Voting Behaviour And The Media- Non-social Factors And Voting Behaviour, Valence

Question 1

Valence is one of the key factors that affecting voting behaviour as it:

Answer 1

+ Valence concerns the general image of a party and its leader.

+ Valence is closely tied to the trust voters have in a governing party, or in an opposition party wishing to form the government. We sometimes refer to this as governing competency.

+ Valence can relate to trust on a specific issue or on a range of issues.

Question 2

Governing competency

Answer 2

A general feeling among voters that a party is either very competent in governing or much less competent. Competency refers largely to sound economic policies, sensible foreign policy and decisiveness in office.

Question 3

Types of valence issues

Answer 3

Governing competency
Economic competence
Party unity
Image of leaders

Question 4

Valence issue:
Governing competency

Explanation

Answer 4

+ Does the government appear to be
decisive?

+ Did the party govern well when it was last in power?

Question 5

Valence issue:
Governing competency

Examples:

Answer 5

+ The Conservatives lost office in 1997 partly due to issues around competency, including the ‘cash for questions’ and ‘mad cow disease’ scandals.

Question 6

Valence issue:
Economic competence

Explanation

Answer 6

+ How well did the party manage the economy last time it was in power?

Question 7

Valence issue:
Economic competence

Examples

Answer 7

+ The governing Conservative Party won the 1987 election, taking credit for the booming economy.

+ The Labour Party failed to convince voters in 2019 that it could pay for its spending plans.

Question 8

Valence issue:
Party unity

Explanation

Answer 8

+ How united is the party?

+ Voters trust united parties but not disunited ones.

Question 9

Valence issue:
Party unity

Examples:

Answer 9

+ The Conservatives lost elections in 2001 and 2005 partly because they remained divided over the issue of Europe.

+ Division was also a serious problem for Labour in the 2017 general election, after Jeremy Corbyn faced a leadership election in 2016.

Question 10

Valence issue:
Image of leader

Explanation:

Answer 10

+ Are the leaders admired and trusted?

Question 11

Valence issue:
Image of leader

Examples:

Answer 11

+ The Liberal Democrats did well in 2010 because leader Nick Clegg was liked and respected.

+ Nevertheless, he lost respect after that and was heavily defeated in 2015.