Typical Tories hankering after the good ole days. I guess that's why today's Big Bird has surrounded himself with fellow old Etonians. He's such a positive, sunshiny kinda guy.
Back on again today for the next 10 hours or so on BBC Parliament. Anchored by Dimbleby, gadgetry by a disconcertingly dark haired Peter Snow, and ably assisted by Robin Day who has a very grim-faced Neil Kinnock with him. Get on board psephology fans
Back on again today for the next 10 hours or so on BBC Parliament. Anchored by Dimbleby, gadgetry by a disconcertingly dark haired Peter Snow, and ably assisted by Robin Day who has a very grim-faced Neil Kinnock with him. Get on board psephology fans
The programme is far too long. BBC Parliament showed the 1970 election coverage the other week and it only lasted about twenty minutes. That was more like it.
This was the election victory that owed everything to the member for Buenos Aires Central. The campaign strategist General Galtieri.
Actually other big factors were
1) The rise of the SDP/Lib Alliance
2) The state of Labour
Thatcher may have increased the number of seats from 1979 (397 vs 339) but her share of the vote actually went down by 1.5%.
Had the Falklands not happened she would have won in 1983 though maybe by not as much, though had the war been lost it's hard to see how she could have survived with a lot of the Tory votes going to the SDP.
Labour contributed to their heavy defeat in 1983, they had an unelectable leader and a defence policy which was nonsense.
The "Falklands effect" helped Maggie but given the state of the economy it should have been much closer.
You've only got to look at the opinion polls of the time. Before the Argentians invaded the Tories were in third place in some polls. Just the announcement Britain was going to send a taskforce turned things around for Thatcher and by the autumn the Tories were twenty points ahead of second place.
Gallup Daily Telegraph 1982-18th Jan Tories 27.5 Labour 29.5 SDP-Lib 39.5
The Falklands were retaken on 14th June 1982
MORI 1982-23rd June Tories 51 Labour 24 SDP-Lib 23
Actually other big factors were
1) The rise of the SDP/Lib Alliance
2) The state of Labour
Thatcher may have increased the number of seats from 1979 (397 vs 339) but her share of the vote actually went down by 1.5%.
Had the Falklands not happened she would have won in 1983 though maybe by not as much, though had the war been lost it's hard to see how she could have survived with a lot of the Tory votes going to the SDP.
But for the Falklands the election would have been in 1984 with Thatcher going right into the buffers postponing defeat till the last possible moment. Saying otherwise flies in the face of the opinion polls of the time (see my above post).
It's funny when you watch these election nights from Labour's wilderness years and you see Labour spokesperson after spokesperson blaming everyone but themselves for the defeat.
It's funny when you watch these election nights from Labour's wilderness years and you see Labour spokesperson after spokesperson blaming everyone but themselves for the defeat.
As will the Tory spokespeople on Election Night 2015.
Did anyone notice the losing Labour candidate in Richmond and Barnes - one Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz? I don't think I saw him on the platform as the camera had panned in too far, but I had no idea he had stood in 1983 in a safe Conservative seat.
Did anyone notice the losing Labour candidate in Richmond and Barnes - one Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz? I don't think I saw him on the platform as the camera had panned in too far, but I had no idea he had stood in 1983 in a safe Conservative seat.
These programmes are good for seeing the faces of the future. It was pretty normal practice to do a run-out in a safe seat of your opponents before getting in yourself.
Dimbleby talked about the next election coming up "in 1888".
When I was in London last week I walked round Smith Square, where both Conservative and Labour HQs once were - though I think Labour might have moved out to Walworth Road by 1983?
Anyway it was absolutely deserted and I had the place pretty much to myself, and I did actually think of these election re-runs and the crowds of reporters outside the building which was once such a hub of political activity. It's fun to go round and look at these old places which have seen such history.
Did anyone notice the losing Labour candidate in Richmond and Barnes - one Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz? I don't think I saw him on the platform as the camera had panned in too far, but I had no idea he had stood in 1983 in a safe Conservative seat.
How times change. Richmond is no longer a safe Conservative seat. They only nabbed it back last time by going for a greenish moderniser
The 83 election setpieces were dull. You had that brown background and Peter Snow sitting down by a computer screen, instead of standing up beside a large screen with the battleground on it. Even the fonts seemed uninspired. John Cole (the Political Editor) was nowhere to be seen until the early hours of the morning.
Comments
G
The programme is far too long. BBC Parliament showed the 1970 election coverage the other week and it only lasted about twenty minutes. That was more like it.
So you think Michael Foot could have been Prime Minister?
Labour contributed to their heavy defeat in 1983, they had an unelectable leader and a defence policy which was nonsense.
The "Falklands effect" helped Maggie but given the state of the economy it should have been much closer.
Actually other big factors were
1) The rise of the SDP/Lib Alliance
2) The state of Labour
Thatcher may have increased the number of seats from 1979 (397 vs 339) but her share of the vote actually went down by 1.5%.
Had the Falklands not happened she would have won in 1983 though maybe by not as much, though had the war been lost it's hard to see how she could have survived with a lot of the Tory votes going to the SDP.
You've only got to look at the opinion polls of the time. Before the Argentians invaded the Tories were in third place in some polls. Just the announcement Britain was going to send a taskforce turned things around for Thatcher and by the autumn the Tories were twenty points ahead of second place.
Gallup Daily Telegraph 1982-18th Jan
Tories 27.5 Labour 29.5 SDP-Lib 39.5
The Falklands were retaken on 14th June 1982
MORI 1982-23rd June
Tories 51 Labour 24 SDP-Lib 23
But for the Falklands the election would have been in 1984 with Thatcher going right into the buffers postponing defeat till the last possible moment. Saying otherwise flies in the face of the opinion polls of the time (see my above post).
Got married,had a couple of kids and did a bit of 'dancing' on telleh........:o:sleep:
If we'd only known then what we know now...........:mad:
As will the Tory spokespeople on Election Night 2015.
There's David Owen, like David Miliband, a young Labour foreign secretary who never fulfilled his potential.
These programmes are good for seeing the faces of the future. It was pretty normal practice to do a run-out in a safe seat of your opponents before getting in yourself.
Dimbleby talked about the next election coming up "in 1888".
Anyway it was absolutely deserted and I had the place pretty much to myself, and I did actually think of these election re-runs and the crowds of reporters outside the building which was once such a hub of political activity. It's fun to go round and look at these old places which have seen such history.
How times change. Richmond is no longer a safe Conservative seat. They only nabbed it back last time by going for a greenish moderniser