Evaluate the view that class is the most important social factor in explaining voting behaviour.

Question 1

Introduction - Themes

Answer 1

• Class
• Ethnicity
• Age

Question 2

Introduction - Argument

Answer 2

Traditionally class was the most important factor in explaining voting behavoir and it be used to understand the political direction of Labour and the Conservatives, however, it is second to age. Therefore, it is an important social factor, but not the most important

Question 3

Social Class - Disagree - Point

Answer 3

There is no doubt that class is an important predictor of how someone is going to vote. There are long standing trends which illustrate this, and the policies of each party also show this

Question 4

Social Class - Disagree - Examples

Answer 4

• The AB class in 2017 voted 43% in favour of the Conservatives and the DE class voted 59% in favour of Labour
• The Conservatives place much more emphasis on business and low tax, while the Labour Party highlight higher taxes and social welfare

Question 5

Social Class - Agree - Point

Answer 5

Class dealignment has become more pominent with the decline in the traditional working class - this has meant that social class has become a weaker factor

Question 6

Social Class - Agree - Examples

Answer 6

• The 2019 general election reversed the trends - both the AB and DE social class voted in favour of the Conservatives with only a 4% difference in numbers
• Boris Johnson’s hardline of ‘Get Brexit Done; appealed to Red Wall voters who for the most part voted to leave the EU

Question 7

Ethnicity - Disagree - Point

Answer 7

There are strong trends that if you are a member of an ethnic minority, you are much more likely to vote Labour, a lot stronger than social class

Question 8

Ethnicity - Disagree - Examples

Answer 8

• In 2019, 64% of those belonging to an ethnic minority voted Labour compared to just 20% for the Conservatives
• The Conservatives have a historic rhetoric of opposing immigration - this can be seen in Sunak’s recent Illegal Immigration Bill

Question 9

Ethnicity - Agree - Point

Answer 9

Ethnicity and class are factors which are closely linked. This means that while ethnicity is an important factor explaining voting behaviour - it is not more important than class

Question 10

Ethnicity - Agree - Examples

Answer 10

• The proportion of ethnic minorities in the C2 and DE social classes is greater than the proportion of white people in these classes.
• There has been a growth in ethnic minorities voting Conservative in recent years, with the percentage increasing 7% between 2010 and 2015

Question 11

Age - Disagree - Point

Answer 11

Age never used to be a factor of particular concern as trends indicated that social class was a much stronger indicator of how a person would vote

Question 12

Age - Disagree - Examples

Answer 12

• In the 1979 general election, in the 18-24 age group the likelihood of voting Conservative or Labour was about the same - 42% and 41% respectively
• Social class appears much more prevelant - in the 1987 general election, 53% of DE class voted Labour, while 57% of the AB class voted Conservative

Question 13

Age - Agree - Examples

Answer 13

• The trend is that for every 10 years old a person is, the likelihood to vote Conservative increases by 9 points. In 2019, Corbyn only won the 18-24 age group
• In 2015, Ed Miliban pledged to scrap university fees and the Conservatives focused on pensions