Social Class Flashcards
what is class voting?
class voting means that people vote in line with the party that best protects and serves the interests of their particular class
essentially, class determines how a person votes
however, whether or not social class is still the main determinant of voting behaviour in UK general elections is widely debated
arguments to suggest that social class is the main determinant of voting behaviour in the UK
in the 1979 election class seemed to be a strong factor affecting voting behaviour
there were hints that class was still highly important in both the 2010 and 2017 general elections
arguments to suggest that social class is NOT the main determinant of voting behaviour in the UK
other factors….
- such as the newspaper press in 1979
- age and governing competency in 2010
- education in 2017
(arguably more important, suggesting that social class has not been the main determinant)
conclusion
therefore, it seems to be clear that while social class is still relatively important, it is no longer the main determinant of voting behaviour in the UK
social class was a major factor in the 1979 election: how have classes traditionally voted?
the 1979 general election can be used to suggest that social class has in fact been the main determinant of voting behaviour in UK general elections
throughout the 20th and 21st century, the class groups A, B and C1 have traditionally voted Conservative, while the groups C2, D and E have traditionally voted Labour, which shows a clear class divide in terms of how people vote
for example, in 1964-66, 64% of working-class or manual voters (C2, D and E) voted Labour while 62% of middle-class or non-manual workers (A, B and C1) voted Conservative
overall, in 1966, 66% of voters could be classified as class voters in that they supported their ‘natural party’
social class was a major factor in the 1979 election: how did this trend continue in 1979?
59% of A, B and C1 voters voted Conservative but only 24% voted Labour
49% of C2, D and E voters voted Labour while only 34% voted Conservative
voters were clearly influenced by their social class background
working-class people have the tendency to vote for Labour because it has been closely linked to the trade union movement and looked after the interests of those who owned a living from manual labour
the middle classes, usually business, white-collar workers and property owners, voted for Conservative
social class was a major factor in the 1979 election: Peter Pulzer quote
“class is the basis of British party politics; all else is embellishment and detail”
social class was NOT a major factor in the 1979 election: no clear cut divide between classes
even in 1979 there were hints that social class was not the most important determinant of voting behaviour
firstly, there was never a clear-cut social divide between Labour and Conservative in terms of class
Labour also had support from some of the middle class, especially those who worked in the state sector such as teachers as well as university intellectuals
meanwhile, Conservatives also appealed to patriotic working-class voters who valued established institutions such as the monarchy, indicating that social class has not been the most important factor for many voters
social class was NOT a major factor in the 1979 election: the media was more important
the influence of the media was a much more important factor determining voting behaviour in 1979 than social class was
for instance, The Sun’s negative campaigning against James Callaghan and clear support for the Conservatives can be said to have influenced voters
the headline “Crisis, what crisis?” suggested that Callaghan was out of touch with ordinary voters, thus turning voters against him in a time when they needed a leader who recognised the problems facing the country
this concern transcended class boundaries and seemed to turn all voters towards the Conservatives
social class was a major factor in 2010: class voting statistics
in the 2010 general election it was clear that it is still typical of the higher classes to vote Conservative and the lower classes to vote Labour
for instance, 39% of A, B and C1 voters voted Conservative, while only 27% voted Labour
in terms of C2, D and E voters, 40% voted Labour and 31% voted Conservative
this demonstrates that the upper classes are still more likely to vote Conservative and vice versa
social class was a major factor in 2010: ethnicity
in the same year, 60% of BME groups voted Labour but only 16% voted Conservative
which many argue is linked to class because BME voters tend to be employed in lower wage jobs
this suggests that class is still important and has manifested itself in other social demographic factors such as ethnicity
social class was NOT a major factor in 2010: why has class dealignment occurred?
the 2010 election also made it clear that class dealignment has occurred, pointing to the idea that class is no longer the most important factor affecting voting behaviour
class dealignment is when people are less likely to vote based on their class, meaning that the working class will not necessarily vote Labour and the middle and upper classes will not necessarily side with the Conservatives
this is because individuals no longer identify themselves as belonging to a certain class as the differences that separated classes have shrunk and become less visible, so they do not vote for the party that they are expected to given their background
class has certainly begun to lose its importance
in fact, the 2010 general election witnessed the weakest ever link between class and voting, with only 38% of electors being ‘class voters’
social class was NOT a major factor in 2010: governing competency and age were more important
arguably, age was a much more important factor than class, with young people of all classes being more likely to side with Labour and older people (65+) being more likely to support Conservative
governing competency may have also had more of an impact than class
many blamed Labour for the 2008 financial crisis due to their mismanagement of the economy, reckless overspending and failure to regulate the banking system
this seemed to swing public opinion towards the Conservatives and was far more important than class in determining how people voted
social class was a major factor in 2017: the link between region and class
much like in 2010, certain classes were still more likely to vote for their ‘natural’ party in 2017, perhaps indicating that class is still a highly important factor in determining voting behaviour
in particular, there was a strong regional bias in voting patterns, which was linked to class differences
for example, 53% of voters in North England voted Labour, possibly because these are industrial and urban areas and tend to be poorer areas of the country, thus consisting of many working class people
following this trend, 54% of voters in South England voted Conservative in 2017, possibly because this region contains the most prosperous areas with the highest levels of employment and home ownership, thus being made up of many middle and upper class people
this seems to demonstrate that people still vote based on class, but this has expressed itself in regional voting patterns in recent years
social class was NOT a major factor in 2017: education was more important
in 2017, the influence of class on voting behaviour yet again declined, with education being the main determinant of how people voted
class did not actually appear to be a major dividing line, with 44% of C2, D and E voters supporting Conservative and 42% supporting Labour – similar results were found in the A, B and C1 class categories, with a roughly equal amount of people supporting Labour and Conservative
so, instead of class being a major factor, education was
55% of those with GCSEs or below voted Conservative and 49% with a degree or above voted Labour
this severely undermines the arguments suggesting that class was important in 2017
