Paper 1: Voting behaviour and the media

Question 1

Scotland voting preferences and reasons

Answer 1

Left wing, traditionally Labour, but since 2015 there has been SNP dominance, return of Tories in 2017
Due to opposition to London-centred policies and New Right policies

Question 2

Northern Ireland voting preferences and reasons

Answer 2

Has own party system split between DUP and Sinn Fein

Party votes reflects religious, cultural and ideological differences of the region

Question 3

Wales voting preferences and reasons

Answer 3

Very heavy Labour bias with some strong Tory support

Because industrial areas favour Labour, rural areas vote Tory of Lib Dem, far west more likely to vote nationalist

Question 4

London voting preferences and reasons

Answer 4

Majority Labour

Increased ethnic diversity, greater economic disparity across the city, reliance on public services

Question 5

Rural England voting preferences and reasons

Answer 5

Overwhelmingly Conservative

Mostly white, economically and socially conservative

Question 6

Industrial North voting preferences and reasons

Answer 6

Mostly Labour

Higher levels of unemployment than elsewhere inn the country, greater rates of poverty and urban decay

Question 7

Home Counties voting preferences and reasons

Answer 7

Predominantly Conservative 
London commuter belt- economically prosperous and higher class status, mostly white, economically conservative

Question 8

Why would people traditionally vote along class lines in the UK?

Answer 8

It was part of your identity, was an expression of class solidarity if you were a worker and voted Labour and an expression of status if you voted Conservative

Question 9

Class AB description, typical occupations and % of population

Answer 9

High managerial, administrative, professional occupations
Banker, doctor, senior executive
22%

Question 10

Class C1 description, typical occupations and % of population

Answer 10

Supervisory, clerical abd junior managerial positions
Teacher, office manager, IT manager
31%

Question 11

Class C2 description, typical occupations and % of population

Answer 11

Skilled manual occupations
Plumber, hairdresser, mechanic, train driver
21%

Question 12

Class DE description, typical occupations and % of population

Answer 12

Semi-skilled and unskilled manual occupations unemployed and lowest grade occupations
Labourer, bar staff, employed

Question 13

Does the class system still matter in UK politics? Yes:

Answer 13

Issues of tax and welfare remain key distinction between 2 main parties
many still identify with party identified with class
Geographical trends still reflect relative makeup of region
Class inequality and lack of social mobility remain major concern to most voters

Question 14

Does the class system still matter in UK politics? No:

Answer 14

Major issues such as immigration cross class divisions
Size and role of working class has declined by more than 1/2 making it less of a political presence 
Increasing property ownership and improved education make it difficult to categorise classes
Successful parties have to appeal across a wide range of issues, not just relating to class

Question 15

Examples of class dealignment

Answer 15

1964, 74% of AB citizens voted Conservative compared to just 40% in 2010
2017 46% AB citizens votes Conservative yet 42% of C2 voted Conservative too which is unexpected

Question 16

Gender as a factor in voting behaviour

Answer 16

Virtually no difference between the way men and women vote
In the past there more women voted Conservative and there was a bid to win the ‘Tory Housewife’ vote
Recently parties have been making an effort to appeal to women e.g. Labour’s pink mini bus in 2015 and the all female shortlist from Labour party
2.5% fewer women turned out to vote than men

Question 17

Age as a factor in voting behaviour

Answer 17

Younger voters tend to lean to the left an older voters to the right and older you are, the more likely to vote
47 is the age where people are most likely to switch from voting Labour to Tory
Pension reform, NHS are of most concern to the elderly who do vote so this where parties focus their campaign
But Corbyn in 2017 increased turnout in under 30s massively

Question 18

Examples of how age is a factor in voting behaviour

Answer 18

18-19 19% Conservative 66% Labour 57% turnout
40-49 39% Conservative 44% Labour 66% turnout
70+ 69% Conservative 19% Labour 84% turnout

