1987 United Kingdom general election

none May 2014 June 2019 1987 United Kingdom general election United Kingdom parliamentary no 1983 United Kingdom general election 1983 List of MPs elected in the 1983 United Kingdom general election 1992 United Kingdom general election 1992 List of MPs elected in the 1987 United Kingdom general election All 650 seats in the House of Commons 326The sole Sinn Féin MP to be elected, Gerry Adams, did not take his seat, so the effective number of seats in the House of Commons was 649, making a majority 325 seats. List of MPs elected in the 1987 United Kingdom general election 11 June 1987 32,529,57875.3% (2.6 pp) Margaret Thatcher in Israel (cropped 2).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Margaret Thatcher 11 February 1975 Conservative Party (UK) Finchley 397 seats, 42.4% 376speaker Figure includes Speaker of the House of Commons Bernard Weatherill in Croydon North East. 21 13,760,583 42.2% 0.2 pp Start campagne voor Europese verkiezingen van PvdA (Rotterdam) Neal Kinnoch , k, Bestanddeelnr 932-9811.jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Neil Kinnock 2 October 1983 Labour Party (UK) Islwyn 209 seats, 27.6% 229 20 10,029,807 30.8% 3.2 pp David Steel 1985 (cropped).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 David Steel 7 July 1976 Liberal Party (UK) SDP–Liberal Alliance Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale 17 seats, 13.7% 17 4,173,450 12.8% 0.9 pp Ulster Unionist Party UUP James Molyneaux Ulster Unionist Party 7 September 1979 Lagan Valley 11 seats, 0.8% 9 2 276,230 0.8% David Owen-1.jpg 120 120 160 0 0 David Owen 21 June 1983 Social Democratic Party (UK) SDP–Liberal Alliance Plymouth Devonport 6 seats, 11.6% 5 1 3,168,183 9.7% 1.9 UK General Election, 1987.svg 200px Colours denote the winning party—as shown in Results 1987 UK General Election composition diagram.svg Composition of the House of Commons after the election Prime Minister Prime Minister after election Margaret Thatcher Conservative Party (UK) Margaret Thatcher Conservative Party (UK) Opinion polling for the 1987 United Kingdom general election A general election was held in the United Kingdom on Thursday 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the House of Commons. This was the third consecutive general election victory for the Conservative Party, which won a second landslide under leader Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the Earl of Liverpool in 1820 to lead a party into three successive electoral victories. The Conservatives were returned to government with a net loss of only 21 seats, which left them with 376 MPs and a reduced but still overwhelming majority of 102 seats. The Conservatives have not matched or surpassed this seat total in any subsequent general election, although they recorded a greater share of the popular vote in the 2019 general election. The Conservatives ran a campaign focusing on lower taxes, a strong economy and strong defence. They also emphasised that unemployment had just fallen below the three million mark for the first time since 1981, and inflation was standing at 4%, its lowest level since the 1960s. National newspapers also continued to largely back the Conservative government, particularly The Sun, which ran articles against the Labour Party, led by Neil Kinnock, with headlines such as "Why I'm backing Kinnock, by Stalin".Thomas James Popular Newspapers, the Labour Party and British Politics Routledge 7 May 2007 103 978-1-135-77373-1 Following Michael Foot's resignation in the aftermath of Labour's landslide defeat at the 1983 general election, Kinnock was slowly moving the party towards a more centrist policy platform, following the promulgation of a left-wing one under Foot's leadership. Kinnock's main aim was to re-establish the party as the main progressive centre-left alternative to the Conservatives, after the rise of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) forced Labour onto