Introduction and Basics Flashcards
pulzer quote
“Class is the basis of British party politics; all
else is embellishment and detail”
factors affecting voting behaviour
Social Background factors
Other Factors
social background factors
People with particular social characteristics tend to vote for particular parties (on average, not always!)
Social class
(and
wealth)
Gender
Age
Ethnicity
Region
what has happened to class boundaries
Since the 1980s class boundaries
became more blurred and less
divisive.
age
Very significant difference: Conservatives win ‘grey vote’,
Labour much more popular amongst young.
62% of 18-24 year olds voted labour in 2019
Three points related to age:
Some argue that age has now overtaken class as main division
between voters – division between young and old (e.g. around
Brexit).
What would be the explanation? Why do young people vote
more Labour and old more Conservative?
Older people tend to be more traditional, ‘stuck in their ways’,
reluctant to change.
Older people have more savings, home ownership and pay more
taxes if working 🡪 interested in low taxes, stability. Younger
people use more government services (education, job creation,
housing subsidies).
There is an important link with turnout: more old people
vote. That means even though both parties have age groups
that support them, Conservatives still win!
ethnicity
Again, this has been a stable pattern for a long
time. In 1997 70% of ethnic minorities voted
Labour. Why?
Conservative anti-immigration policies in the past (and
present). Also, there is overlap with social class - ethnic minority voters
are more often less wealthy, more working class
region
‘North-South divide’. Mostly a wealth (class) divide.
The South is wealthier. The North is less wealthy with more
previous industrial cities and mining areas in decline.
What happened in 2019 in the North?
redwall broke - brexit and labour party divisions
