voting behaviour Flashcards

1
Q

voting behaviour can be separated into _ factors

A

3

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

the 3 factors that VB can be separated into are

A

social factors
political context
media

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

give examples of social factors

A

class
region
age
ethnicity
education
gender

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

give examples of political context

A

governing competence
leadership
campaigns
issues

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

give examples of media

A

opinion polls
TV
social media

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

what is partisan dealignment

A

described the way in which voters since the 1970’s have abandoned traditional class based party loyalties and instead vote based on their impressions of the governments competence + the salience of specific issues

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

in ____ class was important in determining the result of the election as labour won ___% of __ voters and the conservatives won __% of __ voters

A

1964
64% of DE voters
78% of AB voters

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

an example of partisan dealignment in the 1970 election is

A

many WC labour supporters chose to vote conservative in 1970 election as Enoch Powells ‘rivers of blood’ speech (1968) caused significant numbers of white WC to believe conserv would have better immigration control

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

what was Enoch Powells speech called and when was it

A

1968
‘rivers of blood’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

what is an example of when a party leader was able to broaden their party’s appeal (leadership)

A

Thatcher 1979 broaden party support beyond core supporters with ‘right to buy’ campaign

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what was Thatchers ‘right to buy’ campaign

A

let you buy your council property

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

social class has declined in importance because …..

A

people now vote in regards to issues rather than class + people also consider the competence of the government

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

give a prime example of issue based voting

A

2017 , AB voters voted labour because conservs seen as pro Brexit

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

expand on the social factor region

A
  • there is a north - south divide in UK voting behaviour
  • urban/ rural divide lab does better in large cities conserv does better in rural areas
  • people in urban environment see effect of poverty so likely to support high taxes
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

recent elections show the declining importance of regional voting as ….

A

voters tend to cast their vote based on issues rather than regional loyalties

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

give examples of people voting based on issues rather than region

A

2019 Corbyn surrounded by allegations/detached from core supporters conservs took 5 key constituencies in the North East including Tony Blairs former sedgefield seat,

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

why is conservative support weak in London

A

city largely voted remain in 2016
cost of home ownership has gone up

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

where are Liberal Democrats most popular

A

in the south where there is a long tradition of non conformity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

true or false age is a social factor

A

true

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

policies which appeal to older voters include

A

lower taxation
strong national defence
law and order

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

younger voters are more concerned with …

A

issues e.g. social justice & the environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

age is significant in determining voting behaviour e.g. ___ is the pivotal age we switch from supporting ____ to ______

A

47
labour , conservative

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Conservative party benefits more from older people than lab does from younger people why is this

A

young people are less likely to vote than older people who cast their ballots regularly

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

sometimes the main parties are able to reach beyond their core age support give an example of this

A

1997 labour achieve a 5% lead over the conservatives among voters aged 65+

25
true or false ethnicity is a social factor
true
26
historically commonwealth immigrants were more likely to vote ____ because they were in the social class ___ , ___ & ___
labour C2, D & E
27
____ has had a clear advantage over the ______ in the support of ethnic minorities
labour , conservatives
28
what are the 4 valence factors
campaigns manifesto leadership governing competence
29
valence factors inform ....
peoples judgment about the competence of the government & opposition
30
give examples of times elections were won due to governing competence
1959 harold macmillan , conserv won 100 seat majority 1964 harold wilson , conservs shrouded in failures + scandals e.g. Profumo scandal 1963 1966 under wilson labour increased majority seats to over 100 1974 Edward heath plagued by miner strikes called a snap election & lost to lab 1979 strikes + misquoted Callaghan 'crisis? what crisis?" lost power to thatcher coined "winter of discontent"
31
explain the importance of Governing competence
if swing voters are reassured the govt is competent then they are less likely to vote for opposition parties but if the govt seems unable to cope with challenges then swing voters will be encouraged to vote in new govt
32
give examples of years elections were won based on good leadership
1983, 2001, 2010, 2015
33
why did Thatcher win in 1983
reputation for strong & focused leadership won over voters who might have voted lab , labs leader Michael foot looked out of touch
34
why did Blair win in 2001
Blairs personality and charisma won voters away from the conservatives , weak + divided under Hague
35
why did conservatives do better than labour in the 2010 election
Cameron succeeded in focusing election on increase of national debt under Brown , wasn't able to achieve parliamentary majority Nick Clegg v popular at time
36
UKIP won ___% of votes in 2015 due to their relentless focus on immigration which made it an issue among the ___
13% WC
37
explain the importance of leadership as a valence factor
a popular party leader can be v important in winning support even if they have negative approval ratings can still achieve high if they define their advantage to the public
38
give examples of good campaigning that affected voting behaviour
1992 John major used 'soapbox politics' effective so won labour votes 2017 Corbyn led campaign similar to major appealed directly to the people contrasting Mays approach
39
give examples of bad campaigning that affected voting behaviour
1983 campaign socialist rhetoric of labour applied only to core supporters
40
campaigns are not as important as _____ _____ or ______ in determining voting behaviour
governing competence , leadership
41
give an example of when governing competence & leadership have proved to be more important than campaigns
1987 labour campaign successful but did not win votes 2017 campaign successful but did not win
42
____ voting is becoming increasingly important to voters
issue
43
give an example of issue voting
1983 conserv warnings that lab would end ' right to buy' scheme contributed to Thatchers landslide re-election
44
what are the 4 elements of the UK media
opinion polls the press TV + radio social media
45
what are opinion polls
an assessment of public opinion by questioning a representative sample
46
what are examples of opinion polls
yougov, ipsos mori
47
give examples of times achieving a lead in the polls has not been helpful for a party
1992 polls told of labour support growing meaning more cons turned out 2015 polls predicted close race between cons & lab so con voters turned out
48
the press tend to over ______ their role in general elections
exaggerate
49
give examples of the press over exaggerating their role
1992 'its the sun wot won it' 1997 'the sun backs Blair'
50
why is press not that important
often simply reinforce voting intentions rather than changing them + rapid decline of newspapers due to internet availability
51
in 199_ there was __ million newspaper readers this saw a rapid decline and in 201_ there was ___ million newspaper readers
7 3.8 million newspaper 1.6 million newspaper
52
the BBC and ITN are ____
impartial
53
name three leaders who used TV to their advantage or disadvantage
harold macmillan (1957 - 1963) Margaret Thatcher (1979 - 1990) Tony Blair (1997 - 2007)
54
how did harold macmillan use media to his advantage
appeared on BBC regularly before 1959 election
55
how did TV become a disadvantage for Harold macmillan
he became a point of mockery for popular satirical programmes as an Edwardian figure (e.g. 'that was the week that was')
56
how did Margaret Thatcher use TV to her advantage
softened her voice wore bolder outfits favoured appearing on sympathetic programmes
57
how did Blair use TV to his advantage
during his years 'spin' became dominant his press secretary Alistair Campbell understood importance of spinning a story good composure e.g. 'people's princess' tribute
58
how did Blair undermine his relationship with the media
cash for honours scandal 2006 businessmen pay Blair x amount to make themselves a lord + other failures undermined positive media relationship