Case Studies of General Elections

Question 1

Who were the candidates in 1979?

Answer 1

Thatcher and Callaghan

Question 2

What was the background to the 1979 election?

Answer 2

Winter of Discontent - inflation at 10% and may on strike

Callaghan had failed to enforce 5% wage rise cap and was weak against unions

Question 3

Who did Thatcher hire as publicity specialists?

Answer 3

Tim Bell and Gordon Reece

Question 4

Thatcher’s campaign marked the beginning of a Conservative relationship with which media specialist?

Answer 4

Saatchi and Saatchi

Question 5

What were two gaffes in Callaghan’s campaign?

Answer 5

• ‘Crisis? What Crisis?’ - The Sun
• Wilson says his wife will vote Conservative

Question 6

Key issues of the 1979 election

Answer 6

• Labour promise tax cuts
• unions
• change

Question 7

How many seats did Conservatives win in 1979?

Answer 7

339 - 44% of the vote

Question 8

How many seats did Labour win in 1979?

Answer 8

269 - 37% of the vote

Question 9

What was the turnout of the 1979 election?

Answer 9

76%

Question 10

What was the Conservative majority after 1979 election?

Answer 10

43 seats

Question 11

What percentage of the working class voted Conservative in 1979?

Answer 11

39%

Question 12

What percentage of working class voters 18-24 voted Conservative in 1979?

Answer 12

43.5%

Question 13

Who were the candidates in 1997?

Answer 13

Blair and Major

Question 14

What was the background to the 1997 election?

Answer 14

• scandals
• Conservative vote was down to 30% in previous election after falling in recent years
• ‘Black Wednesday’ - 1992 major sterling crisis caused by Major government

Question 15

How much did the Conservatives spend in 1997 on leaflets?

Answer 15

£7 million

Question 16

What damaged the Conservatives 1997 election campaign?

Answer 16

Tory sleaze

Question 17

What did Blair abandon in the 1997 election campagin?

Answer 17

Clause IV - commitment to nationalisation

Question 18

Give an example of a Labour promotion campaign

Answer 18

Peanuts is all we are left with after 22 Tory tax rises

Question 19

What were key Labour policies in the 1997 manifestos?

Answer 19

• tough on law and order
• promise of no tax rises

Question 20

How many seats did Labour win in the 1997 election?

Answer 20

418 - 44% of the vote

Question 21

How many seats did Conservatives win in the 1997 election?

Answer 21

165 - 31% of the vote

Question 22

What was the turnout of the 1997 election?

Answer 22

71.3%

Question 23

What percentage of votes did Conservatives lose aged 45-54 in 1997?

Answer 23

16%

Question 24

Where and by how much did Labour make the biggest gains in 1997?

Answer 24

Aged 25-44
12% gained

Question 25

What percentage of women's votes did Conservatives lose in 1997?

Answer 25

12%

Question 26

Who were the candidates in the 2019 election?

Answer 26

Johnson and Corbyn

Question 27

What was the background to the 2019 election?

Answer 27

- Conservatives had a slim majority through 2015 and 2017 - Johnson only made leader 5 months before the election - 3 years after Brexit and no deal made yet

Question 28

What was the Conservative slogan in 2019?

Answer 28

'Get Brexit Done'

Question 29

What was the Labour slogan in 2019?

Answer 29

'It's Time For Real Change'

Question 30

What scandals did Corbyn struggle with?

Answer 30

Not disseminating claims that he encouraged anti-semetism in his party

Question 31

Key issues of the 2019 election

Answer 31

- Brexit - NHS - Net-zero

Question 32

How many voters agreed that online campaigning was their greatest source of information?

Answer 32

Over 50%

Question 33

What percentage of people got information from the TV?

Answer 33

32%

Question 34

How many seats did the Conservatives win in 2019?

Answer 34

365 - 43.6% of the vote

Question 35

How many seats did Labour win in 2019?

Answer 35

202 - 32.1% of the vote

Question 36

What was the turnout of the 2019 election?

Answer 36

67.3%

Question 37

Which set of constituency seats did Labour lose in 2019?

Answer 37

The Red Wall- Bishop Auckland lost for the first time since 1931

Question 38

Which age group were the Conservatives most dominant in in 2019?

Answer 38

70+ age group

Question 39

Which classes did the Conservatives have a majority in in 2019?

Answer 39

All classes