Question 19

Ethnicity as a factor in voting behaviour

Answer 19

Strong link that black and minority ethnic (BME) vote Labour over Conservative possibly linked to economic factors because tend to be from lower classes
Also history of Conservative ant-immigrant attitude e.g Enoch Powell
Also large concentration of BME living in industrial

Question 20

Examples of how ethnicity is a factor in voting behaviour

Answer 20

2017 21% Conservative 65% Labour

Question 21

Individual factors that affect voting behaviour: Rational choice theory

Answer 21

Idea that ppl make logical choice based on own best interests overall
If everyone followed this then electoral victory would be in the best interests of the country

Question 22

Individual factors that affect voting behaviour: Issue voting

Answer 22

Voters vote on one issue above all others, judge party on their stance of their issue and chooses one which reflects their own view

Question 23

Individual factors that affect voting behaviour: Economic or valence issues

Answer 23

Valence is where voters share common preference and will elect party that has best competency so best to fulfill this role. If govt. does well first time, they will elect them again

Question 24

Individual factors that affect voting behaviour: Tactical voting

Answer 24

Due to nature of FPTP, if fav candidate is unlikely to win, they will vote for second fav if they have more of a chance of winning e.g David Cameron in 2015 election

Question 25

What is included in media?

Answer 25

Broadcasting, publishing, and internet as means of communication

Question 26

Broadsheet media and examples

Answer 26

Usually seen as 'highbrow', deal with weighty political debates and present info in a measured way Telegraph, Independent

Question 27

Tabloid media and examples

Answer 27

Populist newspapers which focus more on sensation and entertainment The Sun, Daily Mail

Question 28

Magazines and examples

Answer 28

Can provide important check and help to inform high level debates as political and satirical magazines make reports on political activity and scrutinise the work of politicians Private Eye, Spectator, Economist

Question 29

The Sun

Answer 29

Very Conservative, circulation of 1,667 and 59% of readers support the preferred party

Question 30

Daily Mail

Answer 30

Very Conservative, circulation of 1,514 and 74% of readers support the preferred party

Question 31

Daily Mirror

Answer 31

Very Labour, circulation of 725 and 68% of readers support the preferred party

Question 32

Daily telegraph

Answer 32

Very Conservative, circulation of 472 and 79% of readers support the preferred party

Question 33

Daily Express

Answer 33

Very UKIP, circulation of 393 and 77% of readers support the preferred party

Question 34

The Times

Answer 34

Moderately Conservative, circulation of 451 and 58% of readers support the preferred party

Question 35

Daily Star

Answer 35

No preference, circulation of 443

Question 36

Financial Times

Answer 36

Conservative/Lib Dem, circulation of 189 and 40/14% of readers support the preferred party

Question 37

The Guardian

Answer 37

Moderately Labour, circulation of 157 and 73 % of readers support the preferred party

Question 38

Do newspapers influence voting?

Answer 38

Suggested that newspapers reflect political views of reader rather than influencing them, despite popular opinion that they do influence the reader e.g 1992 election Tories won surprise victory and was declared that 'It was the Sun wot won it'

Question 39

Radio media

Answer 39

News headlines- Every station gives basic, informative headlines usually without bias Commercial radio- No. of talk radio stations designed to engage in political discussion/debate BBC Radio- Many platforms for political discussion where shows interview and challenge politicians and public perceptions

Question 40

TV media: News Broadcasts

Answer 40

All terrestrial channels obliged to have regular and impartial news broadcasts which occur for set times and duration, BBC have been accused of left-wing bias but has never been substantiated

Question 41

TV media: Party Political Broadcasts

Answer 41

5 minute broadcasts that occur at set times, usually after news broadcast, across the channels Regulations to ensure all parties are given a fair and equal chance to influence public opinion

Question 42

TV and Media: News Channels

Answer 42

Provide 24hr coverage which can drive political events by raising public awareness and hyping events to appear more serious than they are Sky news, CNN

Question 43

TV and Media: Political Programming

Answer 43

Involves extended interviews and discussion of political issues allowing public to engage and sometimes participate Question time, Andrew Marr show

Question 44

TV and Media: TV Debates

Answer 44

Common feature of election campaigns with BBC, ITV and Channel 4 all having held leadership elections in recent years Debates held under strict conditions and overseen by Electoral Commission

Question 45

Social media in campaigning

Answer 45

Internet is unregulated so opportunity for any political group to gain attentions Useful to small parties like UKIP who don't have resources to compete with larger parties

Question 46

How effective is social media campaigning?

