factors influencing voting behaviour Flashcards
what are the factors?
social class
Age
Media
What are the 2 social classes and how are they defined
ABC1 - traditionally backed conservatives and wealthier.
C2DE - traditionally backed labour and are lower class
In the 2014 Scottish referendum what were C2DE voters more likely to vote ?
They were more likely to vote “yes”
of those with low incomes 46% of them voted yes compared with 27% of those on higher incomes.
What do C2DE voters believe
They believe they have less to lose and they do not fear radical economic change.
2016 EU referendum
Poorer voters were more likely to vote “leave”.
56% of C2DE’s voted leave compared with 41% of ABC1’s
What is changing in terms of class alignment ?
Many C2DE’s are voting for conservatives now and backing their policies. Also, some ABC1’s have switched to Labour
What are the statistics in terms of class dealignment nowadays?
It disappeared in 2019 when 33% of both ABC1’s and C2DE’s voted for labour.
48% of C2DE’s voted for labour compared with 43% of ABC1’s.
Who are older voters more likely to vote for?
Conservatives
What policies do older people vote for ?
they are more likely to vote “no” for Scottish independence and vote “yes” to leave the EU.
What are the statistics for the 2019 general elections
18-24 = 56% voted labour
over 70’s = 67% voted conservatives.
what were the EU referendum results in terms of age
71% of under 25’s voted remain compared with 36% of over 64’s
what are older people more concerned about?
immigration
why do people become more individualist as they get older?
because people who voted in 1980 for Margaret Thatcher may have more individualist ideas.
How can newspapers influence someones voting?
In the past, they were highly influential in elections.
Party leaders would attempt to win over editors because they thought it would lead to more views.
Do newspapers follow voters?
Yes, in 2015 the UK edition of the Sun backed the conservatives and the Scottish version backed the SNP.
