Introduction

Abstract

During the closing stages of the General Election David Cameron brandished a letter written by an outgoing Labour Treasury minister joking ‘I’m afraid there is no money’. In the still ongoing financial uncertainty this flippant memo provided a valuable line of attack made all the more potent by it being self-inflicted. Given the centrality of the issue in this election, the letter and Labour’s failure to develop an effective counter-narrative contributed to the party’s defeat. Another striking feature of the campaign was the unprecedented prominence of so many parties, personified by the appearance of their individual leaders in a series of live broadcast debates. But these were as nothing compared to the drama that followed the release of an exit poll indicating the Conservatives had had a better campaign than most commentators has predicted.