Voting Behaviour & the Media Flashcards
3 main case studies
1979 3 May Thatchers first victory
1997 1 May Blair’s New Labour victory
2010 6 May first post war coalition
Turnout for Thatchers first victory in 1979
76%
Turnout for Blair’s New Labour Victory 1997
71.4%
Turnout for the first post war coalition
65.1%
A document in which a political party details what actions and programmes it intends to introduce if it is successful in the next election
Manifesto
The authority to govern which a government derived from an election victory. This means that it has the right to introduce its policies as states in its manifesto. It also allows it to take decisions on other issues as they arise during term of office, which could not have been foreseen when the manifesto was produced.
Mandate
The process where individuals no longer identify themselves as belonging to a certain class and do not vote for the party they may be expected to, given their background.
Class dealignment
The process where individuals no longer identify themselves in a long term basis as being associated with a certain political party.
Partisan dealignment
Disappointment from discovering something is not as good as one believed it to be; for example having no confidence in politics and politicians being able to solve issues and make a differences
Disillusion
Lack of interest, enthusiasm or concern; for example not caring about political activity which manifests itself in low turnout at elections and poor awareness of contemporary events.
Apathy
The perceived ability of the governing party in office to manage the affairs of state effectively. It also applies to the way that voters regard the potential competency of an opposition party if it were to win office
Government competency
What effects voting behaviour
Age Ethnicity Region Gender Class
E.g YouGov, aim to gauge the popularity of political parties by asking a sample of people how they intend to vote.
Opinion polls
