Factors Which Influence Voting Behaviours Flashcards
1
Q
Introduction
A
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2
Q
Class
A
- a factor which affects voting behaviour is social class - social class is defined by one’s social /economic status.
- historically class was the most important factor which influenced voting behaviour due to partisanship : the middle upper class AB would would conservatives and the working class DE voted Labour
- eg in 1961, 44% of voters were “very strong” supporters of one main party , in 1951, 97% of the electorate voted either conservative or Labour.
- this shows how party alignment has continued on through generations creating voting stereotypes , which people adhere to, suggesting that class was the most important factor
- (view also supported by Pj puzzler -Oxford social scientist 1961- “class is the basis of British party politics , all else is embellishment and detail”
- however this view is quite old and outdated , in recent years class has become a less important factor influencing voting behaviour as there is an increased number of voters who do not adhere to stereotypes.
- this can be shown in 2019 general election. 32% of AB and 47% of DE votes conservative.
- this shows people are no longer loyal to one party anymore , and this may be due to the fact that people are starting to look at party policies which may be beneficial to them
- this all shows class may contribute to some voting behaviour , however is not the most significant factor as it doesn’t correlate to voting behaviour now much.
3
Q
Age and education
7 age
3 education
A
- age is a major factor which influences voting behaviour.
- Recent elections show younger people are more likely to vote Labour than conservative :for example in the 2019 Uk general election in the 18-24 age bracket 56% of people voted Labour compared to 21% cons
- young people are often more likely to vote Labour as the Labour party’s policy represent a challenge to authority and their policies include things that benefit younger people (higher rates of spending on education) which draws in younger people
- older voters however are more likely to vote conservatives: in the 2019 election in the 60-69 age bracket 22% of people voted Labour whilst 67% voted cons
- older people tend to vote conservatives as their policies on pensions and tax for example benefit them more
- this all show how age is a more factor in deciding how people vote as it is a factor which affects everyone who votes
- age can also be correlated with other influential factors such as education
- younger people are now more likely to receive higher levels of education due to more available opportunities to them
- yougov analysis shows how the more educate you are the more likely you are to vote for Labour showing 43% votes Labour and 29% cons in general election
4
Q
Media
3 social media
3 print media
3 echo chamber
A
- a factor influencing voting behaviour is media. This js because media is an easy way to influence large groups of people
- for ex twitter is a popular social media site for political discussions which reach large scale audience : there were 7 million tweets to politicians prior the 2015 general election
- this shows how social media can influence voting behaviour as it can reach age groups who may not be as interested in TV debates / newspapers :this allows parties ti share their manifestos to a new demographic and encourage young people to vote a certain way.
- print media is also an effective used to influence voting behaviour
- this can be proven by the fact that the Sun changed their political stance from Labour to Tory in recent years , alongside a change in a Labour to Tory government: this means it has supported the winning party.
- a reason for this may be the suns large readership (4mil a day) the impact of this is that such a large readership can lead to more effective persuasion and lead a large group of people to vote a certain way.
- however , often the media is referred to as “echo chambers” this means that certain platforms already have similar views to their audience
- this means that they in fact do not influence swaying voters to vote a certain way so don’t actually contribute to party success
- despite the medias ability to target large scale audiences , it isn’t as influential as age as it doesn’t target every voter , and there is very limited evidence to show that media directly influences people to vote a certain way.
5
Q
Conclusion
A
- in conclusion it is evident that the most influential factor in deciding voting behaviour during elections is age. This being due to the fact that it is an all including factor that greatly alters the result , there is a clear divide between the older and the younger generations
Eg according to yougov surveys of the 2019 general election, as a citizens age increases by 10 years they are 9% more likely to votes for cons - age is also more influential than social class as it does not create floating voters , as an age groups needs are usually very similar and do not vary much overtime.
- age is also a lot more influential than media because age is a factor that affects everyone who votes. Moreover the influence of some forms of media is limited to voters who use such platforms- this was only 50% of the population in 2015.
5
Q
Conclusion
A
- in conclusion it is evident that the most influential factor in deciding voting behaviour during elections is age. This being due to the fact that it is an all including factor that greatly alters the result , there is a clear divide between the older and the younger generations
Eg according to yougov surveys of the 2019 general election, as a citizens age increases by 10 years they are 9% more likely to votes for cons - age is also more influential than social class as it does not create floating voters , as an age groups needs are usually very similar and do not vary much overtime.
- age is also a lot more influential than media because age is a factor that affects everyone who votes. Moreover the influence of some forms of media is limited to voters who use such platforms- this was only 50% of the population in 2015.