the defensive, and he succeeded in doing so at this general election. Labour increased its vote share in Scotland, Wales and the North of England, but still returned only 229 MPs to Westminster. In London, the Conservatives made gains in several previously Labour-held constituencies. The Alliance between the SDP and the Liberal Party was renewed, but co-leaders David Owen and David Steel could not agree whether to support either major party in the event of a hung parliament. The election was a disappointment for the Alliance, which saw its vote share fall and suffered a net loss of one seat as well as former SDP leader Roy Jenkins losing his seat to Labour. This led to the two Alliance parties merging completely soon afterwards to become the Liberal Democrats. In Northern Ireland, the main unionist parties maintained their alliance in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement; however, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) lost two seats to the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). One of the UUP losses was former Cabinet Minister Enoch Powell, famous for his stance against immigration, and formerly a Conservative MP. The election night was covered live on the BBC, presented by David Dimbleby, Peter Snow and Robin Day.wTPxE8oC0bI BBC Election 1987 coverage It was also broadcast on ITV, presented by Alastair Burnet, Peter Sissons and Alastair Stewart. The 1987 general election saw the election of the first Black Members of Parliament: Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng and Bernie Grant, all as representatives for the Labour Party. Other newcomers included future Cabinet members David Blunkett, John Redwood, John Reid, Andrew Smith and Alistair Darling, future Shadow Cabinet minister Ann Widdecombe, and future SNP Leader Alex Salmond. MPs who left the House of Commons as a result of this election include former Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan, Keith Joseph, Jim Prior, Ian Mikardo, former SDP leader and Labour Cabinet Minister Roy Jenkins, former Health Minister Enoch Powell (who had defected to the UUP in Northern Ireland from the Conservatives in 1974) and Clement Freud. Campaign and policies none 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997The Conservative campaign emphasised lower taxes, a strong economy and defence, and also employed rapid-response reactions to take advantage of Labour errors. Norman Tebbit and Saatchi & Saatchi spearheaded the Conservative campaign. However, when on "Wobbly Thursday" it was rumoured a Marplan opinion poll showed a narrow 2% Conservative lead, the "exiles" camp of David Young, Tim Bell and the advertising firm Young & Rubicam advocated a more aggressively anti-Labour message. This was when, according to Young's memoirs, Young grabbed Tebbit by the lapels and shook him, shouting: "Norman, listen to me, we're about to lose this fucking election."Campbell 2003 522Oborne Peter Peter Oborne Has Gordon Brown delivered his last Budget? The truth is that Blair hasn't yet decided https://www.spectator.co.uk/2005/03/has-gordon-brown-delivered-his-last-budget-the-truth-is-that-blair-hasnt-yet-decided The Spectator 19 March 2005 2 July 2018 In his memoirs, Tebbit defends the Conservative campaign: "We finished exactly as planned on the ground where Labour was weak and we were strong—defence, taxation, and the economy."Tebbit 1988 336 During the election campaign, however, Tebbit and party leader Margaret Thatcher argued.Thatcher 1993 584 Bell and Saatchi & Saatchi produced memorable posters for the Conservatives, such as a picture of a British soldier's arms raised in surrender with the caption "Labour's Policy On Arms"—a reference to Labour's policy of unilateral nuclear disarmament. The first Conservative party political broadcast played on the theme of "Freedom" and ended with a fluttering Union Jack, the hymn I Vow to Thee, My Country (which Thatcher would later quote in her "Sermon