The Conservatives: their Sweetest Victory?

In the 2015 general election, the Conservative party did not just win an overall parliamentary majority against expectations, but they also increased their national share of the vote and secured additional seats in local government. The article examines the long and short term campaigns and contrast...

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Main Authors: Tim Bale, Paul Webb
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centre de Recherche et d'Etudes en Civilisation Britannique 2015-12-01
Series:Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/480
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author Tim Bale
Paul Webb
author_facet Tim Bale
Paul Webb
author_sort Tim Bale
collection DOAJ
description In the 2015 general election, the Conservative party did not just win an overall parliamentary majority against expectations, but they also increased their national share of the vote and secured additional seats in local government. The article examines the long and short term campaigns and contrasts the 2010 campaign with the one in 2015 to explain their success. It highlights how the Conservatives were able to spin a convincing narrative of Labour economic incompetence and welfare profligacy and capitalise on their opponents’ inner conflicts and voters’ fears of a Labour-SNP coalition. The article argues that their victory is also due to their command of valence issues and their effective targeting of marginal seats.
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spelling doaj-art-67eaa128bdb8420eb82b95a40d91c1ed2025-08-20T01:54:37ZengCentre de Recherche et d'Etudes en Civilisation BritanniqueRevue Française de Civilisation Britannique0248-90152429-43732015-12-0120310.4000/rfcb.480The Conservatives: their Sweetest Victory?Tim BalePaul WebbIn the 2015 general election, the Conservative party did not just win an overall parliamentary majority against expectations, but they also increased their national share of the vote and secured additional seats in local government. The article examines the long and short term campaigns and contrasts the 2010 campaign with the one in 2015 to explain their success. It highlights how the Conservatives were able to spin a convincing narrative of Labour economic incompetence and welfare profligacy and capitalise on their opponents’ inner conflicts and voters’ fears of a Labour-SNP coalition. The article argues that their victory is also due to their command of valence issues and their effective targeting of marginal seats.https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/480United KingdomConservativesCameronelectionsTory
spellingShingle Tim Bale
Paul Webb
The Conservatives: their Sweetest Victory?
Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique
United Kingdom
Conservatives
Cameron
elections
Tory
title The Conservatives: their Sweetest Victory?
title_full The Conservatives: their Sweetest Victory?
title_fullStr The Conservatives: their Sweetest Victory?
title_full_unstemmed The Conservatives: their Sweetest Victory?
title_short The Conservatives: their Sweetest Victory?
title_sort conservatives their sweetest victory
topic United Kingdom
Conservatives
Cameron
elections
Tory
url https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/480
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