Chapter 4 - Social class and social factors (NOT FINAL) Flashcards
What are the 4 classifications of social class?
- AB
- C1
- C2
- DE
What percentage of the population is of the AB social class?
22.2%
What percentage of the population is in the C1 social class?
30.8%
What percentage of the population is in the DE social class?
26%
What sort of jobs do AB class people do?
- Banker
- Doctor
- Company director
What sort of jobs do C1 class people do?
- Teacher
- Social worker
What sort of jobs are in the DE social class?
- Unemployed
- Bar staff
- Labourer
What is a deviant voter?
Someone who does not vote the way their social class would suggest.
How much did class factor into the way someone voted before the 1960s?
Very heavily - DE and C2 were Labour; AB and C1 were Conservatives and all reliably so.
Why did class used to be closely associated with voting trends?
- Class was central to your identity and so you voted for the party of your class.
- Parties had deep roots in communities so there was a culture of voting for a particular party.
- It was rational to vote for the party that would favour your interests whether you were working or upper class.
How many DE class voters voted for Labour in 1964?
64%, as you would expect.
What percentage of AB voters voted for the Conservatives in 1964 compared with 2010?
78% in 1964; just 40% in 2010!
What 3 reasons are there for class-based voting declining?
- Class dealignment
- Centrist policies adopted by all main parties which attracted a wider base
- Other factors such as valence
What is class dealignment?
The tendency of fewer and fewer people considering themselves to be a member of a particular social class, diminishing its impact on voting habits.
What is instrumental voting?
When people vote rationally.
How did class impact the EU referendum?
C2, D and E classes were most likely to vote Leave.
What percentage of both C1 and DE voters voted to leave the EU in 2016?
64% for both.
What impact does gender have on voting?
There is no significant difference between the way men and women vote.
What percentage of 18-24 year olds voted Labour in 2017?
67%
What percentage of 18-24 year olds voted for the Conservatives in 1997?
27%
What percentage of 18-24 year olds voted for the Conservatives in 2017?
18%
What percentage of 18-24 year olds voted Labour in 1997?
49%
What percentage of 65+ voted Conservative in 2017?
59%
What did Winston Churchill say about age and voting?
“If a man is not a socialist by the time he is 20, he has no heart. If he is not a conservative by the time he is 40, he has no brain.”
What does Churchill’s remark about age and voting suggest?
That young voters are more swayed by emotions whereas older voters are more rational.
Which way are younger voters more likely to vote?
For Labour and other left-wing parties.
Why might younger voters be more inclined to left-wing parties?
They are more swayed by emotions and do not have the responsibilities yet of the older voters - the interests that Conservatives seek to protect.
How many black voters voted for Labour in 1997?
70%
How many black voters voted for the Conservatives in 1997?
18%
How do Hindu and Sikh communities tend to vote?
For the Conservative Party.
Why might black voters tend to vote Labour?
They will more likely be in the social classes of C2 and DE, meaning it is class - not race - that causes them to vote Labour.
How does the south of England tend to vote?
Solidly Conservative.
How do the midlands tend to vote?
Dominantly Conservatives.
How does Wales tend to vote?
Labour
How does the North of England tend to vote?
Labour
What can much of the regional factors in voting be traced to?
Economic factors, and national ones in Scotland too.
How do established immigrant groups tend to vote?
Conservative - with middle-class comes Conservative voting.
What is meant by turnout?
The proportion of those eligible to vote who actually do.
What was turnout in 1997?
71%
What was turnout in 2001?
59%
Why might there be low turnout at elections?
If the outcome is unpredictable.
How many voters in the 18-34 age group voted in the 2015 general election?
Just 48%
What are the reasons for low turnout amongst young voters?
- Disillusionment
- Apathy
- Alternative forms of political participation
- More concerned with single-interest causes rather than wider ideologies
- Abstention in protest
What percentage of the 65+ age group turned out to vote in 2015?
78%
What is the trend between age and voter turnout?
The older a person is the more likely they are to vote.
What does the higher turnout of older voters mean for election results?
Since the older a person is means they are more likely to vote Conservative, it means the turnout magnifies this advantage for the Tories.
Why advantage do the Conservatives have amongst social classes when we factor in turnout trends?
Those of the AB class are more likely to turnout and vote than DE - and they will vote Conservative.
What percentage of AB class voted Conservative in 2015?
75%
Why does Labour struggle at general elections?
Their natural voters do not turn out and vote: the young do not vote in as high numbers as the old, and the DE class turns out less than AB.
What reason might explain the low turnout of both young and DE voters?
They may not feel the outcome will make any difference or that they can impact the outcome in the first place - this is the basic reason for voter apathy.
