Election night memories
Published on 7 May 15
Today sees one of the closest General Elections in history. By 10pm, the votes will be in and the counting will begin. As many of you will gear up for an all-nighter in the SU bar, we asked our alumni for election night memories from their student years.
"I was a student at Manchester during the two 1974 elections and the Euro referendum in 1975. Don't recall much 'excitement' as such - everyone was political anyway, with lots of groups like the Trotsky-ists and others. I just remember Winston Churchill Jnr knocking on our door in Old Trafford. He was the Conservative candidate and got short shrift from the seven students in our house!"
Freda, Class of 1977, BA Philosophy
"Excitement in 1959? I'm not sure. But everyone was interested, and the sort of bored cynicism that's prevalent today wasn't around then. People generally accepted it was their responsibility to vote, if they could, even if an individual vote was unlikely to make a difference. Many students, including me, could not vote as the qualification age then was 21. I don't recall where I was when results were announced. You generally listened to the them on the radio - BBC Home Service, the predecessor of Radio 4, which had detailed coverage. Most people didn't have access to a television, and I don't recall if the Students' Union did at that time.
Anthony Williams, Class of 1966, BA History
"It was 1974 and in our house in Rusholme there was murder because one inmate was a Tory; we drank all night and then ate far too much curry."
Elaine Mulroy, Class of 1977, MA
"I had just started in Manchester in 1964 and the election was in early October. The contesting leaders were Harold Wilson and Sir Alec Douglas-Home. I went to hear both speak live in Manchester. When Harold Wilson spoke at the Albert Hall he talked about the housing shortage. One of the Manchester University conservative students shouted "What about your house in Jersey?" Wilson replied "If you can prove I have a house in Jersey I will give to you." (Wilson's holiday house was in the Scillies Isles). There was a strong desire amongst young people for a change after 13 years on Tory rule. On election day I went to Bury to knock on doors to get voters out. The result was unclear on the night and turned out to be a majority of three."
George Wolfe, Class of 1967, LLB Law
"I was a student in Manchester during two historic elections in February and October 1974. Like today the outcome was too close to predict in advance with the main parties, Labour and Tories, neck and neck. The first election was fought during a state of emergency in the country with a three-day working week and acute energy shortages due to a miners' strike and oil scarcity due to a war in the Middle East. There was much excitement on campus. Student politics then was very active and left wing. At one meeting I found myself sat in the audience next to Gerald Kaufman, a local Labour MP. Incredibly, 41 years later, he is still a local Labour MP standing for re-election."
David Uren, Class of 1975, BSc Liberal Studies in Science
"I voted as a student when Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979. Little did we know! I was also a student during the Winter of Discontent (1978/9) when the snow went over the tops of my wellies in Albert Square. The buses were on strike, people were asked to give lifts to nurses, even grave-diggers were on strike. And the weather was the coldest since 1963. I think a lot of us were euphoric that a woman was going to be Prime Minister. Mrs T looked euphoric on TV too. I stayed up but not on campus, in a flat in Longsight. I graduated that year so my world changed anyway, but there was a sense the world was changing fast. We were the original Punk generation, angry at the cuts and unemployment."
Liz Read