British general election 1987

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(Share of votes in%)

 %

50

40

30th

20th

10

0

42.2

31.3

22.8

1.3

0.8

2.5

Tories

Labor ^b

SDP ^c

SNP

UUP

Otherwise.

Gains and losses

compared to 1983

 % p

   4th

   2

   0

  -2

  -4

-0.2

+3.2

-2.8

+0.2

± 0.0

+0.5

Tories

Labor ^b

SDP ^c

SNP

UUP

Otherwise.

Remarks:

^b with SDLP

^c with Alliance

1

3

229

3

3

22nd

1

9

376

3

1 3 229 3 3 22nd 1 9 376 3 

A total of 650 seats

• SF : 1
• SDLP : 3
• Labor : 229
• Plaid : 3
• SNP : 3
• SDP : 22
• Otherwise: 1
• UUP : 9
• Tories : 376
• DUP : 3

The 1987 British general election took place on June 11, 1987 and was the third straight win for Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives . She was the first female Prime Minister since Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool to win three consecutive elections. After her, Tony Blair ( Labor Party ) also succeeded.

Election campaign

The Conservatives' election campaign was dominated by an anti-Labor Party sentiment that primarily attacked their tax policy, but also quickly responded to alleged mistakes made by the Labor Party during the election campaign (rapid-response campaign).

The Labor Party changed its campaign strategy and relied heavily on the person of its top candidate Neil Kinnock . He has been featured in commercials as a caring family man and politician who is able to improve the living conditions of the British. Its popularity rose 16% overnight after its release.

Result

Results by constituency. The colors correspond to the adjacent table.

The Conservative Party won the election with an absolute majority and a lead of 102 seats, but lost 21 seats compared to 1983.

The behavior at the polls differed greatly in this election. The Conservatives dominated the south of England and even won seats from Labor here. However, in northern England, Scotland and Wales it clearly lost approval.

Despite intense campaigning, the Labor Party under Neil Kinnock only managed to gain 20 seats (it won 26 and lost 6).

The result of the Alliance, an electoral alliance made up of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Liberal Party, was a serious disappointment for them. It had to surrender a seat, but more importantly was the widening of the gap to the Labor Party to 8%, which four years earlier had shrunk to 2%. This sealed the end of the Alliance and gave rise to the establishment of the Liberal Democrats .

The most significant result of the general election was that Thatcherism continued to receive great support and Margaret Thatcher was able to continue her economically liberal policies.

Political party		be right			Mandates
		number	%	+/-	number	+/-
	Conservative party	13,760,935	42.2	−0.1	376	−21
	Labor	10,029,270	30.8	+3.2	229	+20
	SDP-Liberal Alliance	7,341,651	22.6	−2.8	22nd	−1
	Scottish National Party	416.473	1.3	+0.2	3	+1
	Ulster Unionist Party	276.230	0.8	-	9	−2
	Social Democratic and Labor Party	154.087	0.5	-	3	+2
	Plaid Cymru	123,589	0.4	-	3	+1
	Green Party of England and Wales	89,812	0.3	+0.3	-	-
	Democratic Unionist Party	85,642	0.3	−0.2	3	-
	Sinn Féin	83,389	0.3	-	1	-
	Alliance Party of Northern Ireland	72,671	0.2	-	-	-
	Workers' Party of Ireland	19,294	0.1	+0.1	-	-
	Ulster Popular Unionist Party	18,420	0.1	-	1	-
	Others	58,741	0.1	-	-	-
	total	32.530.204	100.0		650
Eligible voters		43.180.753
voter turnout		75.33%
Source:

See also

• United Kingdom Political System

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Summary results of the 1987 election United Kingdom Election Results (English)