Voting Behaviour Flashcards
Class based voting
Prominent up until 1970
Patriotic voters who valued trad= cons
Class dealignment
Due to selling off of council houses, privatisation, reduction of public sector… new lab invited more mid class voters
TB vic owned to broadening appeal of party
Those w/ more prop + wealth more likely to turnout. 2010, 76% of the two highest Soc classes voted compared to 57% of the two lowest classes
Partisan and voting attachment
Partisan dealignment end of 20th century
Less family tradition
Pole less likely to work in same Ind whole life
More ppl becoming floating/ swing voters
Growing sense of disillusion + apathy
Rational choice theory
Voters behave like consumers… choose most beneficial option… look at policies, choose party most aligned.
Linked to growth of education… more access to pol info + more ed electorate
If no overriding issues… who wld be best pm? Who is expected to manage the econ most suc?
Skilled workers voting cons for first time in 1979- response to MT populist style… lab incompetence 1970s
Assessed governing competency + pol suc.. ev of clear agenda + strong leader
Economic voting model
More likely to support if handled econ effec… econ prosperity
Influenced by threat of unemployment + inflation + interest + taxation
Or broader sense of well-being known as the ‘feel good factor’ 1979 after winter of discontent… 2010 after 2007-8 fin crisis
Importance of leaders
Pub image of party leaders more imp… pol = incr personalised
Presidentialisation of UK pol, voting based on perceptions of leaders… thus better presentation… photo ops
Gender
Women more likely to vote conservative than men
Under Blair younger women more likely to vote than men… 1990s women as likely to have a job
Older women more likely to vote cons than younger women… 2010 30% women 18-24 voted cons women over 55 42%
Turnout similar
Age
Older more likely to vote conservative bc more likely to own property + less likely to vote idealistically
Shaped by experience… difficulties faced by labour in 1970s
2010 44% of over 65 yr olds favoured cons compared to 30% 18-24 year olds… in recent DC ref to cut pensioner benefits whilst lab + LD argued for removal of winter fuel allowances for better off ppl
Turnout.. older more likely vote 76% of those over 65 did in 2010 comp to 44% 18-24.. elderly acquired voting habits earlier in their lives
Education
W/out qual 75% for Brexit
W/ uni ed 75% against Brexit
Influence of media.. TV debates+ newspapers
Newspapers- print decl in recent years… online now
TV+ radio take up news for papers
9.6 mil watched 2010 leadership debate.. 7 mil in 2015
Opinion polls
Aim to gauge pop of pol parties… parties take note + conduct own polls
Exit polls
1992 most failed to predict Majors victory… thought wld be narrow lab win or hung parliament
‘Boomerang effect’ those who didn’t want a lab victory changed
Skewed by ‘shy tories’
2015 was wrong… pref equal prop of vote.. did not ask a representative selection of voters… did not q retired ppl who wld vote cons
Impact of social media
2010 extensive use of the internet… MPs have own website imp for publicity
2010 rise of Soc media… 2015 cons spent £100,000 on facebook advertising
2015 79% 18-24 only used internet access to inform themselves, 59% depended on Soc media
Newspaper impact
2015 elec cons supporting newspapers repeated DCs message… risk putting weak labour in office propped up by SNP… the daily telegraph printed am appeal to 5000 small businesses dont put econ recovery in jeopardy
Media impact
DC cautious, only televised debates at the right time for him
More cautious of images publicity in last 3 decades… TB recruited a press secretary Alastair Campbell… no 10 created a grid of forthcoming events so portrayed in the best light
Govs been increasingly making imp pol announcement on TV + min speeches summarised to the media b4 made
As long as pol thinks media is important it will retain its imp
The media in a democratic society
Free media= vital in healthy democracy.. hold govt to account
Pop newspapers present a simplified version of pol issues
Newspapers only care about boosting their circulation
2011 phone hacking scandal… employees of Robert Murdoch news news had been involved in illegal info gathering… led to closure of newspaper ‘news of the world’
Set up press standards org… reg the press
Some as over freedom of speech
Media bias and the political parties
Newspapers= partisan, alter allegiance down to circumstances
The began as lab supporter, then to MT bc liked hard-line approach, back to TB (who flew to Australia to meet Merdock rlly close connection) back to cons
TV has to be balanced… bbc charter insists on pol neutrality
Parties allocated agreed amounts of airtimes based on their voting strength in last elec
Websites + Soc media not controlled