on the Mound") and the slogan "It's Great To Be Great Again". The Labour campaign was a marked change from previous efforts; professionally directed by Peter Mandelson and Bryan Gould, it concentrated on presenting and improving Neil Kinnock's image to the electorate. Labour's first party political broadcast, dubbed Kinnock: The Movie, was directed by Hugh Hudson of Chariots of Fire fame, and concentrated on portraying Kinnock as a caring, compassionate family man. It was filmed at the Great Orme in Wales and had "Ode to Joy" and Brahms' 1st Symphony as its music.https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07pr1b5 The 80s with Dominic Sandbrook World in Motion BBC 2 July 2018 He was particularly critical of the high unemployment that the government's economic policies had resulted in, as well as condemning the wait for treatment that many patients had endured on the National Health Service. Kinnock's personal popularity jumped 16 points overnight following the initial broadcast.Butler Kavanagh 1988 154 On 24 May, Kinnock was interviewed by David Frost and claimed that Labour's alternative defence strategy in the event of a Soviet attack would be "using the resources you've got to make any occupation totally untenable".April 2013 In a speech two days later Thatcher attacked Labour's defence policy as a programme for "defeat, surrender, occupation, and finally, prolonged guerrilla fighting ... I do not understand how anyone who aspires to Government can treat the defence of our country so lightly".http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=106843 Speech to Conservative Rally in Newport 26 May 1987 Margaret Thatcher Foundation 2 July 2018 During the 1987 election campaign the Conservative Party issued attack posters which claimed that the Labour Party wanted the book Young, Gay and Proud to be read in schools, as well as Police: Out of School, The Playbook for Kids about Sex,Authored by Joani BlankSanders Sue Spraggs Gill Section 28 and Education http://www.schools-out.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Section-28-and-Education-Sue-Sanders-Gillian-Spragg-1989.pdf 22 May 2015 1989 4 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304101636/http://www.schools-out.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Section-28-and-Education-Sue-Sanders-Gillian-Spragg-1989.pdf deadBooth, Janine The story of Section 28 http://www.workersliberty.org/node/1531 Workers' Liberty 22 May 2015 December 1997 and The Milkman's on his Way,Authored by David Rees which, according to the Monday Club's Jill Knight MP – who introduced Section 28 and later campaigned against same-sex marriageBaroness Knight: Parliament can't help blind people see, so can't help "artistic" gays get married http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/06/03/baroness-knight-parliament-cant-help-blind-people-see-so-cant-help-artistic-gays-get-married/ 24 May 2015 Pink News 3 June 2013 – were being taught to "little children as young as five and six", which contained "brightly coloured pictures of little stick men showed all about homosexuality and how it was done", and "explicitly described homosexual intercourse and, indeed, glorified it, encouraging youngsters to believe that it was better than any other sexual way of life".Quoted in Hansard, http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199900/ldhansrd/vo991206/text/91206-10.htm Lords Hansard text for 6 Dec 1999 (191206-10) 2008-08-30 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20070930012922/http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199900/ldhansrd/vo991206/text/91206-10.htm 30 September 2007, 6 December 1999, Column 1102. Endorsements The following newspapers endorsed political parties running in the election in the following ways:'Newspaper support in UK general elections' (2010) on The Guardian. Newspaper Party/ies endorsed The Sun Conservative Party Daily Mirror Labour Party Daily Mail Conservative