Influences on Voting Behaviour Flashcards
Which 6 social factors affect voting behaviour?
Social class
Ethnicity
Gender
Education
Region
Age
Until the 60s what percentage of people voted the way their social class indicated?
80%
Which voters did the CP rely on?
A, B, C1
Which voters did the LP rely on?
C2, D, E
In 1964 how many DE voters did Labour win?
64%
Harold Wilsons party
in 1964 how many AB voters di CP win?
78%
Alec Douglas-Home’s party
What is voting attachment?
Close link between class and party support
How was the way you vote a reflection of your class?
MC/UC voting for CP added to your status
WC and voting for LP expressed class solidarity
What did LP/CP develop?
Strong deep roots within communities-culture of voting
How was voting selfish?
CP perceived to govern in the interests of MC
LP developed policies to help the WC
Therefore rational to choose party associated with class
What % of AB voted leave in 2016 EU referendum?
43
What % of C1 voted leave in 2016 EU referendum?
51
What % of C2 voted leave in 2016 EU referendum?
64
What % of DE voted leave in 2016 EU referendum?
64
Which group are most likely to support UKIP?
WC
What could UKIP support be an example of?
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.
What is instrumental voting?
Where people favour a party that they believe will do best for themselves through its policies.
What is salient voting?
Voting on issues such as environment and higher education
What is the decline of class-based voting known as?
Partisan dealignment
Since 1970s what has voting behaviour been based on?
Govs valence and the salience of specific issues
Why did Maggy T start her 1979 election campaign in Labour Cardiff?
clever attempt to disassociate the party from being too MC
Why was Maggy Ts campaign successful?
Winter of Discontent-strike action
11% swing to the CP by C2 voters and 9% swing of DE voters
appealed to WC
How did BJ get a landslide victory in 2019?
Had DE support as voters felt CP could deliver Brexit and control immigration.
Majority of 80 seats and breakthrough of red wall seats
Who are deviant voters?
difficult to predict how they will vote
Who are floating voters?
vote unpredictably and are liable to change the way they vote fairly often
In the 2024 election who voted Reform?
C2DE with 20%
Is the correlation between social class and voting increasing?
No it is decreasing with only 27% of AB voting CP in 2024 when in 1964 it was 78%
What is class dealignment?
Fewer people define themself as a social class
What sort of policies do parties tend to adopt?
Centrist and consensual to appeal to a wider class base
Evident in Starmer’s 2024 Labour manifesto
Evidence supporting class based voting
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