997 Labour campaign?

  • Long six-week campaign focused on leaders
  • Professional, media-driven campaign from Millbank Centre
  • Blair's slogan: "Education, education, education"
  • Negative, anti-Labour campaign by Conservatives
• What policies did Labour pledge in the 1997 General Election?

  Reduce class sizes and cut NHS waiting lists
• What was the "Third Way" promoted by Labour in 1997?

  A centrist approach under New Labour
• How did the Conservatives' focus differ from Labour's in the 1997 election?

  Conservatives focused on economic recovery and Europe
• What were the voting patterns in the 1997 General Election?

  • Gender: Men and women equally voted Labour
  • Age: Labour dominant under 65; Conservatives over 65
  • Ethnicity: Labour won 62% BAME vote; Conservatives 18%
  • Class: Labour gained among lower middle and skilled working classes
  • Region: Labour surged across UK; Conservatives weak in Scotland/Wales
• What was the outcome of the 1997 General Election?

  Labour won a landslide; Conservatives' worst defeat
• Who became Prime Minister after the 1997 General Election?

  Blair became Prime Minister
• What was the context of the 2015 General Election?

  • Followed 2010 coalition government (Conservative-Lib Dem)
  • Lib Dems punished for coalition role; lost 49 seats
  • SNP dominated Scotland, displacing Labour
• What were the key features of the 2015 Conservative campaign?

  • Included 7-leader TV debates
  • Focused on economic competence
  • Warned against Labour-SNP coalition
• What key issues dominated the 2015 General Election?

  Economy and trust in financial management
• How did UKIP affect the 2015 General Election results?

  UKIP took votes from working-class Labour voters
• What were the results of the 2015 General Election?

  • Conservative: 330 seats (+28), 36.9%
  • Labour: 232 seats (-24), 30.4%
  • SNP: 56 seats (+50), 4.7%
  • Lib Dems: 8 seats (-49), 7.9%
  • UKIP: 1 seat, 12.6% of vote
• What was the outcome of the 2015 General Election?

  Conservatives gained first majority since 1992
• What was the context of the 2019 General Election?

  • Held to break Brexit deadlock after 2017 hung parliament
  • Johnson campaigned on delivering Brexit
  • Corbyn's Labour faced trust issues and antisemitism scandals
• What were the key features of the 2019 Conservative campaign?

  • Limited campaigning due to winter election
  • Johnson avoided media scrutiny
  • Effective use of slogans: "Get Brexit Done"
• What key issues dominated the 2019 General Election?

  Brexit and political gridlock frustrations
• What were the voting patterns in the 2019 General Election?

  • Age: Younger voters supported Labour; older voters backed Conservatives
  • Ethnicity: BAME voters leaned Labour but with reduced support
  • Class: Conservatives broke into Labour's working-class "Red Wall"
  • Region: Conservatives gained in industrial North and Wales
• What were the results of the 2019 General Election?

  • Conservative: 365 seats (+48), 43.6%
  • Labour: 203 seats (-59), 32.2%
  • SNP: 48 seats (+13), 3.9%
  • Lib Dems: 11 seats (-1), 11.6%
  • Turnout: 67%
• What was the outcome of the 2019 General Election?

  Johnson secured 80-seat majority, Labour's worst defeat
• What significant event followed the 2019 General Election for Labour?

  Corbyn resigned after the defeat
• What did the Conservatives achieve after the 2019 General Election?

  First stable majority since 2005