The Liberal Party election slogan of 1979 that didn’t work
Time for another dive into the archives to take a look at how political leaflets, and posters, used to look. This time we travel to the 1979 general election, being held when after a minority Labour government lost a vote of confidence, having previously been in kept in office for a while by the Liberals during the Lib-Lab Pact.
Judging by election results, the stronger economy, more stable politics message worked about as well as stronger economy, fairer society did in 2015.
For more gems from past election leaflets, see my collection How leaflets used to look.
A liberal party should advertise that it is the party of Egalitarian Capitalism.
Where is the public can have a stake in the economy by having equal access to invest in the stock exchanges and the enterprise economy.
Making it much clearer than bland ‘stability and better’ slogans.
Much better than Tories system of monopolised capitalism
OR Labour’s monopoly state ‘socialism’ capitalism.
Egalitarian .use a more simple or few words that can be understood by the voters and mix it with, if fairer votes were available people could have a share in the stock mkt etc.After all.that is a fairer society when the ordinary person can have a say in improving his lot..
SAVE OUR NHS
VOTE LIB DEMS
1979 was the year that I stood for the council for the first time. I stood in an all-up three seat ward, and three parties each put up three candidates. I was the last alphabetically in my party team, so I came ninth. That, supposedly, was ‘democracy’.
‘Nobody knows what you stand for’, despite multiple leaflet drops speaking of Education NHS and public transport being our priorities, and here we are in 2023 with the same issues still in desperate need of attention.
In the intervening years, election after election of the other two parties claiming to have the answer, things have gone from bad to worse. All the while telling us that we live in a democracy and we have freedoms.
One thing is quite clear, we need reform, because the present set-up doesn’t give us either.
Immediately after the coming election we need voting reform and a declaration that there will be an election, of councils and parliament, under the new voting system in 2025, with votes at 16 and ‘none of the above’ on the ballot paper.
In the interim, progress can be made on reform of the Lords, devolution of centralised powers to Regions and Councils, and bringing Parliament into the present day.
At least in 1979 we only had 2 net loses, with 11 MPs down from 13. Much due to Labour voters backing our sitting MPs as a result of the Lib-Lab pact.
2015 was a rather different matter.
The 1979 result was remarkably good in held seats under the circumstances. Just revisit the terrible 1977 results to compare. The parliamentary party discharged itself admirably . Sadly in winnables we did badly.