Abstract
Post-election analyses are always open to charges of retrospective wisdom. It does not follow, however, that they should be avoided. The fact is that party strategists themselves spend time examining the campaign and wondering how they might have done things better. Politicians also seize on the issues, themes and outcomes of an election as tools in debates about the policies and the leadership of the party. There were protracted post-mortems following Labour’s defeats in 1959 and the Conservative losses in 1974. In 1979 Labour continued the process. But the Conservatives’ margin of victory was so clear cut that it is not plausible to single out any one event or decision in the campaign that might have made a basic difference to the outcome. To a large extent the parties were playing out the hands that had been dealt to them by the events of the preceding months.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
Increased press advertising combined with inflation to make it the costliest of elections since 1964. The Labour party estimated the cost of their central campaign from March 28 to May 3 at about £1 m (excluding some regional expenditure). The Liberal party say that their campaign, including headquarters expenses, national press publicity and broadcasting as well as David Steel’s tours, cost £135,000 (excluding Scotland and some regional expenditure). The Conservatives, whose accounting year ends on March 31, had more difficulty in arriving at a comparable estimate, but it seems that the figure must have been around £1,300,000. For details of Labour campaign finance see the speech of Norman Atkinson, the party Treasurer, to the Labour Party Conference October 3, 1979. For a full discussion of 1979 campaign finance see M. Pinto-Duschinsky’s chapter in H. Penniman ed. Britain at the Polls 1979 (Washington, 1980).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1980 David Butler and Dennis Kavanagh
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Butler, D., Kavanagh, D. (1980). The Campaign in Retrospect. In: The British General Election of 1979. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-04755-0_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-04755-0_16
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-04757-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-04755-0
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)