Summary Alevel Edexcel Government and Politics | Unit 1- Voting Behaviour and the media | Election summaries
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Unit 1 - People and Politics
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The following document is a summary of important elections in the UK, detailing election results, key factors influencing electoral outcome, the winning parties, and the current affairs surrounding the election.
This document is most useful when it is used as evidence inside voting behaviour an...
Voting behaviour and the media: Elections ✩ = most important detail
1979 General Election:
1. Who was the prime minister before the election?
James Callaghan (1976 - 1979), Labour Party
2. What were the key events surrounding the election?
a. Vote of no confidence - Margaret Thatcher initiated the vote of no confidence
over Callaghan partly due to the failed LibLab pact (Lib Dems and Labour made a
formal alliance; - lib dems vote labour in exchange for a say on major decisions).
Callaghan failed to consult the Lib Dems before delaying the election in the winter
of discontent; -> lib dems encouraged conservatives to issue the vote of no
confidence.
b. Winter of Discontent - A series of strikes in the industrial sector as a result of low
pay. Callaghan delayed the election to increase wages for workers and improve
his image. This only had adverse effects as workers then began to demand pay
rises beyond the limits Callaghan and his Labour government had been imposing.
3. What was the outcome of the election?
The Conservative Party won, and Margaret Thatcher became prime minister.
Conservatives: 43.9% of votes, 335 seats
Labour: 36.9% of votes, 269 seats
LibDem: 13.8% of votes, 11 seats
4. Which factors affecting voting behaviour were most significant in this election?
a. ✩ The Press (media), The Sun’s headline "Crisis? What Crisis?’ - After
Callaghan returned from a summit conference in the tropics at the time of the
winter of discontent, when the economy was in critical condition, his denial that
there was chaos in the country was paraphrased in a famous Sun headline as
“Crisis? What Crisis?”.
b. ✩ Salience/ Valence - The image of the Labour Party had been shattered due to
the state of the economy. People were reluctant to vote for the Labour Party
because of this.
c. Age - Labour won among the 18 - 24 age groups but lost to the Conservatives in
all other age groups. Labour support declined, particularly in the 35-54 age group.
d. ✩ Party manifesto - Restoring the health of society’s economy and social life
was one of the key aspects of the Conservative manifesto. Thatcher’s strategy to
target unskilled manual workers and traditional labour voters worked, as there
were swings in support from these groups.
5. Which factors affecting voting behaviour were least significant in this election?
a. ✩ Region - Traditionally, Labour was strong in Scotland, Wales, and North
England. The Conservative Party gained major support in South England.
However, in 1979, all areas aside swung towards the Conservatives, particularly
in South England.
b. Gender - Men were evenly split between Labour and Conservative. Women had
only a slight preference for the Conservatives.
c. ✩ Class - The Conservatives gained an 11% swing among the skilled working
class and a 9% swing among the unskilled working class.
, Voting behaviour and the media: Elections ✩ = most important detail
It is important to note that there were multiple elections between 1979 and 1997.
1997 General Election:
1. Who was the prime minister before the election?
John Major (1990 - 1997), Conservative Party (came after Margaret Thatcher)
2. What were the key events surrounding the election?
a. The NHS and the state of education - Both services had been in decline.
b. Party divide - from 1992 to 1994, John Major had to deal with a divided
Conservative Party, divided over the Maastricht Treaty (transferred large amounts of
power to the EU). The hangover from this was still present in 1997.
c. Tory Sleaze - Multiple media outlets had reported the misconduct of multiple
conservative MPs in parliament; these had lingering effects in 1997.
3. What was the outcome of the election?
In the 1992 election, the Conservative Party had won for the fourth time in a row. The 1997
election saw the Conservative Party’s worst electoral defeat since 1906. The Labour Party
won a landslide victory.
Tony Blair (Labour Party) became prime minister.
Labour: 43.2% of votes, 419 seats (+146)
Conservatives: 30.7% of votes, 165 seats (-178)
LibDems: 16.8% of votes, 46 seats (+28)
4. Which factors affecting voting behaviour were most significant in this election?
a. ✩ The press/ social media (media), Tory sleaze, and scandals - Multiple
members of parliament had been accused of indecent/ immoral behaviour. Many of
these MPs were Conservative MPs, worsening their image, as these scandals were
publicised across both the press and social media.
b. ✩ Personal mandate: Tony Blair’s famous pledge, “Education, education,
education," made during his speech at the Labour Party conference in October
1996.
c. ✩ Party manifesto/ Valence/ Salience: With the state of the education system,
Labour introduced new pledges to their manifesto, e.g., cutting class sizes to 30 or
under for 5, 6, and 7 year olds.
d. Class - Despite the fact that Labour gained votes across all class groups, notably
with C1 and C2, conservatives “won” with AB, showing there is still an existing
voting divide among the social classes.
e. Age - Conservatives remained dominant with 65+ year olds. though Labour had
won over all other age groups.
5. Which factors affecting voting behaviour were least significant in this election?
a. Region - Labour gained votes across all regions - Conservative support in
Scotland and Wales had been wiped out.
b. Gender - Men and women were equally likely to support Labour.
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