Chapter 4 - Social class and social factors (NOT FINAL) Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 4 classifications of social class?

A
  • AB
  • C1
  • C2
  • DE
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What percentage of the population is of the AB social class?

A

22.2%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What percentage of the population is in the C1 social class?

A

30.8%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What percentage of the population is in the DE social class?

A

26%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What sort of jobs do AB class people do?

A
  • Banker
  • Doctor
  • Company director
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What sort of jobs do C1 class people do?

A
  • Teacher
  • Social worker
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What sort of jobs are in the DE social class?

A
  • Unemployed
  • Bar staff
  • Labourer
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is a deviant voter?

A

Someone who does not vote the way their social class would suggest.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

How much did class factor into the way someone voted before the 1960s?

A

Very heavily - DE and C2 were Labour; AB and C1 were Conservatives and all reliably so.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Why did class used to be closely associated with voting trends?

A
  • Class was central to your identity and so you voted for the party of your class.
  • Parties had deep roots in communities so there was a culture of voting for a particular party.
  • It was rational to vote for the party that would favour your interests whether you were working or upper class.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

How many DE class voters voted for Labour in 1964?

A

64%, as you would expect.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What percentage of AB voters voted for the Conservatives in 1964 compared with 2010?

A

78% in 1964; just 40% in 2010!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What 3 reasons are there for class-based voting declining?

A
  • Class dealignment
  • Centrist policies adopted by all main parties which attracted a wider base
  • Other factors such as valence
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is class dealignment?

A

The tendency of fewer and fewer people considering themselves to be a member of a particular social class, diminishing its impact on voting habits.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is instrumental voting?

A

When people vote rationally.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

How did class impact the EU referendum?

A

C2, D and E classes were most likely to vote Leave.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What percentage of both C1 and DE voters voted to leave the EU in 2016?

A

64% for both.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What impact does gender have on voting?

A

There is no significant difference between the way men and women vote.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What percentage of 18-24 year olds voted Labour in 2017?

A

67%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What percentage of 18-24 year olds voted for the Conservatives in 1997?

A

27%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What percentage of 18-24 year olds voted for the Conservatives in 2017?

A

18%

22
Q

What percentage of 18-24 year olds voted Labour in 1997?

A

49%

23
Q

What percentage of 65+ voted Conservative in 2017?

A

59%

24
Q

What did Winston Churchill say about age and voting?

A

“If a man is not a socialist by the time he is 20, he has no heart. If he is not a conservative by the time he is 40, he has no brain.”

25
Q

What does Churchill’s remark about age and voting suggest?

A

That young voters are more swayed by emotions whereas older voters are more rational.

26
Q

Which way are younger voters more likely to vote?

A

For Labour and other left-wing parties.

27
Q

Why might younger voters be more inclined to left-wing parties?

A

They are more swayed by emotions and do not have the responsibilities yet of the older voters - the interests that Conservatives seek to protect.

28
Q

How many black voters voted for Labour in 1997?

A

70%

29
Q

How many black voters voted for the Conservatives in 1997?

A

18%

30
Q

How do Hindu and Sikh communities tend to vote?

A

For the Conservative Party.

31
Q

Why might black voters tend to vote Labour?

A

They will more likely be in the social classes of C2 and DE, meaning it is class - not race - that causes them to vote Labour.

32
Q

How does the south of England tend to vote?

A

Solidly Conservative.

33
Q

How do the midlands tend to vote?

A

Dominantly Conservatives.

34
Q

How does Wales tend to vote?

A

Labour

35
Q

How does the North of England tend to vote?

A

Labour

36
Q

What can much of the regional factors in voting be traced to?

A

Economic factors, and national ones in Scotland too.

37
Q

How do established immigrant groups tend to vote?

A

Conservative - with middle-class comes Conservative voting.

38
Q

What is meant by turnout?

A

The proportion of those eligible to vote who actually do.

39
Q

What was turnout in 1997?

A

71%

40
Q

What was turnout in 2001?

A

59%

41
Q

Why might there be low turnout at elections?

A

If the outcome is unpredictable.

42
Q

How many voters in the 18-34 age group voted in the 2015 general election?

A

Just 48%

43
Q

What are the reasons for low turnout amongst young voters?

A
  • Disillusionment
  • Apathy
  • Alternative forms of political participation
  • More concerned with single-interest causes rather than wider ideologies
  • Abstention in protest
44
Q

What percentage of the 65+ age group turned out to vote in 2015?

A

78%

45
Q

What is the trend between age and voter turnout?

A

The older a person is the more likely they are to vote.

46
Q

What does the higher turnout of older voters mean for election results?

A

Since the older a person is means they are more likely to vote Conservative, it means the turnout magnifies this advantage for the Tories.

47
Q

Why advantage do the Conservatives have amongst social classes when we factor in turnout trends?

A

Those of the AB class are more likely to turnout and vote than DE - and they will vote Conservative.

48
Q

What percentage of AB class voted Conservative in 2015?

A

75%

49
Q

Why does Labour struggle at general elections?

A

Their natural voters do not turn out and vote: the young do not vote in as high numbers as the old, and the DE class turns out less than AB.

50
Q

What reason might explain the low turnout of both young and DE voters?

A

They may not feel the outcome will make any difference or that they can impact the outcome in the first place - this is the basic reason for voter apathy.