Voting Behaviour

Question 1

Psephology

Answer 1

branch of politics that focuses on elections and voting behaviour

Question 2

Long term factors

Answer 2

• class
• religion
• age
• gender

Question 3

Short term factors

Answer 3

• Party leaders
• Economy
• Policies

Question 4

models of voting

Answer 4

• SOCIOLOGICAL MODEL : different social groups have different shared interest through socialisation
• RATIONAL CHOICE model: voters evaluate parties and make a conscious choice based on policies and reputation

Question 5

How do people make rational choices

Answer 5

• Spatial model - voters select candidate who’s policies align with their preferences
• Valence model - voters choose party leader they perceive as most competent and delivering improvements

Question 6

What are salient issues

Answer 6

issues considered to be the most important at that time of the election.
They affect results of elections
- Economy
- Healthcare
- Education
- Taxation
- Crime

Question 7

What are the shortcuts voters with limited time Use to assess parties

Answer 7

Party leaders - 2024, 70% saw Sunak as untrustworthy and 63% saw him as incompetent.

Question 8

Class dealignment

Answer 8

no longer a strong link between class and voting behaviour

Question 9

Partisan dealignment

Answer 9

voters no longer strongly identify with party and their support changes between elections

Question 10

What long term factors had the strongest link to voting behaviour in 2024 elections

Answer 10

• Education: Labour, Lib Dem’s received strongest deport from uni graduates, conservatives and reform received more support from ppl without qualifications
• Age - younger voters likely to attend uni and likely to have liberal social views and voting labour, Lib Dem’s. While older voters were likely to vote conservatives and Lib Dem’s

Question 11

What issues created challenges for the conservative government in the 2024 elections

Answer 11

• high inflation
• NHS waiting lists (exceeded 6 mill patients)
• sluggish economic growth & increasing national debt
• high immigration levels

Question 12

Main reason for labour winning 2024 elections

Answer 12

TACTICAL VOTING
- 61 labour voters, voted to get tories out or change in govt, only 5% agreed with their policies.

Question 13

What’s tactical voting

Answer 13

when voters decide to vote for their second choice candidate as their first choice has little chance of winning

Question 14

The act of not voting in an election

Answer 14

abstention

Question 15

What are by elections

Answer 15

elections to fill positions that become vacant before the next GE is due

Question 16

What is the bandwagon effect

Answer 16

When voters choose to vote for the party that is leading in the polls