The 2019 GE Flashcards
When was the last time the conservatives had won a maj this large
1987
What happened in Scotland
The SNP made significant gains, having fallen back in 2017
Seats won
Conservative - 365
Labour - 203
SNP - 48
Lib Dem - 11
Greens - 1
Others - 22
Seat change since 2017
Conservative - +47
Labour - -59
SNP - +13
Lib Dem - -1
Green - 0
Others - -1
% votes won
Conservative - 44
Labour - 32
SNP - 4
Lib Dem - 12
Greens - 3
Others - 6
% vote change since 2017
Conservatives - +1
Labour - -8
SNP - +1
Lib Dem - +4
Greens - +1
Others - +1
Describe demographic issues during this election
Significant feature in this election was the shift in working class support across northern industrial areas as former Labour and UKIP voters, tired of the Brexit deadlock, voted conservative, reducing the red wall of northern support. Labour continued to focus on younger working class voters with a more socialist manifesto, while the conservatives focused on appealing to older and working class voters angry over the failure to deliver BrexitI
Importance of valence and other issues
The main issue was the handling of Brexit by the main parties. Parliament had been in chaos since 2017 and voters were frustrated by the inability of all sides to move on with the issue. Therefore the clear message on the issue offered by Johnson became the main issue of the campaign, compared with the vague and complicated messages of the Labour party
Anti semitism dominated Labour as did the formation of new parties such as Farage’s Brexit Party and the creation of the Independent Group for Change. The decision by the Brexit party to not contest seats won by the conservatives in 2010 and then not to contest seats with strong conservative Brexit supporters meant the right really only had one party to choose from on the issue. The Lib Dems had seen their total number of MPs increase to 21 with defections from both Labour and the Conservatives, but this only seemed to alienate supporters who did not want to be associated with members of the main parties. The issue of Scotland and Scottish independence caused the SNP to gain more votes
Significance of party leaders
Johnson benefitted from having been PM for a limited amount of time and stuck to a strategy of not appearing too much in the media, instead relying on his existing reputation and media profile from his time as London Mayor. Appeared more focused and determined than May in 2017 and more clear in his policy making than Corbyn. Sturgeon continued to enjoy a positive image in Scotland, but Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson alienated the public be appearing to lack sincerity and for pledging to repeal article 50
Significance of turnout
Turnout saw a slight drop in 2019 from the 69% in 2017, perhaps because it was a less close election and perhaps because a Dec election put some voters off. However, it was not enough to make a major difference to the outcome
Describe the campaign
Campaign was much more subdued than previous ones, partly because it was a winter campaign and partly because Johnson seemed to be absent for much of it, appearing in public rarely for a PM. Although he did participate in a head to head debate with Corbyn, the main objective seemed to be to let Brexit settle the issue. In this sense, Johnson’s role was not to create headlines. Corbyn managed a solid campaign with lots of public speeches but was unable to whip up the enthusiasm he had in 2017. Social media attack ads were more prevelant than ever in this campaign and the EC seemed unable to do much about it
Describe the main political issues
The election cycle was dominated by the extension of the deadline for leaving the EU from Oct 2019 to Jan 2020 and the inability of parliament to be able to find a solution to Brexit. Former big names from both parties urged voters not to vote for their party, including John Major and Michael Heseltine for the conservatives and Alastair Campbell for Labour. During the campaign, floods hits part of England and Johnson was criticised for not declaring them a state of emergency, with journalists from the Labour supporting Mirror were banned from the conservative campaign bus. A NATO summit was held in Watford shortly before the election, allowing Johnson to appear with other world leaders, including Trump
Significance of opinion polls
Under scrutiny again with memories of 2015 still fresh. The polls indicated a conservative win throughout, which shaped the campaigns as one for the conservatives to lose rather than labour to win. However, the polls did underestimate the scale of the conservative victoryb
Outcome
Conservatives won clear 80 seat majority giving them a strong mandate. First sizeable maj since 2005 and saw Jeremy Corbyn resign as Labour leader
Regional voting
Conservatives dominated rural and southern england (outside London) and made gains in Wales and northern industrial areas. SNP gained seats to continue dominated there, while the conservatives lost 7 seats there, but remained the second biggest party with six seats. Slight rise in nationalist parties in Northern Ireland
