4.1 - Social Factors Flashcards
What is a common misconception about voter bases?
- All the working class vote Labour.
- All the middle and upper class vote Conservative.
How were elections decided from 1945 to 1970?
The effectiveness at which Conservatives or Labour mobilised their core supporters.
What are the main social compositions?
A = Upper Middle Class
B = Middle Class
C1 = Lower Middle Class
C2 = Aspiration Working Class
D = Working Class (semi-skilled, unskilled factory workers)
E = Working Class (casual workers, long-term unemployed)
What voters did the Conservatives generally rely on?
- A
- B
- C1
What voters did Labour generally rely on?
- C2
- D
- E
How did the DE vote of 1964 look?
Harold Wilson took 64% of DE voters.
How did the AB vote of 1964 look?
Alec Douglas-Home took 78% of AB voters.
What did the 1970 General Election prove contrary to popular belief?
- Issue voting was just as (if not more) important than class-based voting.
- Edward Heath had a surprise win over Harold Wilson.
Why did many traditional Labour voters change to the Conservatives in the 1970 GE?
Following Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech, many white working class thought that immigration would be more tightly controlled by the Conservatives.
What is the decline of class-based voting known as?
Partisan dealignment.
What is partisan dealignment?
The decline of class-based voting.
When did partisan dealignment become more prevalent?
Since 1970.
Why was there a rise of partisan dealignment in the 1970’s?
Voting choices have been made on governing competence, salience of core issues (issue voting) and economic self-interest.
Why was there really heavy partisan dealignment in the 1979 GE?
The Winter of Discontent.
What is class dealignment?
Voters are much less likely to vote according to their membership of a particular class.
How did Margaret Thatcher deal with Cardiff in the 1979 GE?
A Conservative campaign was launched in Cardiff to disassociate the party from being too middle class.
What did Margaret Thatcher do in her campaign in Cardiff?
- Controlling inflation
- Confronting trade union power.
What did Margaret Thatcher’s Cardiff campaign do in terms of voter bases?
- 11% swing from C2 voters.
- 9% swing from DE voters.
Who used Thatcher’s class dealignment tactic to win a GE?
Tony Blair.
What did Blair’s class dealignment lead to in terms of voter bases?
- Increasing Labour’s share of the vote in all social categories.
- Winning a majority of support within all age groups.
What did the 2017 GE show contrasting in terms of voter bases?
- May made huge gains in DE voters.
- Corbyn made gains in AB voters.
Why did Corbyn make gains in AB voters?
Pro-Europeans wanting to punish the Conservatives for Brexit.
Why did May make gains in DE voters?
Pro-Brexiteers thought that the Conservatives would deliver a stronger Brexit.
What is the most prosperous region of the UK?
South-East
What party does well in the South-East?
Conservatives.