Influences on Voting Behaviour

Question 1

Which 6 social factors affect voting behaviour?

Answer 1

Social class
Ethnicity
Gender
Education
Region
Age

Question 2

Until the 60s what percentage of people voted the way their social class indicated?

Answer 2

80%

Question 3

Which voters did the CP rely on?

Answer 3

A, B, C1

Question 4

Which voters did the LP rely on?

Answer 4

C2, D, E

Question 5

In 1964 how many DE voters did Labour win?

Answer 5

64%
Harold Wilsons party

Question 6

in 1964 how many AB voters di CP win?

Answer 6

78%
Alec Douglas-Home’s party

Question 7

What is voting attachment?

Answer 7

Close link between class and party support

Question 8

How was the way you vote a reflection of your class?

Answer 8

MC/UC voting for CP added to your status
WC and voting for LP expressed class solidarity

Question 9

What did LP/CP develop?

Answer 9

Strong deep roots within communities-culture of voting

Question 10

How was voting selfish?

Answer 10

CP perceived to govern in the interests of MC
LP developed policies to help the WC
Therefore rational to choose party associated with class

Question 11

What % of AB voted leave in 2016 EU referendum?

Answer 11

43

Question 12

What % of C1 voted leave in 2016 EU referendum?

Answer 12

51

Question 13

What % of C2 voted leave in 2016 EU referendum?

Answer 13

64

Question 14

What % of DE voted leave in 2016 EU referendum?

Answer 14

64

Question 15

Which group are most likely to support UKIP?

Answer 15

WC

Question 16

What could UKIP support be an example of?

Answer 16

Instrumental voting as WC may be most disadvantaged by EU membership-the perceived adverse effect on employment and wages created by free movement within the EU.

Question 17

What is instrumental voting?

Answer 17

Where people favour a party that they believe will do best for themselves through its policies.

Question 18

What is salient voting?

Answer 18

Voting on issues such as environment and higher education

Question 19

What is the decline of class-based voting known as?

Answer 19

Partisan dealignment

Question 20

Since 1970s what has voting behaviour been based on?

Answer 20

Govs valence and the salience of specific issues

Question 21

Why did Maggy T start her 1979 election campaign in Labour Cardiff?

Answer 21

clever attempt to disassociate the party from being too MC

Question 22

Why was Maggy Ts campaign successful?

Answer 22

Winter of Discontent-strike action
11% swing to the CP by C2 voters and 9% swing of DE voters
appealed to WC

Question 23

How did BJ get a landslide victory in 2019?

Answer 23

Had DE support as voters felt CP could deliver Brexit and control immigration.
Majority of 80 seats and breakthrough of red wall seats

Question 24

Who are deviant voters?

Answer 24

difficult to predict how they will vote

Question 25

Who are floating voters?

Answer 25

vote unpredictably and are liable to change the way they vote fairly often

Question 26

In the 2024 election who voted Reform?

Answer 26

C2DE with 20%

Question 27

Is the correlation between social class and voting increasing?

Answer 27

No it is decreasing with only 27% of AB voting CP in 2024 when in 1964 it was 78%

Question 28

What is class dealignment?

Answer 28

Fewer people define themself as a social class

Question 29

What sort of policies do parties tend to adopt?

Answer 29

Centrist and consensual to appeal to a wider class base
Evident in Starmer’s 2024 Labour manifesto

Question 30

Evidence supporting class based voting

Answer 30

Expression of their class and culture
Correlation between AB with CP and DE for LP has always been strong-North/South divide
Continued relevance of social class and socio-economic position-have the same issues

Question 31

Evidence against class based voting

Answer 31

Instrumental voting-motivated by self interest which will have a favourable outcome
Partisan dealignment/Class dealignment
Valence has tended to replace social class
Floating voters are unpredictable

Question 32

Who do BME tend to vote for?

Answer 32

Labour