Voting Behaviour And The Media Flashcards
How many people read newspapers daily?
7 Million
Which party had majority press support in the last 4 elections?
The Conservatives
What was the Daily Mail’s circulation is 2022 vs. 2012?
909,000 vs. 1.8 Million (halved)
What % of the public said the press influenced them more than Social Media?
32%
What % of the public said social media influenced them more than the press?
26%
Which party did the top 2 most read newspapers back in the last 3 elections?
Conservatives
Where did the Tories party launch their 2019 Manifesto
In the Telegraph
Famous quote after 1992 election
‘It’s the sun wot won it’
What % of Sun readers voted Labour despite the Sun being pro-Tory?
30%
What % of FT readers voted Labour in 2017 despite the FT backing the Tories?
39%
Example of negative press on party leader not impacting election?
- Corbyn had very negative press in run up to 2017 election
- won largest increase in vote share since Attlee’s Labour
Example of influence of TV debates (Corbyn)
- Made Corbyn appear ‘scruffy’
Example of influence of TV debates (Clegg)
- Very successful in pre-2010 election TV debates
- contributed to ‘Cleggmania’
Example of impact of TV Debates (May)
- Theresa May refused to take part in pre-2017 election head to head TV debates
- Appeared weak
Contributed to unpopularity
Which issues did Newsnight expose?
- Labour antisemitism
- How COVID was transmitted to care homes
Example of radio interviews leading to accountability (Truss)
- Disastrous radio interviews exposed failure of mini-budget
- contributed to eventual resignation
What % of people said TV was the strongest influence in helping form opinion in 2015?
62%
Clegg, Opinion polls, 2010
- In the run up to the election, Clegg was boosted in the polls by TV debates
- only temporary
- voters swung back to 2 main parties
How much did The Conservatives spend per month on social media in 2015 election?
£100,000
Examples of strongly partisan social media sites
- the Canary (Left wing, can be antisemitic)
- The Spectator (Right wing)
Recently these have gained significant traction
What % of 18-24 voters relied almost totally on online sources to inform themselves?
79%
What % of young voters relied on SM to discover other people’s opinions?
59%
Examples of scandals going viral
- Rees Mogg’s comments on Grenfell
- Boy sleeping on floor of hospital with pneumonia
How much did Labour spend on facebook advertising in the 2019 election?
£1.4 million
Examples of opinion polls being wrong
- 1992 - even exit polls predicted a hung parliament
- 2015
Examples of opinion polls being accurate
2019
Examples of high turnout following close opinion polls
- 2015 election
- Brexit Referendum
Example of election seeming decided so people don’t vote maybe
- 2017
- Corbyn gained greatly from this
Examples of opinion polls encouraging tactical voting
- 2015
- Lib Dem voters tactically voted Con to stop Labour