Unit 1: Voting Behaviour

Question 1

What are the three competing theories of voting behaviour?

Answer 1

• the sociological model - based on group membership - voting reflects economic and social position of the group. emphasis on long-term factors
• party identification model - voting an expression of emotional attachment to a party. partisanship
• the issue-voting model - voters are like consumers, voting is policy based and based on short-term factors

Question 2

What are core voters?

Answer 2

-voters who continually support one party and have a strong allegiance

Question 3

What are floating/swing voters?

Answer 3

-voters with few/no long-term party loyalties, who vote for different parties in different elections

Question 4

What is a class voter?

Answer 4

-either a middle-class Conservative voter or a working-class Labour voter?

Question 5

What did Peter Pulzer say in 1967 about social class and voting?

Answer 5

-‘class is the basis of British party politics; all else is embellishment and detail’

Question 6

In 1966 what percentage of voters were classified as class voters?

Answer 6

-66%

Question 7

In 1979 what percentage of voters were classified as class voters?

Answer 7

-51%

Question 8

In 1987 what percentage of voters were classified as class voters?

Answer 8

-44%

Question 9

In 2010 what percentage of voters were classified as class voters?

Answer 9

-38%

Question 10

What are the long-term factors in voting? [6]

Answer 10

• social class
• party loyalty
• gender
• age
• religion and ethnicity
• region

Question 11

In 1964-66 what percentage of voters claimed to identify with a party, and what percentage ‘strongly identified’ with a party

Answer 11

• 90%

- 44%

Question 12

In 2005 what percetnage of voters ‘strongly identified’ with a party?

Answer 12

-10%

Question 13

What has the main gender bias in voting behaviour traditionally been, although it has signficantly declined in recent years?

Answer 13

-female voters - Conservative

Question 14

What is a political generation?

Answer 14

-the (alleged) tendancy for a generation of voters to remain loyal to the party that was dominant when they were young i.e. over 65’s - Conservative

Question 15

In 2005, which party lead amongst Church of England voters and by how much?

Answer 15

• Conservative

- 9%

Question 16

Which religious and ethnic groups tend to support Labour?

Answer 16

-Protestant non-conformists, especially Methodists and some Catholics
-Black and ethnic minority
-

Question 17

In 2001 what was Labour’s lead amongst black and Asian voters?

Answer 17

• 67%

- 58%

Question 18

In 2005 and 2010 where and why did some Muslim Asian votes go?

Answer 18

• Labour —-> Lib Dem

- the Iraq War

Question 19

Define class dealignment

Answer 19

-the weakening of the relationship between social class and party support

Question 20

What are four possible explanations for class dealignment (detail)?

Answer 20

• the changing class system. smaller manual work force, traditional working class —> new working class
• cross-class locations. social class less clear-cut through e.g. decline in trade union membership, rise in home ownership
• embourgoisement. growing affluence - some working class voters thinking of themselves as middle-class. affluent workers less solidaristic, more concerned about self/material interest
• secotral cleavages. public/private sectors affects vote, cuts across class differences

Question 21

What was the size (percentage) of the manual work force in 1961 and in 2010?

Answer 21

• 58%

- 29%

Question 22

What is the traditional working class? [3]

Answer 22

• manual workers who tend to work in the ‘heavy’ industries e.g. coal, steel, shipbuilding.
• have high levels of union membeship
• dependent on public services, including council housing

Question 23

What is the new working class? [3]

Answer 23

• work in service industries
• less unionized
• often home oweners

Question 24

Where is Liberal Democrat support strongest?

Answer 24

-the Celtic fringe

Question 25

What is partisan dealignment and what has it lead to in elections?

Answer 25

• the decline in alignment of identification with a party by voters, and the growing number of swing voters
• has lead to increased uncertainty about electoral outcomes

Question 26

What are four possible explanations for partisan dealignment (detail)?

Answer 26

• increased education. voters encouraged to question traditional loyalties, and take policies and issues more seriously
• impact of the media. access to a wider source of information - TV and internet. Less dependent on party supporting newspapers
• ideological change. shift since the 80s - often in response to class dealignment - some traditional supporters alienated, especially with New Labour?
• decline in social capital. social attachments/loyalties weakened by more diverse, fluid and consumer-oriented society

Question 27

What are the short-term factors in voting? [6]

Answer 27

• policies
• performance
• leaders
• party image
• campaigning
• tactical voting

Question 28

What qualities do leaders have to display in order to be successful in an election? [3]

Answer 28

• accessibility - likeability
• trustworthiness (or appearance of trustworthiness)
• strength - competence, confidence and assertiveness

Question 29

What is an example of the ‘wrong’ policies at an election?

Answer 29

• 1983 Labour - ‘the longest suicide note in history’

- promised to extend nationalisation, increase taxation, boost public spending

Question 30

What was Labour’s image problem in the 80s, and to a lesser extent still is?

Answer 30

-being too closely linked to/influenced by the trade unions

Question 31

What was the Conservative’s image problem in the 90s, and to a lesser extent still is?

Answer 31

-the ‘nasty party’ - associated with a ‘get rich quick’ ethos and dismissive of the poor, minority groups and women

Question 32

How did Cameron try do detoxify the Conservative’s image after he became leader in 2005?

Answer 32

• emphasis on green policies
• more inclusive appeal (aiming at young, women and ethnic minority voters)
• more concern about the poor and public services

Question 33

How much was spent by parties on the 2005 election?

Answer 33

-over £40 million

Question 34

What are potentially two of the most significant campaign methods?

Answer 34

• local campaigning

- backing of major newspapers

Question 35

What three sociological factors may be having an effect on turnout, and why are in reality unlikely?

Answer 35

• people with higher education are more likely to vote
• but educational standards and extent of education have rise, so turnout should have risen
• increase in ethnic minority groups, who are less likely to vote
• although ethnic minority groups have grown, it has been gradual and not abrupt post-1997
• partisan dealignment may be linked to voter apathy
• but this began in the 1970s when turnout levels were still relatively high

Question 36

What is a more likely explanation for declining turnout (details)?

Answer 36

-the immediate political circumstances surrounding the last three general elections

• in 2001 and 2005 - ‘hapathy’ - fewer pressing issues
• unpopular government faced less popular opposition
• few differences in policies on offer
• in 2010, economic crisis was probably the cause of the slight rise
• but it was a choice between Brown, widely accused of failure, and Cameron with only partially detoxified party image and drastic (alarming to many) austerity package

Question 37

If the immediate political circumstances surrounding elections have such a large impact on election turnout, where does responsibility for turnout logically lie?

Answer 37

-with the parties and their ability to regain public trust and credibility

Question 38

What are the main arguments for compulsory voting (details)? [4]

Answer 38

• increased participation
• greater democratic legitimacy. governments would be more likely t have a popular majority, not just an electoral majority (this has never happened in a UK general election)
• civic duty. the more people engage in politics, they more they think and act as full citizens with a democratic responsibility
• stronger social justice. genuine political equality requires not only that all can vote, but that all do vote. currently the worst off members of society are less likely to vote, leaving them unrepresented

Question 39

What are the main arguments against compulsory voting (details)? [4]

Answer 39

• violation of freedom as voting would be a compulsion. the right not to vote is equally important, and can reflect dissatisfaction with the system
• cosmetic democracy. addresses the symptom, not the problem.
• worthless votes - those who are already disinterested may not fully consider their vote, potentially undermining legitimacy
• distorted political focus - electoral efforts may become concentrated on the previous non-voters rather than the mass of the electorate (although this already happens)