Answer 46

Hard to judge as tends to be high use among young ppl and less with older e.g rise of Momentum since 2015 election which is a radical wing of Labour Party and heavily backed by younger voters

Question 47

What are opinion polls?

Answer 47

Parties, think tanks, interested individuals and media all commission variety of polls to try and work out how the parties are faring and the polls are often used to test key policies, leadership policies and success of a campaign

Question 48

What happens if opinion polls are used well or not?

Answer 48

If used well, can be useful tool to help parties tailor policies and messages to target key demographics When done badly, polls can misrepresent public opinion and affect the way people vote

Question 49

An example of opinion polls affecting voting behaviour

Answer 49

2015 general election, most polls predicted draw, resulting in 2nd hung parliament and was talk of Labour-SNP coalition which Tories began to campaign against, hoping to win an outright victory This may have caused ppl to vote tactically, favouring Tories over Labour and taking votes away from Lib-Dems, also may have encouraged more Tories to vote in fear of Labour-SNP coalition

Question 50

Are opinion polls often wrong?

Answer 50

2017 they were wrong, as it showed in most that Tories had lead of between 5% and 12% however they barely came 2% ahead of Labour Wrong in Scottish and EU referendum, and 2015+ 2017 general elections

Question 51

Does it matter if opinion polls are inaccurate?

Answer 51

They may affect voting behaviour, but difficult to say | Likely that public will increasingly ignore their findings

Question 52

For banning opinion polls

Answer 52

They may influence the way ppl vote They have proved inaccurate so mislead the public Arguably, politicians shouldn't be slaves to changing public opinion as expressed in the polls

Question 53

Against banning opinion polls

Answer 53

Would infringe on freedom of expression If the are banned, they will become available privately for organisations that can afford to pay for them Give valuable info which can guide politicians Polls would still be publishe abroad and ppl could access them online

Question 54

Role media plays in politics today

Answer 54

Focus on leaders and personalities which turns them into celebs Online sources have become overly partisan and mock and ridicule rather than providing informed info Media have made entertainment out of politics

Question 55

War Reporting

Answer 55

Patriotic reporting of Falklands War helped to create positive impression of Thatcher and swing public opinion towards her Headline 'Stick it up your Junta!' about the sinking of the Belgrano served Britain nationalism

Question 56

Sleaze

Answer 56

During '92 parliament media reported a no. of sex and corruption scandals that afflicted Tories, leading to party being associated with terms 'Sleaze' and 'nasty party' helping to move public to Blair

Question 57

Bliar

Answer 57

BBC reporting and press coverage of 'dodgy dossier' and 'sexing up' the case for war in Iraq became political scandal and resulted in death of weapons inspector which damaged Blair's reputation

Question 58

1974 election turnout

Answer 58

79%

Question 59

2001 election turnout

Answer 59

59%

Question 60

2015 election turnout

Answer 60

66%

Question 61

2017 election turnout

Answer 61

69%

Question 62

Why did voting among young people fall by 50% between 1992 and 2015?

Answer 62

Young ppl using alternate ways to participate Politicians have introduced policies that discriminate against the youth e.g rising uni fees Younger ppl tend to be more interested in single issues as seen by increased pressure group activity Many feel need to abstain as no party reflects their views

Question 63

Class and voter turnout

Answer 63

More affluent ppl are more likely to vote which ads further disadvantage to the Labour Party, especially as young people are also less likely to vote