Party Identification, Voting Preference and Electoral Outcomes in Britain, 1964–74

The sharp drop in the Conservative and Labour parties' combined share of the poll in the two 1974 parliamentary elections is perhaps the most important development in British electoral politics since the rise of the class alignment of partisanship. From an average of 91·8 per cent between 1950 and 1970, the share of the vote won by these two parties dropped sharply to an average of 75·3 per cent in 1974, a figure substantially below their previous low point of 87·5 per cent in 1964. The Liberal party's share of the vote increased almost threefold over the same two periods, jumping from an average of 6·8 per cent between 1950 and 1970 to an average of 18·8 per cent in 1974.