Party Daily Express Conservative Party Daily Telegraph Conservative Party The Guardian Labour PartyThe Independent None The TimesConservative Party Opinion polling Opinion polling for the 1987 United Kingdom general election 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 center|thumb|613x613px|Conservative Party (UK) solid 5px Conservative yes Labour Party (UK) solid 5px Labour yes SDP–Liberal Alliance solid 5px SDP–Liberal Alliance yes Timeline The Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Buckingham Palace on 11 May and asked the Queen to dissolve Parliament on 18 May, announcing that the election would be held on 11 June. The key dates were as follows:https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/RP97-40/RP97-40.pdf Parliamentary Election Timetables 3rd House of Commons Library 25 March 1997 3 July 2022https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1987-06-25/debates/bdc96065-c2fd-434f-8dd9-835aea476a23/QueenSSpeech Queen's Speech Parliament of the United Kingdom 25 June 1987 3 July 2022 Monday 18 MayDissolution of the 49th Parliament and campaigning officially beginsWednesday 10 June Campaigning officially endsThursday 11 June Polling dayFriday 12 June The Conservative Party wins with a majority of 102 to retain powerWednesday 17 June50th Parliament assemblesThursday 25 JuneState Opening of Parliament Results Results of the 1987 United Kingdom general election The Conservatives were returned by a second landslide victory after their first in 1983,1983: Thatcher wins landslide victory BBC News https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/9/newsid_2500000/2500847.stm 11 January 2023 with a comfortable majority, down slightly on 1983 with a swing of 1.5% towards Labour. This marked the first time since the Great Reform Act of 1832 that a party leader had won three consecutive elections, although the Conservatives had won consecutively in the 1950s under three different leaders (Churchill in 1951, Eden in 1955 and Macmillan in 1959) and early in the century, the Liberals also had three successive wins under two leaders (Henry Campbell-Bannerman in 1906 and H. H. Asquith twice in 1910). The Conservative lead over Labour of 11.4% was the second-greatest for any party since the Second World War; surpassed only by the previous 1983 result.David Butler Robert Waller The Times Guide to the House of Commons June 1987 1987 Times Books Ltd London 0-7230-0298-3 253 Survey of the voting. Election of haves and have-nots The BBC announced the result at 02:35. Increasing polarisation marked divisions across the country; the Conservatives dominated Southern England and took additional seats from Labour in London and the rest of the South, but performed less well in Northern England, Scotland and Wales, losing many of the seats they had won there at previous elections. Yet the overall result of this election proved that Margaret Thatcher's policies retained significant support. Despite initial optimism and the professional campaign by Neil Kinnock, the election brought only twenty additional seats for Labour from the 1983 Conservative landslide. In many southern areas, the Labour vote actually fell, with the party losing seats in London. However, it represented a decisive victory against the SDP–Liberal Alliance and marked out the Labour Party as the main contender to the Conservative Party. This was in stark contrast to 1983, when the Alliance votes almost matched Labour; although Labour had almost 10 times as many seats as the Alliance due to the structure of the First-Past-The-Post voting system. The result for the Alliance was a disappointment, in that they had hoped to overtake Labour as the Official Opposition in the UK in terms of vote share. Instead, they lost Roy Jenkins' seat and saw their vote share drop by almost 3%, with a widening gap of 8% between them and the Labour Party (compared to a 2% gap four years before). These results would eventually lead to the end