Political Factors That Affect Voting Behaviour

Question 1

Governing competence

Answer 1

Voters tend to reward parties that they perceive as being competent in govt and punish those that they view as incompetant.
E.g 1983 GE, the con under thatcher were re-elected with a landslide victory due to their strong handling of the falklands war and success in dealing with economic issues such as inflation.
In contrast, the 2010 ge, the lab party under Gordon brown was punished by voters due to concerns over their competence in managing the economy and public services.

Question 2

Leadership

Answer 2

The personality and leadership qualities of a party leader.
2015 ge, many voters cited their confidence in Cameron’s leadership as a reason for voting con. In contrast ed miliband’s leadership was seen as a weakness for the lab.

Question 3

Campaign

Answer 3

2017GE, lab campaign= large public meetings and rallies, which helped to energise its supporters. In contrast, may’s campaign was criticised for being too controlled n robotic.

Question 4

Manifestos

Answer 4

Parties often release manifestos outlining their policy proposals at an election. Give voters a clear idea of what the party stands for and the policies they plan to implement if elected e.g lab’s 1983 manifesto [nicknamed the ‘longest suicide note in history’] which promised re nationalisation of key industries and withdrawal from the eu, was seen as too radical by many voters and contributed to the party’s heavy defeat

Question 5

Issue based voting

Answer 5

Vote based on specific policy issue rather than party loyalty. In the 2010 ge, the management of the economy was a key issue with the con party arguing that they had a plan to reduce the deficit and get the economy back on track while lab was criticised for their handling of the financial crisis.

Question 6

Media

Answer 6

Sig impact on how voters perceive political parties and their leaders. 1992 ge, the sun newspaper famously headlined that the lab party leader Neil kinnock was ‘mad’ and ‘dangerous’, which may have contributed to his party’s defeats.similarly, the negative coverage of ed miliband in 2015 media may have contributed to the perception that he was a weak leader