Voting behaviour and the media Flashcards
Name six social factors which influence voting behaviour.
Class Region Age Ethnicity Education Gender
Which class does Labour rely on for votes?
Working class 64% in 1964 election
Which class do the Conservatives rely on for votes?
Upper class 78% in 1964 election
Why do the upper class like the Conservatives policies?
Low taxes and reduced welfare support appeal to people who rely less on the state.
What has caused class based voting to be less clear since the 1970s?
Partisan dealignment
Name an example where white working class people changed their vote to the Conservatives.
Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech in 1968
Wanted immigration control
Who do typically more educated/university educated people vote for?
Traditionally Conservatives but now Labour.
What percentage of people from Southern England voted Conservative in 2017?
54%
What percentage of people from Northern England voted Conservative in 2017 and what does this show?
37%
‘Poorer’ and more industrial regions are less likely to vote Conservative.
What is the most prosperous region in the UK?
South East- Conservatives do well here
Name three rural areas which are classically Conservative.
Devon
Cumbria
Northumberland
How many people in Scotland voted SNP in 2017?
37%
Name a party which does badly under FPTP.
Lib Dems
Since 1950, name two places which have always returned a LIb Dem MP to Westminster.
Orkney and Shetland- may not be able to identify with a main political party
Which age group is more likely to vote Conservative?
Elderly
Which two parties will younger people typically vote for?
Labour and Liberal Democrats
In 2017, describe voting patterns related to house ownership.
Older people who had paid their mortgages more likely to be Conservative.
Younger people who were renting were more likely to vote Labour.
What % of 18-24 year olds voted Labour in 2017?
62%
What % of 18-24 year olds voted Conservative in 2017?
27%
How many 65+ voted Labour in 2017?
25%
How many 65+ voted Conservative in 2017?
61%
In 2017, what was the turnout for 18-24 year olds?
54%
In 2017, what was the turnout for 65+?
71%- this would favour the Conservatives
What acts did Labour introduce in relation to ethnicity?
Race Relations Acts in 1965, 1968 and 1976.
What classes typically were Commonwealth immigrants?
C2, D and E
More likely to vote Labour
Which party has recieved accusations of racism frequently?
Conservatives- e.g Boris Johnsons racists comments
In terms of race, what contributed to Labour getting 49/73 seats in Greater London?
Empathy towards immigrant communities.
What is the ‘least white’ constituency in the UK and how many voted for Labour there?
East Ham
83.2%
How many of the most ethnically diverse constituencies do the Conservatives hold?
5/75
In the 2017 election, Labour had how much of the ethnic minority vote?
73% compared to 40% of the national vote.
In the 2017 election, the Conservatives had how much of the ethnic minority vote?
16% compared to 42% of the national vote
In the 2017 election, the Lib Dems had how much of the ethnic minority vote?
6% compared to 8% of the national vote.
Between 1945-1980s what was Labour closely linked to?
Male dominated trade unionism
Who in the past did Conservatives appeal to?
Housewives, especially as Labour was associated with rising inflation which had a negative effect on family finances.
In 1959, what did Harold Macmillan associated the Conservative party with?
Prosperity and stability with a happy family life.
In 1970, who did Edward Heath (Conservative) defeat in the election?
Harold Wilson due to pledging against the rising cost of living.
In 1979, who did Margaret Thatcher articulate herself towards?
Women’s concerns on inflation.
In 1979 how many men and how many women voted for Thatcher?
47% of women voted Conservative
43% of men voted Conservative
In 2015, how many men and women voted Conservative?
38% of men
37% of women
In 2015, how many men and women voted Labour?
30% of men
33% of women
In 2015, how many men and women voted Liberal Democrats?
8% of men
8% of women
Who has challenged the Conservatives lead with women in recent times?
Labour due to their focus on the NHS and education.
In 2017, how many men and women voted Conservative?
44% of men
43% of women
In 2017, how many men and women voted Labour?
40% of men
42% of women
In 2017, how many men and women voted Liberal Democrats?
7% of men
8% of women
In 2017, between 18-24 year olds how many men and women voted Conservative?
18% of women
36% of men
In 2017, between 18-24 year olds how many men and women voted Labour?
73% of women
52% of men
What are 4 political factors influencing voting behaviour?
Governing competence
Leadership
The campaign
‘Issue/instrumental voting’.
What is governing competence?
The extent to which the government is regarded as having been capable.
How does governing competence relate to swing voters?
If swing voters are assured that the government is competent, they will be less likely to vote for the opposition and vice versa.
Governing competence in 1959.
Economic prosperity and a wider availability of consumer goods contributed to Harold Macmillan increasing the Conservative parliamentary majority to over 100.
Governing competence in 1964.
Alec Douglas-Home was unable to separate himself from the scandal and failures of the previous Conservative government. This subsequently led to a Labour win in the next election and people regarded the era as ‘thirteen wasted years of Conservative government’.
Governing competence in 1966.
Harold Wilson- after 2 years, his Labour government was still focused and industrial unrest was limited.
He called a snap election after facing the new leader of the opposition (Edward Heath) which dramatically increased his parliamentary majority.
Governing competence in 1974.
When Edward Heath called the snap election, it was due to a miner’s strike which would threaten many other industries. The election to find ‘who governs Britain’ ended in a lack of support for Heath’s government as the public believed they were untrusted in government.
Governing competence in 1979.
Due to an escalation in number of strikes in the time of the ‘Winter of Discontent’, James Callaghan had lost the faith of the general public. This caused swing voters to go towards the Conservatives led by Margaret Thatcher.
Governing competence in 1983.
Margaret Thatcher- her government’s success in bringing inflation low as well as her leadership during the Falklands War and unity of her cabinet reinforced the government’s reputation for strength of purpose.
Governing competence in the present.
It has been contriversial in terms of how the government have dealt with COVID-19 and the partygate incident.
Does the image of the party leader influence people’s perception of the party?
Yes
What was Thatcher’s leadership image in 1983 compared to Michael Foot?
Thatcher encouraged a lot to vote due to her reputation as a strong and focused leader.
Foot’s left-wing intellectualism only appearled to Labour’s core vote.
How many seats did Labour lose between 2017 and 2019 and how does this relate to Corbyn’s disapproval rate?
60 seats and Corbyn had a disapproval rate of 71% compared to Johnson’s 52% when polled by YouGov.
Why may have Tony Blair won so many seats in 2001?
Labour won 412 seats and this may have been due to his appearance of popularity making the Labour party seem unified- he won the Labour leadership election with a majority.
Why may have Labour won in 2001?
John Major had a poor appearance to the public- he and many other members of his government became involved in allegations of sleaze, which made Blair appear better due to contrast.
However, it is difficult to determine whether leadership was the determining factor for people’s changing votes.
Who won the 1951 general election partially due to their strong public appearance?
Winston Churchill.
Why may have the Lib Dems been strong enough to form the coalition in 2010?
Nick Clegg had a positive public image.
For example he appeared in a debate against Brown and Cameron and a poll of the public showed 51% believed he won.
Can party campaigns be significant in determining the result of a general election?
Yes