of the Alliance and the birth of the Liberal Democrats. Most of the prominent MPs retained their seats. Notable losses included: Enoch Powell (the controversial former Conservative Cabinet Minister who had defected to the Ulster Unionist Party), Gordon Wilson (leader of the Scottish National Party) and two Alliance members: Liberal Clement Freud and former SDP leader Roy Jenkins (a former Labour Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer). Neil Kinnock increased his share of the vote in Islwyn by almost 12%. Margaret Thatcher increased her share of the vote in her Finchley seat, but the Labour vote increased more, slightly reducing her majority. In Northern Ireland, the various unionist parties maintained an electoral pact (with few dissenters) in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement. However, the Ulster Unionists lost two seats to the Social Democratic and Labour Party. The Conservatives' victory could also arguably be attributed to the rise in living standards during their time in office. As noted by Dennis Kavanagh and David Butler: Since 1987 the Conservatives had located a large constituency of "winners", people who have an interest in the return of a Conservative government. It includes much of the affluent South, home-owners, share-owners, and most of those in work, whose standard of living, measured in post-tax incomes, has risen appreciably since 1979. Butler Kavanagh 1988 277 Summary of seats returned + centre|420px PartyBritish Electoral Facts Colin Rallings Micheal Thrasher 52 Total Politics 978-1-907278-03-7 2006 Leader MPs Aggregate votes Of total Of total Conservative and Unionist Party Margaret Thatcher 376speaker 376 650 1 yes Conservative Party (UK) 13,760,583 42.3% 42.3 Conservative Party (UK) Labour Party Neil Kinnock 229Includes 9 Co-operative Party MP, as part of the Labour-Co-op alliance. 229 650 1 yes Labour Party (UK) 10,029,807 30.8% 30.8 Labour Party (UK) SDP–Liberal Alliance 22 22 650 1 yes SDP–Liberal Alliance 7,341,633 22.6% 22.6 SDP–Liberal Alliance Liberal Party David Steel 17 17 650 1 yes Liberal Party (UK) 4,173,450 12.8% 12.8 Liberal Party (UK) Social Democratic Party David Owen 5 5 650 1 yes Social Democratic Party (UK) 3,168,183 9.7% 9.7 Social Democratic Party (UK) Ulster Unionist Party James Molyneaux 9 9 650 1 yes Ulster Unionist Party 276,230 0.8% 0.8 Ulster Unionist Party Scottish National Party Gordon Wilson 3 3 650 1 yes Scottish National Party 416,473 1.3% 1.3 Scottish National Party Social Democratic and Labour Party John Hume 3 3 650 1 yes Social Democratic and Labour Party 154,087 0.5% 0.5 Social Democratic and Labour Party Plaid Cymru Dafydd Elis-Thomas 3 3 650 1 yes Plaid Cymru 123,599 0.4% 0.4 Plaid Cymru Democratic Unionist Party Ian Paisley 3 3 650 1 yes Democratic Unionist Party 85,642 0.3% 0.3 Democratic Unionist Party Sinn Féin Gerry Adams 1 1 650 1 yes Sinn Féin 83,389 0.3% 0.3 Sinn Féin Ulster Popular Unionist Party James Kilfedder 1 1 650 1 yes Ulster Popular Unionist Party 18,420 0.1% 0.1 Ulster Popular Unionist Party Full results centre|500x500px : UK general election 1987 Conservative Party (UK) Margaret Thatcher 633 376speaker 9 30 −21 13,760,583 42.2 57.85 −0.2 yes Labour Party (UK) Neil Kinnock 633 Includes 20 Co-operative Party candidates, as part of the Labour-Co-op alliance 229 Includes 9 Co-operative Party MPs, as part of the Labour-Co-op alliance 26 6 +20 Includes +2 Co-operative Party MPs, as part of the Labour-Co-op alliance 10,029,807 Includes 334,132 for the Co-operative Party, as part of the Labour-Co-op alliance 30.8 Includes 1.0% for the Co-operative Party, as part of the Labour-Co-op alliance 35.23 Includes 1.4% for the Co-operative Party, as part of the Labour-Co-op alliance +3.2 Includes +0.0% for the Co-operative Party, as part of the Labour-Co-op alliance SDP–Liberal Alliance David Owen & David Steel 633 22 5 6 −1 7,341,633 22.6 3.38 −2.8 Scottish National Party Gordon Wilson 72 3 3 2 +1 416,473 1.3 