Voting Behaviour 1 Flashcards
How do the working class normally vote?
Labour due to it’s history with unions
Why has class voting decreased?
Higher standards of education
New working class
More affluence
Decline in unions
What stats show partisan dealignment is taking place?
In 1964 43% were strong Tory/labour
In 2005 13%
35% in 2010 didn’t vote Tory or labour
How do you define social class?
Economic and social status
How does gender effect voting?
Young women vote labour- old vote Tory
Men vote labour
How does age effect voting?
Older generation are more conservative
How does ethnicity effect voting?
Minorities often vote labour
After Iraq labour lost many Muslim votes
What ways do people vote rationally?
Issue voting - Eco/ immigration
Valence voting
How much did parties spend in the 2010 election on campaigns?
£31 million p
What is partisanship?
Having long term loyalty towards a party through socialisation
What is political culture?
Describes the way people see their place in the political system
What 3 characteristics control peoples political culture?
Homogeneity- common identity
Consensus- acceptance of rules
Deference- allowing the elite to rule
What is an example of the medias influence on elections?
1997 the sun backs Blair with the headline “give change a chance”: landslide victory
2015 the portrayal of miliband in the right wing press making him look like a weak leader
Why do women mainly vote conservative?
Due to their family values and their crime policies
What is differential turnout?
Turnout is different throughout the uk eg overall turnout in 2010 was 65% how ever in Manchester alone it was 44%
What is voting behaviour like in by-elections?
Tends to be volatile due to media attention, more likely to have protest and tactical voters as well.
Ukip in Rochester
What is stable and volatile voting?
Stable is more based on long term factors such as age, class
Volatile voting means that’s peoples opinions are changing quickly due to more current issues. This is becoming more of the norm due to partisan dealignment
What is valence voting?
When a party has policies that are similar to your beliefs- trust them
What is the role of media in politics?
To persuade the consumer and convince them
Reinforcement- people choose to watch/ read the things that already represent their views
