Voting Behaviour And The Media-THE PRESS The Role And Impact Of The Media In Elections

Question 1

Most national newspapers in the UK support…?

Answer 1

The Conservative Party including those that have the highest circulation

Question 2

Examples of National Newspapers that have Conservative Party Bias

Answer 2

(These newspapers also have the highest circulation.)

The Daily Mail
The Sun
The Daily Express
The Daily Telegraph
The Times

all have a Conservative Party bias, to a greater or lesser extent.

Question 3

Examples of National Newspapers that generally support Labour Party

Answer 3

The Daily Mirror and the Guardian generally support the Labour Party.

Question 4

Press influence in three general elections

Answer 4

1979
1997
2017

Question 5

1979
Press influence

Answer 5

The Sun headline ‘Crisis, what crisis?’ at the height of the ‘winter of discontent’ suggested Labour leader James Callaghan was out of touch with ordinary voters and swung opinion against the formerly popular prime minister.

Question 6

1979
Limits to press influence

Answer 6

Perhaps the 1979 result is better explained by valence issues surrounding Labour’s inability to handle industrial relations.

Question 7

1997
Press influence

Answer 7

The Sun switched support from the Conservatives to Labour. Tony Blair
courted media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and subsequently much of the Murdoch-owned press switched allegiance.

Question 8

1997
Limits to press influence

Answer 8

The press was simply reacting to the prevailing mood of the time, reflected in the polls, which was clearly swinging towards Labour.

Question 9

2017
Press influence

Answer 9

According to Yougov, some 74% of Daily Mail readers voted Tory in 2017, demonstrating the influence of that paper’s right-wing bias upon its readers.

Question 10

2017
Limits to press influence

Answer 10

The press barrage against Corbyn didn’t work and failed to persuade enough voters to back the Tories. Despite the Sun’s ‘Don’t chuck Britain in the Cor-bin’ headline and the Daily Mail’s 15-page anti-Labour spread the day before polling day, Labour saw its largest increase in vote share since 1945.

Question 11

Press influence between elections

To assess the influence of the press, it is important to consider how media reporting may shape the policies of the major political parties.

Examples of how the press has influenced party policy:

Answer 11

+ In his first term in office, Blair sought to hold a referendum on joining the euro but abandoned this plan in the face of hostility from the Murdoch-owned press.
+ The Daily Mail’s campaign to seek justice for black teenager Stephen Lawrence in the early 1990s pushed the government into accepting an independent inquiry that found the Metropolitan Police to be institutionally racist.

Question 12

However, press influence in between elections should not be overstated:

Answer 12

+ Leaders of political parties arguably have the most influence over their party’s policies. Under Corbyn, the Labour Party appeared to have given up on trying to court the right-wing print media, adopting policies that were completely at odds with the Murdoch press, such as nationalising rail and the utility companies.

+ Political parties are complex organisations and formulate policies by taking on board the views of a range of different groups both inside and outside the party structures, including think tanks and pressure groups.
For example, the Conservative Party’s plans on universal credit were influenced heavily by the Centre for Social Justice, a think tank headed by former work and pensions secretary lain Duncan Smith.