4.1b Factors Influencing Voting in Elections Flashcards
Define Partisanship
Voters may choose to support a party because they strongly identify with that party.
There has been partisan dealignment in the UK recently where voters have stopped identifying themselves with a particular party and have instead become floating voters who could vote for a number of parties.
Disillusion and apathy explain the loss of party appeal to voters. It means that voters have become disengaged in politics and lack confidence in politicians to be able to solve important issues.
Define Governing competency
Governing competency is how voters perceive the ability of each party to run the country effectively. This can influence voting decisions.
The success of a government’s policy, including economic policy and strong leadership, affects how competent they appear to voters, whilst voters are also influenced by the potential governing competence of opposition parties.
In 1997 John Major’s lack of competency was a factor in Labour winning the election.
Expand Upon Age
Traditionally older people support the Conservatives.
This is thought to be because the Conservatives are most likely to protect the material interests of older people and because older people often vote less for major changes in society.
But researchers are unsure of all of the reasons why older people tend to vote conservative.
In 2017 Labour had 47% more support from voters aged 18-19 than Conservatives.
Young people are less likely to vote than older people.
In 2017 84% of people over 70 voted but only 57% of people aged 18-19 voted.
Expand Upon Region
Geographical region and where people live is an important influence on voting decisions.
Voters in poorer areas of the country, such as the north of England and Wales, are more likely to support Labour.
Voters in wealthier areas such as the south of England, except London, and rural areas more often support the Conservatives.
Expand Upon Ethnicity and Gender
Ethnic minorities are more likely to support Labour because Labour policies are often stronger in promoting a multi-cultural agenda.
In 2017 65% of ethnic minorities supported Labour.
Traditionally women were more likely to support the Conservatives than men because of the Conservatives’ emphasis on the family, which was thought to be an important factor for women when choosing how to vote.
More recently gender has been less significant in influencing voters.
New Labour was supported by many women.
Expand Upon Age: 1979, 1997 and 2010
Age has become a more important factor in determining UK voting behaviour.
In 1979 age was less significant, with a similar level of support for Labour (41%) and the Conservatives (42%) from voters aged 18-24.
In 1997 many more younger people supported the Labour party with 49% of voters aged 18-24 and 25-34 voting for Labour.
In 2010 there was a large difference among older voters, with 44% of voters aged over 65 supporting the Conservatives compared to 31% of voters supporting Labour.
Expand Upon Age in 2017 general election
Age was very important in the 2017 general election, with most young people supporting Labour and most older voters supporting the Conservatives.
Expand Upon Social class: 1979 and 1997
Social class was an important factor in 1979, 1997 and 2010, although has declined in its influence on voting.
In 1979 class was important with the Conservatives winning 59% of the middle-class vote, whilst Labour won the largest share of the unskilled working class vote at 49%.
In 1997 Labour won 50% of the skilled working class vote, and 59% of the unskilled working class vote. In comparison, the Conservatives won 27% of the skilled working class vote and 21% of the unskilled working class vote.
Expand Upon Social class: 2010
In 2010 class played less of a role with the Conservatives winning the most middle-class support, at 39%, and Labour narrowly winning the most support of the unskilled working class.
The Conservatives won more support from the skilled working class, despite this group mainly supporting Labour in previous elections.
Expand Upon Gender: 1979 and 1997
The importance of gender in determining voter decisions has lessened in recent elections.
In 1979, 47% of women supported the Conservatives compared to 35% of women supporting Labour.
In 1997 more women supported Labour, with 44% voting for the party, and more men also supported Labour, with 45% voting for Labour compared to 31% for the Conservatives.
Expand Upon Gender: 2010
In 2010 higher percentages of both men and women supported the Conservative party than any other party.
In 2010 Labour and the Conservatives received similar levels of support across men and women.
This suggests that gender has had less of an impact on voting behaviour in more recent years
