United Kingdom general election, 1979
E89596
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was a pivotal national vote that brought Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Party to power, ending years of Labour government and marking the start of a major shift in British economic and political policy.
Observed surface forms (2)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| 1979 United Kingdom general election | 3 |
| UK general election of 1979 | 1 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United Kingdom general election
ⓘ
general election ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs |
United Kingdom general election, 1979
ⓘ
surface form:
1979 United Kingdom general election
United Kingdom general election, 1979 ⓘ
surface form:
UK general election of 1979
|
| campaignIssue |
economic management
ⓘ
inflation ⓘ trade union power ⓘ unemployment ⓘ |
| context | followed the Winter of Discontent in 1978–79 ⓘ |
| country | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| electedBody | House of Commons of the United Kingdom NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| electoralSystem | first-past-the-post ⓘ |
| endDate | 1979-05-03 ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance |
ended an unbroken period of Labour government since 1974
ⓘ
marked a major shift toward market-oriented economic policies in the UK ⓘ marked the beginning of the Thatcher era ⓘ |
| leaderOfSecondParty | James Callaghan ⓘ |
| leaderOfThirdParty | David Steel ⓘ |
| leaderOfWinningParty | Margaret Thatcher ⓘ |
| location | United Kingdom NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| majoritySeats | 318 ⓘ |
| monarchAtTime | Elizabeth II ⓘ |
| nextElection |
1983 United Kingdom general election
ⓘ
surface form:
United Kingdom general election, 1983
|
| numberOfSeatsContested | 635 ⓘ |
| outcome |
Conservative Party majority government formed
ⓘ
End of Labour Party government led by James Callaghan ⓘ |
| parliamentNumber | 48th Parliament of the United Kingdom ⓘ |
| popularVoteConservative | about 13,697,000 ⓘ |
| popularVoteLabour | about 11,532,000 ⓘ |
| popularVoteLiberal | about 4,313,000 ⓘ |
| previousElection |
February 1974 United Kingdom general election
ⓘ
surface form:
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
|
| primeMinisterAfterElection | Margaret Thatcher ⓘ |
| primeMinisterAfterParty |
Conservative Party (UK)
ⓘ
surface form:
Conservative Party
|
| primeMinisterBeforeElection | James Callaghan ⓘ |
| primeMinisterBeforeParty |
Labour Party (UK)
ⓘ
surface form:
Labour Party
|
| seatsWonConservative | 339 ⓘ |
| seatsWonLabour | 269 ⓘ |
| seatsWonLiberal | 11 ⓘ |
| secondParty |
Labour Party (UK)
ⓘ
surface form:
Labour Party
|
| startDate | 1979-05-03 ⓘ |
| thirdParty |
Liberal Party (UK)
ⓘ
surface form:
Liberal Party
|
| triggeredBy |
1979 vote of no confidence in the Callaghan government
ⓘ
loss of confidence vote in the Labour government ⓘ |
| voterTurnout |
76.0%
ⓘ
approximately 76 percent ⓘ |
| voteShareConservative | 43.9% ⓘ |
| voteShareLabour | 36.9% ⓘ |
| voteShareLiberal | 13.8% ⓘ |
| winningParty |
Conservative Party (UK)
ⓘ
surface form:
Conservative Party
|
Referenced by (5)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
1979 United Kingdom general election
this entity surface form:
UK general election of 1979
this entity surface form:
1979 United Kingdom general election
this entity surface form:
1979 United Kingdom general election