ABSTRACT
The central question that we address in this brief conclusion is how the various theoretical approaches discussed in Chapters 1 and 2 make sense of the events and the patterns of causation described in Chapters 3 to 8. We assume that all serious theoretical approaches must attempt to explain the core events and influences that are documented there, although naturally there is some room for dispute about what must be considered as central. For example, any account of the 1983 election must make some adjustment for Michael Foot's depressing Labour's performance below its baseline level. However, it is obviously difficult to arrive at a non-contentious estimate of what that baseline might be.
