voting behaviour Flashcards
turnout for 1979 ge
76%
result for 1979 ge
44% con vote, 339 seats so thatcher became pm
which voting model best explains the 1979 ge result
valence - callaghan was not seen as a competent party leader due to the winter of discontent (could not handle the economy) - con campaign focused on this with posters such as ‘Labour isnt working’
did gender have an impact in the 1979 ge
no for male voters but yes, a minor impact, for female voters, potentially because thatcher was first female pm
what persentage of women voted con vs lab in 1979 ge
47% to 35%
did age have an impa ct on voting behaviour in 1979 ge
no, not a significant one
what long-term factor had the most significant impact of the 1979 ge result
class; thatcher targeted her campaign to catch traditionally labour c2 voters, such as taking photo opps with farm animals or in factories, resulting in an 18% swing amongst this class of voters
what % of c2 voted con and lab in 1979 ge
equally 41% - con had a majority of ABC1 as well
how much of an impact did the party leader have on the election
little - callaghan was liked and seen as ‘sunny jim’ but was also presented as out of touch (‘crisis? what crisis?’) so could not turn the popularity into votes - thatcher was not popular but knew how to run an effective campaign and made herself attractive to lab voters
was there an element of issue based voting in 1979 ge
yes - economy was poor due to winter of discontent so people voted on who they trusted to improve it to a greater extent
how important was the campaign and manifesto for the 1979 ge?
for lab they campaigned on the idea that changing gov would ‘risk tearing everything up by the roots’ whereas cons campaigned on destroying the credibility of lab with the economy and promoting the idea that ‘labour isnt working’
impact of media on 1979 ge
callaghan was presented as out of touch by the sun (crisis? what crisis?) whereas thatcher’s media presence was well-controlled to present her as a competent leader and persuade voters - crafted media moments with farm animals and in factories to drum up C2 support
how accurate were opinion polls in the run up to the 1979 ge and what affect did they have on the outcome
predicted a con win accurately - 75% dissatisfied with lab gov and 62% dissatisfied with callaghan - thatcher did not have to do anything remarkable just had to not mess up.
result of 1997 ge
43% voted Lab so Blair became PM, 418 seats
turnout of 1997 ge
71%
how important was class in 1997 ge
still predominantly voted along class clines with ABC1 voting predom con and C2 and DE voting predom lab - new labour’s more centralist policies after removing clause IV meant more typically non-lab leaners voted lab (exemplifies class dealignment)
how significant was age in 1997 ge
blair’s popularity reduced distinctions between age groups as lab got a large % of voted in every age group
importnace of con manifesto in 1997 ge
con - policy to give a tax-break to married couples to promote traditional family values made cons seem out of touch, especially with sleaze scandals
which voting model best exemplifies 1997 ge result
valence - blair’s ‘tight-ship’ campaign meant that many trusted him to lead a country as he could very effectievly lead his party and restore unity - ‘i lead my party, he follows his’ - Major’s campaign was riddled with scandals such as ‘cash for Qs’ and sleaze, could not keep his party under check - general public did not see him to be competent or capabvle enough to run a country
impact of party leader on 1997 ge
blair was electoral asset - very popular in the eyes of the public - charismatic and energetic - ‘things can only get better’ campaign vid presented blair to be a man of the people - major had lost previous 1992 popularity and was now seen to be dull and uncharismatic
importance of labour manifesto in 1997 ge
included many democratisation policies which many nationalist voters could support such as devolution to scotland and wales - 45% of scots voted lab in comparison to 18% voting Con
who ran blair’s campaign
alistar campbell, peter mandleson, gordon brown
what impact did media have on 1997 ge result
sun swiched allegiance to lab - sun backs blair - already had high approval ratings in polls however and a lab win was predicted, not to the extent that was actually achieved though - tabloids ran sleaze campaigns on tory mps who werent upholding traditional family values they were attempting to campaign on
turnout of 2010 ge
65%
turnout of 2001 ge
59%
