Voting behaviour and the media

Question 1

What is the AB social class?

Answer 1

Higher and intermediate administrative, professional occupations - judge, doctor

Question 2

What is the C1 social class?

Answer 2

Supervisory, clerical and junior managerial, administrative, professional occupations - teacher, IT manager

Question 3

What is the C2 social class?

Answer 3

Skilled manual occupations - hairdressers, mechanic

Question 4

What is the DE social class?

Answer 4

Semi-skilled and unskilled manual occupations, unemployed and lowest grade occupations - Bar staff, call centre staff

Question 5

Why was social class used to be seen as the clearest way of determining which way someone would vote?

Answer 5

• Part of your identity - middle class or upper - Con, working class - Lab
• Both major parties developed strong, deep roots within communities - Labour - working men’s clubs
• It was rational

Question 6

Deviant voters

Answer 6

A person who votes for the opposite part that they would traditionally would do based on their class

Question 7

Floating/swing voters

Answer 7

Someone who changes their vote from election to election, changing each time

Question 8

Evidence that there has a marked decline in voting on the basis of this in the last 20 years

Answer 8

23% of DE voting for Labour declined between 2015 and 1964

33% of AB voting for Con declined between 1964 and 2019

Question 9

Why have people stopped voting with social class in mind?

Answer 9

• Class dealignment. A tendency for voters to no longer identify themselves in terms of class
• A drive towards the center ground in party politics - particularly new Labour, under Blair, as well as Con under Cam
• Other factors more important - like the competence of the two parties
• 2010 - only 38% voted being ‘class voters’

Question 10

How has education been a factor for voters?

Answer 10

58% of people with low educational levels (GSCE or below voted Con compared to 25% Lab

43% of people with high educational levels (degrees or above) voted Lab compared to 29% to Con

Question 11

How is gender a factor for voters?

Answer 11

• Minimal unless compared to age

2019 election
Men 18-24 - 46% voted Lab compared to women 18-24 where 65% voted for con

But minimal - see that both 65% of men 65+ and women 65+ voted Con

Question 12

Conclusions about age and voting in 2019

Answer 12

The generational gap in voting between Con and Lab parties grew past the 2017 record level

Question 13

What trends went hand in hand with Red Wall Constituencies?

Answer 13

Most of the towns are former coal mining centres that have failed to find alternative sources of employment over the past 35 years - pushed young people to leave older people behind cause jobs don’t pay much

Question 14

What issues did older voters place higher than younger voters

Answer 14

Older - Cultural ones over economic ones

Immigration over housing etc

Younger - poverty and cost of living

Question 15

How age impacted the Brexit referendum

Answer 15

18-24 - 73% voted remain, 27% leave

65+ - 60% voted leave, 40% remain

Question 16

Reasons for why young voters are seen as more left-wing and radical than other voters?

Answer 16

progressive, less responsibility

Question 17

Ethnicity effects on voting

Answer 17

1997 - 70% of BME voting lab, 18% con
2019 - 64% - lab, 20% - con

Question 18

Region effects on voting

Answer 18

2019 regional vote - con more votes in midlands - +4 and +4.4., lab lost seats everywhere
red wall fell - mining towns fell - such as blythe valley, sedgefield, workington, derbyshire, lab since 1970 dennis skinner gone

Question 19

4 main reasons for the decline in voter turnout

Answer 19

• widespread disillusion with younger generation - politics has nothing to do with things young people care about
• away from traditional politics - development of tech
• more interested in single issues rather than ideologies - increased participation in pressure groups, online
• abstain - apathy - not worth their vot

Question 20

Evidence to suggest that turnout is starting to stop declining

Answer 20

• scot independence - 75% of 16-17 yr olds, 54% of 18-24, 72% travelled to vote
• eu reg - 64% 25-34
• 2017 ge increase in voting in younger ages - lab vote raised by 10% compared with 2015

Question 21

Evidence for 2 party dominance

Answer 21

• two party dom bounced back - 2017 - 82% of vote for two main, 2019 - 76%
• Under corbyn more ideological differences between main parties
• ukip and brexit parties upport has collapsed after issue was resolved - reform polling 13%
• fptp - 2 party system

Question 22

Evidence AGAINST 2 party dominance

Answer 22

• partisan dealignment - people no longer identify themselves on two basis - 1970 - 89% voted lab/con, 2015 - 66%
• two parties leaned towards centre - little difference encouraging people to look elswhere to more ideological parties
• other parties emerged which attracts the support of two around key issues - ukip, green, brexit, snp

Question 23

Valence issues

Answer 23

How you see the party

Question 24

Issue voting

Answer 24

Voting on a particular issue

The Brexit Party

Question 25

Qualities important for the PM to the public

Answer 25

• strong leadership, compassion, clear vision, charisma

Question 26

Public opinion polls - do they affect voting behaviour?

Answer 26

2015 ge - most predicting close to a dead heat between 2 main parties - second hung parliament
snp would hold balance of power
con party began to campaign on that

Question 27

Public opinion polls - does it matter if they are inaccurate

Answer 27

2015 overestimated lab vote and underestimated vote for con
inaccurate 2017 - showed con lead 5% and 12% - but only came 2% - yougov