The impact of ethnicity on voting behaviour

Question 1

What does BAME mean?

Answer 1

Short for black, asian and minority ethnic

Question 2

Why is the use of the term BAME commonly criticised?

Answer 2

Because it lumps all people of an ethnic minority backgroung together and therefore disregards their differences?

Question 3

What do many minority ethnic groups prefer to be called now?

Answer 3

People of colour

Question 4

What do all the major parties officially oppose?

Answer 4

Discrimination against BAME

Question 5

What have the conservatives traditionally opposed?

Answer 5

Immigration

Question 6

What have Labour been responsible for passing the most of in the past?

Answer 6

Major anti-discrimination legislation

Question 7

Why do BAME voters tend to prefer the Labour party by large margins?

Answer 7

Because claims are often made that UKIP, the Brexit party and the conservatives are racially intolerant, as can be seen by the windrush scandal of 2019

Question 8

Describe how BAME voters voted in 2019

Answer 8

• 64% Labour
• 20% Conservative
• 12% Lib Dem

Question 9

How does think tank British future claim that attitudes towards parties from BAME voters are changing?

Answer 9

The bias against the conservatives against some groups may be waning

Question 10

Who are British future?

Answer 10

A think tank that studies attitudes towards migration and ethnicity

Question 11

Give the economic explanation for why BAME voters tend to support Labour

Answer 11

Many of the BAME immigrants who came to England were employed in industrial roles. This made them natural allies of the Labour movement and encouraged the Labour party to adopt policies that would protect their interests

Question 12

How can the fact that many BAME voters live in cities explain their tendency to prefer Labour to the conservatives?

Answer 12

Becuase cities tend to be more socially liberal

Question 13

Why might the reputation of the conservative party in the 1960s and 70s deterred conservative voters?

Answer 13

• They had a reputation for being anti-immigration
• Enoch Powell’s ‘rivers of blood’ speech
• Support for traditional, white-centred nationalism

Question 14

What was said in the ‘rivers of blood’ speech?

Answer 14

Mass immigration, especially commonwealth immigration, was harshly criticised

Question 15

Why are BAME voters more likely to be left leaning on the basis of class?

Answer 15

Because the proportion of BAME citizens in the C2 and DE classes are greater than that of white people

Question 16

What is the likely explanation for the recent increase in conservative support amongst BAME voters?

Answer 16

Greater social mobility has allowed more BAME citizens to become members of the C1 and AB social classes

Question 17

How does ethnicity impact turnout?

Answer 17

BAME voters are much less likely than white voters to turnout

Question 18

Why are the concerns of BAME groups often overlooked at general elections?

Answer 18

• A relatively low proportion of BAME citizens turnout to vote
• They a concentrated in urban constituencies, which are traditionally Labour strongholds anyway