Influences On Voting Behaviour Flashcards

Question

What is the stereotype linked with social class and its impact on voting behavior?

Answer 1

Up until the late 1960s, possibly as many as 80% of people voted the way their social class indicated. From 1945 until 1970, general elections were defined by the effectiveness with which the Labour and Conservative parties succeeded in mobilizing their core support. The CP generally relied on the support of A, B and C1 voters, with Labour’s core support among C2, D and E voters. In the 1964 general election, Labour’s Harold Wilson won 64% of the votes of DE voters, while the Conservative PM, Alec Douglas-Home, won 78% of the support of the AB voters. A close link between class and party support is often described as voting attachment.

Answer 2

1. The way people voted was part of their class identity ad therefore expressing class solidarity. ( links with voting attachment) 2. Both major parties developed strong and deep roots within communities, so there was a culture of voting for one party or the other. 3. The CP was perceived to govern more in the interests of the MC and the better off, while the LP developed policies to help the WC and the poor. It was therefore rational to choose the party associated with your class.

Answer 3

More better off individuals supported the Liberal democrats (12%) compared to those of class DE (5%) Those in class DE voted for UKIP (17%) more than class AB (8%)

Answer 4

64% of those in class DE were more likely to vote leave which links to the tendency of this social class group to support UKIP. However this voting choice may not be due to class but through issue based voting. . In other words, those in social class groups C2, D and E believed that they have been the most disadvantaged by EU membership, in particular the perceived adverse effect on employment and wages created by free movement of workers within the EU

Answer 5

voting behavior which is motivated by self-interest – where people favor a party that they believe will do best for themselves through its policies.

Answer 6

Partisan dealignment. Through the 1970's due to partisan dealignment people vote now on valence and salience of specific issues rather than class.

Answer 7

two types of voter: those whose class identity is not clear and those who do vote the way their class characteristics indicated that they might. The latter group are known as deviant voters because it is difficult to predict how they will vote. Similarly, floating voters tend to vote unpredictably and are liable to change the way they vote fairly often.

Answer 8

Class DE voting Labor in 1997 was 59% compared t in 2024 is 34%. This is the same for class AB voting for conservatives in 1997 being 59% and in 2024 being 25%.

Answer 9

Reform did better among lower and working class whereas Liberal Democrat's did better with classes of a higher social grade.

Answer 10

· In 1964, as expected, 64% of class DE voted for Labour. · There is still a tendency of up to a third of the old WC to vote Conservative, but the correlation between class and voting remains strong. · ‘Deviant’ Conservative support among the WC was understood to be the result of deference. This is a tendency for some members of this class to defer to or respect those whom they considered to be their superiors – members of the UC and MC who were perceived to be Conservatives. · Some lower MC and some WC voters aspired to be MC and so vote Conservative as evidence of their aspiration. · The correlation between class AB and Conservative voting has always been strong, but this trend is changing - falling from 78% voting Conservative in 1964 to only 40% in 2010, with a small recovery from 2015 and then in 2024 dropping to 25% · More DE voters supported Conservatives over Brexit and immigration.

Answer 11

· A trend known as class dealignment has been important. This is a tendency for progressively fewer people to define themselves in terms of their class or consider themselves a particular class – suggesting that social class has declined in its importance in UK culture and has less of an impact on voting behaviour. · The main parties, including the Liberal Democrats, have tended, especially after the 1980s, to adopt policies which are centrist and consensual and can therefore appeal to a wider class base, largely in the centre of society. This was particularly evident in Starmer’s Labour manifesto in 2024. · There has been a rise in the influence of other factors, notably valence (competence voting). This has tended to replace social class as a key factor in voting behaviour.

Answer 12

The Conservative Party’s support is strongest among older voters (and this trend is increasing), while the Labour and the Liberal Democrat parties have generally won the support of younger voters.

Answer 13

- Older people tend to engage more with policies -Policies that benefit them as a whole. Rationality. Older people benefit from policies that target healthcare whereas younger people benefit from policies that target education and the environment. - Younger voters vote via issue based voting whereas older voters vote through loyalty. - Older voters are more conservative and traditional with their views and beliefs - changing political views

Influences On Voting Behaviour Flashcards

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