0.46 +0.2 Ulster Unionist Party James Molyneaux 12 9 0 2 −2 276,230 0.8 1.38 0.0 Social Democratic and Labour Party John Hume 13 3 2 0 +2 154,067 0.5 0.46 +0.1 Plaid Cymru Dafydd Elis-Thomas 38 3 1 0 +1 123,599 0.4 0.46 0.0 Green Party (UK) N/A 133 0 0 0 0 89,753 0.3 +0.1 Democratic Unionist Party Ian Paisley 4 3 0 0 0 85,642 0.3 0.46 −0.2 Sinn Féin Gerry Adams 14 1 0 0 0 83,389 0.3 0.15 0.0 Alliance Party of Northern Ireland John Alderdice 16 0 0 0 0 72,671 0.2 0.0 Workers' Party (Ireland) Tomás Mac Giolla 14 0 0 0 0 19,294 0.1 +0.1 Ulster Popular Unionist Party James Kilfedder 1 1 0 0 0 18,420 0.1 0.15 0.0 Real Unionist Robert McCartney 1 0 0 0 0 14,467 0.1 N/A Communist Party of Great Britain Gordon McLennan 19 0 0 0 0 6,078 0.0 0.0 Protestant Unionist George Seawright 1 0 0 0 0 5,671 0.0 N/A Red Front N/A 14 0 0 0 0 3,177 0.0 N/A Orkney and Shetland Movement John Goodlad 1 0 0 0 0 3,095 0.0 N/A Moderate Labour Brian Marshall 2 0 0 0 0 2,269 0.0 N/A Official Monster Raving Loony Party Screaming Lord Sutch 5 0 0 0 0 1,951 0.0 0.0 Workers Revolutionary Party (UK) Sheila Torrance 10 0 0 0 0 1,721 0.0 0.0 Independent Liberal N/A 1 0 0 0 0 686 0.0 0.0 British National Party John Tyndall 2 0 0 0 0 553 0.0 0.0 Spare the Earth N/A 1 0 0 0 0 522 0.0 N/A |- |+ style="caption-side: bottom; font-weight:normal" |All parties gaining over 500 votes listed. |} Government's new majority 102Total votes cast32,529,578Turnout75.3% Votes summary Results of the UK General Election, 1987.svg Seats won in the election (outer ring) against number of votes (inner) 250px left top triangle Popular vote #ddd 600px 550px Conservative Conservative Party (UK) 42.3 Labour Labour Party (UK) 30.8 SDP–Liberal SDP–Liberal Alliance 22.6 Scottish National Scottish National Party 1.3 Ulster Unionist Ulster Unionist Party 0.9 Others #777777 2.2 Seats summary Parliamentary seats #ddd 600px 550px Conservative Conservative Party (UK) 57.9 Labour Labour Party (UK) 35.2 SDP–Liberal SDP–Liberal Alliance 3.4 Ulster Unionist Ulster Unionist Party 1.4 Others #777777 2.2 1987 UK General Election Gallagher Index.png The Gallagher Index of disproportionality of the 1987 election was 17.82, between the Alliance and the Conservatives. 700px left bottom triangle Results by voter characteristics +Ethnic group voting intentionSaggar Shamit https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.15976631 Race and representation: Electoral politics and ethnic pluralism in Britain 2000 Manchester University PressEthnic groupPartyLabourConservativeSDP/LibOtherEthnic minority (non-White)72%18%n/a10%AsianRace And British Electoral Politics https://www.routledge.com/Race-And-British-Electoral-Politics/Saggar/p/book/9781857288308 2025-10-07 Routledge & CRC Press en67%23%10%n/aAfro-Caribbean86%6%7%n/a Incumbents defeated PartyNameConstituencyOffice held whilst in powerYear electedDefeated byParty Conservative Party (UK)Gerry MaloneAberdeen South1983Frank Doran Labour Party (UK)The Rt Hon Peter FraserEast AngusSolicitor General for Scotland1979Andrew Welsh Scottish National Party John MacKayArgyll and ButeUnder-Secretary of State for Scotland1979Ray Michie Liberal Party (UK)Sir Albert McQuarrieBanff and Buchan1979Alex Salmond Scottish National PartyGeoffrey LawlerBradford North1983Pat WallLabour Party (UK) Peter Hubbard-MilesBridgendParliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Wales1983Win GriffithsStefan TerlezkiCardiff West1983Rhodri MorganRobert HarveyClwyd South West1983Martyn JonesJohn CorrieCunninghame NorthFebruary 1974Brian WilsonJohn WhitfieldDewsbury1983Ann TaylorAlexander MacPherson FletcherEdinburgh Central1973Alistair DarlingSteven NorrisOxford East1983Andrew SmithBarry HendersonNorth East Fife1979Menzies Campbell Liberal Party (UK)Richard HickmetGlanford and Scunthorpe1983Elliot MorleyLabour Party (UK)Roy GalleyHalifax1983Alice MahonPeter BruinvelsLeicester East1983Keith VazDerek SpencerLeicester South1983Jim MarshallFred SilvesterManchester