British General Election 1979

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(Share of votes in%)

 %

50

40

30th

20th

10

0

43.9

36.9

14.1

1.6

0.8

2.7

Tories

Labor

Liberals ^c

SNP

UUP

Otherwise.

Gains and losses

compared to October 1974

 % p

 10

   8th

   6th

   4th

   2

   0

  -2

  -4

  -6

+8.1

-2.4

-4.4

-1.3

-0.1

+0.1

Tories

Labor

Liberals ^c

SNP

UUP

Otherwise.

Remarks:

^c with Alliance

1

1

269

2

2

11

2

5

339

3

1 1 269 2 2 11 2 5 339 3 

A total of 635 seats

• Independent Republican : 1
• SDLP : 1
• Labor : 269
• Plaid : 2
• SNP : 2
• Liberals : 11
• Otherwise: 2
• UUP : 5
• Tories : 339
• DUP : 3

The 1979 British general election took place on May 3, 1979. A landslide victory by the Conservative Party led to a change of government: a Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher replaced James Callaghan's Labor cabinet .

background

The election came after the so-called Winter of Discontent , a labor dispute by the trade unions against the policies of the government of James Callaghan. The unions responded to the Labor government's intention to keep wage increases below 5% for 1979 for the fourth consecutive year.

Ultimately, this conflict damaged the government and also the reputation of Callaghan in his Labor party. On March 28, 1979, he lost a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons with one vote. This resulted in its dissolution and new elections; on May 3, 1979, because of the lost vote of no confidence, they took place six months before the latest possible date (October 1979) (the previous election had been held in October 1974).

Constituencies of the top candidates

Margaret Thatcher resigned in Constituency Finchley (North London at), while James Callaghan in Welsh Southeast Cardiff went into the race. The Scottish David Steel competed for the Liberal Party in the constituency of Roxburgh , Selkirk and Peebles ( Scottish Borders ) near his home . All three won their constituencies.

Result

The result, with an 18% increase in parliamentary seats for the Conservatives, meant the largest gain for a party in British post-war history. With 43 seats, the Tory party won a substantial majority and, after five years of Labor government under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan, was able to re-appoint the prime minister : Margaret Thatcher, the first woman to serve as the British head of government.

Another important point was that the Conservatives gained massive votes, especially in the working class, which was also reflected in the massive voter migration from Labor to the Conservatives, which amounted to 5.2%.

Majorities by constituency

Political party		be right			Mandates
		number	%	+/-	number	+/-
	Conservative party	13,697,923	43.9	+8.0	339	+62
	Labor Party	11,532,218	36.9	−2.3	269	−50
	Liberal party	4,313,804	13.8	−4.5	11	−2
	Scottish National Party	504.259	1.6	−1.3	2	−9
	Ulster Unionist Party	254,578	0.8	−0.1	5	−1
	British National Front	191.719	0.6	+0.2	-	-
	Plaid Cymru	132,544	0.4	−0.1	2	−1
	Social Democratic and Labor Party	126,325	0.4	−0.1	1	-
	Alliance Party of Northern Ireland	82,892	0.3	+0.1	-	-
	Democratic Unionist Party	70.975	0.2	-	3	+2
	Ecology Party	39,918	0.1	+0.1	-	-
	United Ulster Unionist Party	39,856	0.1	+0.1	1	+1
	Independent Ulster Unionist	36,989	0.1	-	1	-
	Independent Labor	27,953	0.1	-	-	-
	Irish Independence Party	23,086	0.1	+0.1	-	-
	Independent Republican	22,398	0.1	-	1	-
	Independent	19,531	0.1	-	-	-
	Others	104,394	0.4	-	-	-
	total	31,221,362	100.0		635
Eligible voters		41,095,649
voter turnout		76.00%
Source:

Beginning of the Thatcher era

Thatcher was commissioned by the Queen to form a government on May 4, 1979, and accepted this mandate. Her words when she moved into No. Downing Street. 10 took up a prayer often attributed to Francis of Assisi in Anglo-Saxon-speaking countries :

“Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope. "

“May we bring harmony where there is discord. May we bring truth where there is error. May we bring faith where there is doubt. And may we bring hope where there is despair. "

- Margaret Thatcher , address given at 10 Downing Street on May 4, 1979

Thatcher's reign lasted more than eleven years from that election; overall, the Tories ruled from 1979 on under Thatcher and John Major (1990-97) for the following 18 years, until Labour's victory in the 1997 general election .

See also

• United Kingdom Political System

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} General Election Results 1885–1979 United Kingdom Election Results (English)
2. ^ Christian Renoux, La prière pour la paix attribuée à saint François, une énigme à résoudre, Paris, Editions franciscaines, 2001
3. ↑ 1979: Election victory for Margaret Thatcher. BBC News, accessed May 27, 2013 .