voting behaviour Flashcards
how are people classified in the uk
AB - high/ middle class professionals eg banker/director 22.17%
C1 - supervisory/ admin profs eg teacher 30.84%
C2 - skilled manual occupations eg plumber/hairdresser 20.94
DE - unskilled/unemployed/ low grade occupation eg bar staff 26.05%
how much did class affect voting
in the 60s it was very predictable - AB conservative and DE labour
this meant that the political battle is between people who don’t identify in a certain class and those who don’t vote according to their class
what are deviant and floating voters
deviant - when a person doesnt vote the way you expect given their class eg working class conservative
floating - person who votes unpredictably in different elections and regularly changes their vote
why did class used to be closely aligned to how you voted
- both major parties developed strong, deep roots within communities so there was a culture of voting for one party or another
- selfish reasons: torys tended to govern in the interests og the middle class and the better off whereas labour developed policies to help the working class so it was just rational to choose the party associated with your class
what has happened to class voting recently
has declined massively - in 2015 only 41% of the DE social group voted for labour
why has class voting declined
-increase in class dealignment when fewer people associate themselves to be a member of a particular social class, class has declined in importance within uk culture
- lib dems have always tended to adapt centrist policies so that they can appeal to a wider class base
what is instrumental voting
voting for self-interest; favouring a party which they believe will serve them the best through its policies
eg DE voters voting for UKIP because they believe the EU has had a negative impact on their wages and employment
gender in voting
there is virtually no difference between men and women
Why did class dealignment happen under thatcher
The working class aimed for a middle class way of life
Thatcher sold council houses to tenants giving them more pride and responsibility about their class
Age in voting
Strong correlation between party support and age
Younger - more likely to support labour, less to support con
- support it getting smaller for conservatives each general election eg 18-24 year olds in 1979 - 42% conservative
Eg 18-24 year olds in 2017 voted 18% conservative
- younger people are also more likely to vote for a third party such as Green Party or SNP
Why do young people not vote conservative
Young don’t want to be seen as ‘conservative’ because it holds negative right wing connotations to discrimination and anti-working class
- tend to have left wing views: to to an increase in interest in ideas of equality and freedom which are more associated to labour
- younger are less likely to have property and wealth they want to look after which cons tend to do
- often vote for more radical parties because they are more able to adopt more radical ideas eg enviro protection
ethnicity effects on voting - party reaction
all parties declare themselves colour blind and think all ethnic groups should have the same rights against discrimination but there is still a string bias against conservatives and towards labour
BAME and election result
black and minority voters
eg in 2017 - 65% voted labour and 21% voted conservative
who votes for who based on ethnicity
majority of hindus and sikhs now support conservative party
black people and muslims continue to support labour
why do BME community favour labour
economic factors - on the whole they are poorer than the white community (classes C2 and D) so are more likely to be left wing
SO
the factor is class and income not race
this explains why sign and hindus have moved to conservative voting - they have been more financially successful so are increasingly middle class - more likely to vote con