WithingtonFebruary 1974Keith BradleyAlexander PollockMorayParliamentary private secretary to the Secretary of State for Defence 1979Margaret Ewing Scottish National PartyPiers MerchantNewcastle upon Tyne Central1983Jim CousinsLabour Party (UK)Mark RobinsonNewport West1983Paul FlynnRichard OttawayNottingham North1983Graham AllenAnna McCurleyRenfrew West and Inverclyde1983Tommy GrahamMichael HirstStrathkelvin and Bearsden1983Sam GalbraithWarren HawksleyThe Wrekin1979Bruce GrocottJohn PowleyNorwich South1983John GarrettThe Rt Hon Michael Ancram, Earl of AncramEdinburgh South1979Nigel GriffithsLabour Party (UK)Alfred DubsBattersea1979John BowisConservative Party (UK)Willie HamiltonCentral Fife (stood in South Hams)1950Anthony SteenNick RaynsfordFulham1986Matthew CarringtonKen WeetchIpswichOctober 1974Michael IrvineOonagh McDonaldThurrockOpposition Spokesman on Treasury and Economic Affairs1976Tim JanmanEric DeakinsWalthamstow1970Hugo SummersonLiberal Party (UK)Sir Clement FreudNorth East Cambridgeshire1973Malcolm MossMichael MeadowcroftLeeds West1983John Battle Labour Party (UK)Elizabeth ShieldsRyedale1986John Greenway Conservative Party (UK)Social Democratic Party (UK) The Rt Hon Roy JenkinsGlasgow HillheadFormer Leader of the Social Democratic Party1982George Galloway Labour Party (UK)Mike HancockPortsmouth South1984David MartinConservative Party (UK)Ian WrigglesworthStockton SouthFebruary 1974Tim Devlin Scottish National PartyGordon WilsonDundee EastLeader of the Scottish National PartyFebruary 1974John McAllion Labour Party (UK) Ulster Unionist Party Brig the Rt Hon Enoch PowellSouth Down1950Eddie McGrady Social Democratic and Labour Party See also List of MPs elected in the 1987 United Kingdom general election 1987 United Kingdom general election in England 1987 United Kingdom general election in Scotland 1987 United Kingdom general election in Wales 1987 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland 1987 United Kingdom local elections Notes References Biographies Campbell John John Campbell (biographer) 2003 Margaret Thatcher: The Iron Lady 2 Pimlico 978-0-7126-6781-4 Tebbit Norman Norman Tebbit 1988 Upwardly Mobile Weidenfeld & Nicolson 978-0-297-79427-1 Thatcher Margaret Margaret Thatcher 1993 The Downing Street Years HarperCollins 978-0-00-255354-4 The Downing Street Years Scholarly sources Butler David E. David Butler (psephologist) Kavanagh Dennis Dennis Kavanagh The British General Election of 1987 1988 , the standard scholarly study. F. W. S. Craig F. W. S. Craig British Electoral Facts: 1832–1987 1989 Dartmouth Gower 0900178302 Craig F. W. S. British General Election Manifestos, 1959–1987 1990 Crewe Ivor Ivor Crewe Harrop Martin Political Communications: The General Election Campaign of 1987 1989 316 Galbraith John W. Rae Nicol C. A Test of the Importance of Tactical Voting: Great Britain, 1987 British Journal of Political Science 1989 19 126–136 1 193792 10.1017/S0007123400005366 154797699 Scott Len Selling or Selling Out Nuclear Disarmament? Labour, the Bomb, and the 1987 General Election International History Review 2012 34 115–137 1 10.1080/07075332.2012.620242 154319694 Stewart Marianne C. Clarke Harold D. The (un)importance of party leaders: Leader images and party choice in the 1987 British election Journal of Politics 1992 54 447–470 2 , 10.2307/2132034 2132034 154890477 says the well-organised, media-wise Labour campaign helped Kinnock, but he was hurt by Conservative momentum and Thatcher's image as a decisive leader. Leadership images proved more important in voters' choices than did party identification, economic concerns, etc. Manifestos The Next Moves Forward, 1987 Conservative Party manifesto Britain will win with Labour, 1987 Labour Party manifesto Britain United: The Time Has Come, 1987 SDP–Liberal Alliance manifesto 1987 General election United Kingdom general election Category:Premiership of Margaret Thatcher Category:Neil Kinnock Category:History of the Conservative Party (UK)