Case Study Election: 1997 Flashcards
(22 cards)
Turnout
71%
How many seats did Labour win?
418 seats
Labour’s majority
179 seats
Economic political context
Black Wednesday September 1992
Conservative’s economic credibility severely weakened
Who did The Sun back?
Labour
Reports by newspapers on Conservatives
‘Tory sleaze’ (financial and sexual scandals)
Conservative divisions over Europe
How Blair exploited divisions within Conservatives
PMQs: “weak, weak, weak”
Labour’s Manifesto
“Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime”
Abandoned traditional commitments to nationalisation, tax rises etc
Supported constitutional reform
Labour’s Campaign
Skilful PR experts e.g. Alistair Campbell
Used focus groups to judge national mood
Targeted marginal constituencies
Labour’s key idea
New Labour
Class: ABC1
39% Con
34% Lab
Class: C2DE
24% Con
55% Lab
Two party vote
75%
Gender: men
31% Con
45% Lab
Gender: women
32% Con
44% Lab
Age: 18-24
27% Con
49% Lab
Age: 65+
36% Con
41% Lab
Ethnicity: White
32% Con
43% Lab
Ethnicity: BME
18% Con
70% Lab
Region: England
34% Con
44% Lab
Region: Scotland
18% Con
46% Lab
22% SNP
Region: Wales
20% Con
55% Lab
10% Plaid Cymru
