UK: Media and Voting behaviour

Question 1

Evidence age affects voting behaviour

Answer 1

1. 2019, 56% 18-24 vote labour, 67% 70+ conservative; For every ten years you are 9% more likely to vote Tory
2. older voters are more numerous and less-likely to care about welfare therefore left is disadvantaged
3. Young people are less likely to vote and have different values- 2017 was highest youth turnout, swung predominantly Labour (however, there was still a hung Parliament)

Question 2

Evidence race affects voting behaviour

Answer 2

1. 2017 65% ethnic minorities vote Labour
2. 2017 Conservative gains were all in constituencies with low minority populations
3. While Black and Muslim voters prefer Labour- other ethnicities are far more mixed (conservatives like immigration not good for POC)

HOWEVER!!! in 2011 only roughly 13% population was non-white, it is not likely they could swing an election

Question 3

Evidence gender affects voting behaviour

Answer 3

1. 1979 women lean slightly more to conservatives than men most likely due to Thatcher’s campaign
2. Women are more likely to be undecided, make up 51% population, since 2003 they have consistently voted more Labour than men
3. In 2017 Parliament was hung, women broke evenly between the two parties while 6% men swung conservative (Conservative minority gov.)

Question 4

Evidence class affects voting behaviour

Answer 4

1. Between 1945 and 1970, 66% of the middle class voted Conservative and 62% of the working class voted Labour
2. UKIP has taken many working class voters away from Labour – this is particularly true in the North of England. UKIP gained over 100 second places and, due to the prominence of issues like immigration
3. Working class voters in Scotland have moved to the SNP – mainly caused by the equating of nationalism with socialism during the referendum campaign and then the 2015 election campaign

Question 5

Evidence class does not affect voting behaviour

Answer 5

1. as standards of living and home ownership improves many of C2 see themselves as “middle class” rather than working class
2. Few workers are employed in heavy industry (coal, steel, shipbuilding) with harsh working conditions and a strong trade union tradition
3. definition of class has become muddled in recent years, as education standards improve, and social mobility becomes easier

Question 6

Arguments that party leaders are the most important when deciding elections

Answer 6

1. Strong leadership inspires support from voters
2. Good performance keeps members loyal and inspires activists
3. Leaders can maintain party discipline and unity

E.G: Corbyn lost the 2017 election, 75% articles about him were negative and his party was so divided there were reports of a smear campaign within the party (weak leadership)

Question 7

Arguments party leaders are not the most important thing when deciding elections

Answer 7

1. People vote for their local MP not PM
2. Recent elections have cared far more about topics, such as the Iraq war 2003 and 2016 Brexit referendum
3. Core supporters and members will stick with the party despite the leadership, as it is temporary

Question 8

Arguments the press decides elections

Answer 8

1. 1992 “its the sun wot won it” switch from Tory to Labour support
2. 2019 Facebook Ad library shows conservatives had 2500 live paid-for adverts while Labour only had 250 (however, LibDems had 3000)
3. Between 1992 and 97 press investigated scandals involving conservative MPs (such as “cash for questions” and numerous affairs) leads to conservative party being associated with ‘sleaze’

Question 9

Arguments press does not decide elections

Answer 9

1. 2012 Richard Murdoch admits newspapers do not swing voters, rather they seek to reflect their pre-existing views
2. 2017 Labour receives 40% votes despite only The Mirror supporting it
3. 2019 many conservative newspapers published findings of anti-semitism in the Labour party as a way to smear Corbyn, these facts were still correct and a failing on the part of the Labour party)

Question 10

Were the 1979 election and 1997 election were decided by the media, campaign or leadership?

Answer 10

1979: -Thatcher’s “Iron Lady” and “Our Maggie” media personas appealed to both right-wing voters and housewives (however she is said to have come off as condescending and disconnected in interviews)
- “Labour isn’t working” campaign image
- “Crisis? What crisis?” Callaghan The Sun; however this didn’t affect his opinion polls
- Labour was not incompetent, halving 26% inflation from ‘78. Winter of discontent and the “need for change” arguably affected results more than Thatcher or the press

1997: investigations by press into MPs affairs and scandals gave it a reputation of ‘sleaze’, Blair was also seen as young and “cool” with a good relationship with the press
However, Labour was set to win anyway- as the conservative party was split and failed to respond to the housing slump in the early nineties + Black Wednesday took pound out of Eurozone
“New Labour” appealed to undecided voters as it dispelled many of their prejudices
93-97 conservatives never won a poll against Labour
1992 John Major won more votes than any party before or since