2010

• • In 2010, the Conservative Party were the largest party with 306 seats. But, they were short of a majority so formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.
• • The 2010 election followed the 2008 financial crisis which took place when Gordon Brown was prime minister, and gave the Conservatives a means to attack his policies and time as leader.
  • Brown was unpopular for not calling a general election when he took over as prime minister from Tony Blair in 2007.
• • Voters did not clearly favour the Conservatives over Labour, with polls suggesting 29% of voters felt that the Conservatives would be best for managing the economy compared to 26% for Labour.
• • Television debates were held with the three main party leaders David Cameron, Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg.
  • Nick Clegg performed particularly well and saw an increase in the opinion polls after the first debate, whilst Gordon Brown was seen to have performed worse.
• • The Conservatives targeted marginal seats and market-tested their policies with voters, whilst Labour had a weak campaign.
  • Gordon Brown was heard calling a voter a ‘bigoted woman’ who had asked him about immigration.
• • The main parties all focused on policies to reduce the budget deficit and making savings.
  • The Conservatives stated the need for immediate cuts, whilst Labour and the Liberal Democrats wanted more gradual public spending cuts.
• • The Conservatives targeted Labour’s economic policy in government, which they said included overspending and failing to regulate the banking system. This was a successful approach and a view shared by voters.
• Conservatives, David Cameron, 306 seats won. Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, 57 seats won. Labour, Gordon Brown, 258 seats won.
• • Age has become a more important factor in determining UK voting behaviour.
  • In 2010 there was a large difference among older voters, with 44% of voters aged over 65 supporting the Conservatives compared to 31% of voters supporting Labour.
• • In 2010 class played less of a role with the Conservatives winning the most middle-class support, at 39%, and Labour narrowly winning the most support of the unskilled working class.
  • The Conservatives won more support from the skilled working class, despite this group mainly supporting Labour in previous elections.
• • In 2010 higher percentages of both men and women supported the Conservative party than any other party.
  • In 2010 Labour and the Conservatives received similar levels of support across men and women.
  • This suggests that gender has had less of an impact on voting behaviour in more recent years