Margaret Thatcherís first administration got off to a fairly shaky start. Her attempt to take the economy by the scruff of the neck and wage a crusade against inflation saw massive unemployment.
With more than three million on the dole the governmentís popularity plummeted.
If such voter anger was to continue the Conservatives looked like they would be continuing the by now familiar merry go round of Tory governments followed by Labour.
But luckily for the Conservatives Labour had troubles of its own - in spades. The adoption of the principled and high-minded Michael Foot as leader saw the party shift dramatically to the left in opposition.
Leading members of Labourís pro-European wing felt the party no longer had any place for them and in 1981 more than 20 MPs left Labour as Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams, David Owen and Bill Rodgers set up the Social Democratic Party.
The SDP quickly got into bed with the Liberals, forming the Alliance. The extent to which the new party captured the public imagination was shown when some polls placed them ahead of not just the Tories but Labour as well.
But their support was to wane with the onset of the Falklands War in 1982.
Thatcherís success in re-taking the Falkland Islands after an invasion by Argentina was a very risky venture, but for the loss of 255 servicemen the islands were re-taken.
This bold, decisive move seemed to have been in step with the times, and the Tories now had a grip on power that would remain unshakeable for years.