1979 General Election GapFill

The 1979 General Election was held in the context of a turbulent period in British politics and society. The incumbent Labour government, led by Prime Minister  James CallaghanHarold WilsonClement AttleeRamsay MacDonald, had been governing as a minority government and lost a vote of confidence in the House of Commons by one vote in March 1979, triggering the election. The broader context for the election was rising industrial disruption throughout the country, popularly known as the Winter of Discontent. The Conservative Party challenger going into the election was  Winston ChurchillJohn MajorAnthony EdenMargaret Thatcher, who had led the party since 1975.

The previous year, the government had been expected to call an early election. Despite a number of economic difficulties, most noticeably a failure to control levels of price inflation, Labour was ahead in the polls and expected to secure a majority. The decision not to call an election that year was considered a surprise, and the introduction of a pay cap for public sector workers led to   recessionunemploymentdeclinestrike action across the country during an exceptionally cold winter and increased the unpopularity of the government. Without a majority, the government had been relying on temporary deals with minor nationalist parties and the Liberal Party in order to win key votes, but on many occasions these alliances looked flimsy and unreliable.

The Labour campaign focused on the promise of restoring full employment and maintaining the National Health Service, as well as a commitment to resolving industrial disputes. In contrast, the Conservative campaign promised to address the causes of the Winter of Discontent by gaining control over runaway inflation and curbing the rights and powers of trade unions to strike and disrupt. The campaign hired advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi, which produced the famous   Labour Isn't WorkingTime for Common SenseNew Labour New DangerVote for Change poster, and received support from key media institutions such as The Sun.

The result was a Conservative victory, forming a   minority governmentweak governmentstrong governmentmajority government of 43 seats. Thatcher became the country's first female prime minister and went on to break with the post-war consensus in which both parties had advocated a welfare state and  market solutionsstrike actionpublic ownershiphigh inflation. The Conservatives would remain in power until   1992198319971990.