VOTER BEHAVIOUR

Question 1

bullet point factors which influence voter behaviour in elections

Answer 1

1. media
2. stances on current affairs
3. scandals
4. the shape of the economy
5. personalities involved

Question 2

define class alignment

Answer 2

• the commitment of a specific social class to a specific political party (because they protect the interests of that class)
• voting for a specific party allows you to establish your identity
• a correlation between class and party identification
• this is the idea of political socialisation and inherited partisanship

Question 3

define class disalignment and explain its increasing occurance

Answer 3

• social evolution is causing voters to disassociate from a specific political alignment - class rigidity has declined
• this could be due to deindustrialisation, which erodes a sense of community, which often impacts political affiliation and voter behaviour
• class no longer dictates voting behaviour as much

explanation:
- there has been a rise in other factors which influence voting behaviour, of which class is sidelined as a factor
- party identification has recently decreased
- the change in the dynamic in the social and political arena has allowed for class boundaries to be dissolved, and has sidelined them in influencing elections
- there is much less of an attachment to a specific party, partly due to political apathy, but also due to the range of parties and the character of their leader

Question 4

define valence voting

Answer 4

• valence voting is when nearly everyone votes the same way on specific issues, and there is a degree of public consensus, with only a minimal number of people adopting a different position

Question 5

define triangulation

Question 6

what is the butler stokes model

Answer 6

the idea that parents influence the political alignment and affiliation of their child through their class and political belief, with short term influences only marginally impacting voting behaviour

Question 7

give a list of factors which shape class alignment to a specific party

Answer 7

• religion
• age
• gender / sex
• occupational class
• occupation and career
• social location / who you surround yourself with

Question 8

describe the change in valence voting in recent years (analysis)

Answer 8

• previously, the parties were less ideologically polarized, and were much more moderate, meaning issues which were voted on typically showed a level of public unity and consensus on specific votes
• however, now, there are many more parties and options, as much larger parties feel the need to radicalise themselves to differentiate themselves, which creates an ideological gap and level of polarization in their stances (this means parties continuously shift their ideological standpoints, which may erode voter identification)

Question 9

what are the causes and consequences of valence voting

Answer 9

causes:
- moderate and ideologically similar parties with a lack of policy differentiation
- lack of political interest / apathy (simplification of voting) - 35% don’t know what party to vote for
- decline in party identification and affiliation because of the moderate nature of parties

consequences:
- reliance on the incumbent (know what they will do and their policy stance) (ie 42% of people felt Cameron was more capable than Miliband in 2015, only 27% of people thought Miliband was capable)
- parties must actively try to differentiate themselves
- creates a degree of polarization - people will strongly dislike the opposing stance (those who voted for Cameron, are 10x more likely to vote for him than others)
- focus on party leaders and their personality, because their policies are the same, but the leader is the only point of differentiation, which increases scrutiny and the need to be more appealing
- portrays public opinion (49% were satisfied with Cameron in 2015, and dissatisfied at 58% a year later)
- party popularity may fluctuate much more
- less scrutiny on policy, but much more attention toward the government and their party performance

Question 10

what is the alford index

Answer 10

an index used which ranges from positive and negative figures to display a level of party affiliation and correlation between class and voting behaviour
- a more negative number = strong class association
- more positive number = idea that class association is now diluted