Election Case Studies

• 1979 Election

  • Conservatives won 339 seats and 43.9% of the votes.
  • Labour won 269 seats and 36.9% of the votes.
  • Demographic issues; sharp decline in number of voters viewing themselves as working class.
  • Party leaders; Callaghan viewed as reliable versus Thatcher who was nicknamed 'milk-snatcher'.
  • Winter of Discontent.
  • High inflation, high unemployment, large strikes.
• 1997 General Election

  • Labour won 418 seats and 43.2% of the vote.
  • Conservatives won 165 seats and 30% of the vote.
  • Demographic issues; Blair adopted a centrist policy to woo middle-class voters via Third Way politics.
  • Valence; Conservative Party in power for 18 years seen as tired and lacking energy.
  • Party leaders; Blair seen as more attractive than Major.
  • Conservatives disunited over Maastrict Treaty.
  • NHS and education were salient issues.
  • Labour promised to be financially moderate.
• 2015 General Election

  • Conservatives won 330 seats and 36.9% of the votes.
  • Labour won 232 seats and 30.4% of the votes.
  • Demographics; Labour's working-class vote was captured by UKIP; SNP dominated Scotland; Conservatives dominated South of England.
  • Valence; legacy of 2008 Financial Crisis still haunted Labour; Liberal Democrats blamed for tuition fees; Conservatives split over Europe.
  • Party leaders played little role in the outcome.
  • Estimated that 2 million non-voters voted, many for UKIP.
  • Conservatives won based on support for Brexit Referendum.