Election

• • 3 ways structural theory compare election cycles and terms in uk and us :
  • Election frequency and length - UK Fix term Parliament act 2011 - every five years - US President 4 - Congress 2 - midterms and byelections - exec is parliaent so controls
  • Electoral system - FPTP - Two party and popular vote doesn’t translate - EC - Two party + Al Gore + Clinton lost with 3m majority - swing states matter - just presient whilst uk is gov too
  • Terms - President limited to two terms by 22nd amendment - Article II establishes age 35 - UK - Terms are only defined by elections - Blair + Thatcher 10 years
• • 3 ways rational theory - campaign finance uk + us
  • US - Donations like superpacs are big as individuals and corporations - musk - UK - Smaller due to electoral comission - blair 1m to delay tobacco legislation
  • Party strategy - AIPAC donates to oust candidates e.g attempted Talib through offering $20m Beydoun - uk - regulated by ec and legislation so less battlefields
  • Wealthy individual donors uk - Chernukhin paid 160k to play tennis with Cameron and Johnson and wealthu donors whereas US billionaires and people more involved such as dark money etc which links right uk and trump
• • Rational compare election campaigns :
  • Policies for core supporters - Trump and economy + Imiggration and right wing populism - UK - Cost of living, NHS + Conservatives becoming more right wing with kemi and Rwanda to battle reform
  • Use of media - Kamala garenered popularity with younger demographics with TikTok - UK media is restricted with debates fair and moderated - more interactive - newspaper are unbiased
  • Campaign strategy/Marginal Seats - Lib Dems took southern Conservative constituencies - 4 cabinet seats - Keegan + Chichester - Michigan and Trump and all 7
• Rational theory explain voting behaviour :

  • Tactical voting in the UK 2024 - Lib Dem and Labour protest votes which ousted conservatives and led to landslide - USA -
  • UK 2024 election - 60% voted - USA 64% voted - disillusionment + wasted votes in safe seats that the systems create
  • 64% of BME UK voted labour - 48% White vote conservatives - USA - White 57% Trump - 85% Black Kamala
• Cultural theory to study election :

  • Personalities - Individualistic in US vs culture of parties in UK - Trump and MAGA 2024immunity - Labour won from fptp and not popular vote
  • Candidate selection - Established US culture of involvement - primaries and caucuses - issue with Kamala vs party in uk - members chose corbin and badenoch
  • Voting behaviour - Religious right wing bloc opposing abortion and gay rights vs UK saw poor areas of Yorkshire vote Brexit and Boris - both parties hold same values but conservatives and woke culture - cons and republicans struggle with midd;e class wealth vote
• Cons + Republicans - Ideology

  • Economic Policies : Cons invented NHS whereas the Republicans are currently campagning to removed ObamaCare
  • Conersvatives are more liberal on big arguments where they’re still debated due to religous republicans and the