What were the decisive factors determining the outcome of the 2001 general election (UK)?

There were many factors contributing to the outcome of the 2001 general election, some more important than others. The decisive factors include media influence, dealignment, tactical voting, the leadership of parties, the performance of the government, the party's campaign and issue/judgmental voting. The media is an important factor in elections as it has influence over the voting public. It has become particularly more influential as traditional support for certain parties has weakened and people are …

…fact many people are not politically educated and are therefor easily persuaded to vote for a certain party. People are also more easily persuaded as traditional voting behaviour is weakening and people are not voting with regards to class, age of region as much and are open to suggestions of which party to vote for. The majority of the media supporting Labour had an obvious effect on voting behaviour and was crucial to Labours victory.