voting behaviour

• Define class dealignment


  A significant proportionate of the electorate no longer vote along class lines
• What are the social class categorisations?


  Trend: Seen to be very important pre-1970s, but gradually become less important. DE and C1 more likely to vote Labour and ABC1 more likely to vote Tory

  AB Higher Managerial (Director, Lawyer, Doctor, Senior Executive)

  C1 Professional occupations (Teachers, Managers, Social Workers)

  C2 Skilled Manual (Plumber, Train Driver, Mechanic)

  DE Unskilled or Unemployed (Labourer, Call Centre)
• define deviant voter


  A voter who votes against what their class would traditionally go for

  e.g. environmentalist voting tory
• define floating voter


  a voter whose allegiance may vary from election to election

  a non partisan voter
• Year % AB Voting Conservative


  1964 78

  1987 57

  1997 59

  2010 40

  2015 45

  2017 43

  2019 45
• Year %DE Voting Labour


  1964 64

  1987 53

  1997 59

  2010 40

  2015 41

  2017 59

  2019 39
• instrumental voting


  one-off assessment of the parties' policies and reputation, based on their past performance as well as a judgement about their ability to deliver what they promise.
• What are the main factors affecting voting behaviour?

  1) Class

  2) Gender: women for equality, men for economy

  3) Age: young vote left and vote less

  4) Region: labour in north, south wales and scot, cons south and east

  5) Ethnicity: BME vote left
• How has the link between parties and their class communities changed since the 1950s?


  - As party membership has collapsed, links between parties and communities have shrunk and traditional ties have disappeared.- E.G. Blair 'we are all middle class' and changed labour to suit this, betraying its WC roots.
• What are 6 factors affecting class dealignment?


  1) Development of catch-all parties, e.g. Labour changing to NL and representing MC interests.

  2) Emergence of third parties and niche parties.

  3) Rise of wealth among all classes has reduced ideas of class as a defining factor in people's lives.

  4) Issues have transcended class boundaries -- the most pressing being Brexit -- the rise of UKIP highlighted how the issue went beyond trad party lines and led to splits in trad voting arrangements, partic in 2017 and 2019

  .5) Other factors have overtaken class as the way people have come to define themselves in this age of identity politics.
• why was class important in politics?

  One reason to explain the close link between social class and voting behaviour is the historic differences in party policies. The Conservatives have a tradition of favouring low taxes and reduced welfare support. These types of policies appeal to wealthier people in social classes A/B who are less reliant on the state.

  Labour, and in recent elections the SNP in Scotland, favour policies that redistribute wealth or provide greater support. For example, higher taxes on wealthier people and higher spending on the welfare state. These policies appeal to less well-off voters in social classes D/E.
• how important is social class now as a factor affecting voter behaviour?


  Political analysts would argue that the factors affecting voting behaviour are inter-linked. An example of this would be how social class is linked to other long-term factors, eg geography, age or gender. However, evidence suggests that around 40% of the electorate continue to vote according to their social class. This means social class remains one of the most important factors affecting voting behaviour.
• how has brexit reflected classbased voting patterns?


  reactivated many non-voters and highlighted "realignment" of economically left but socially right voters
• What voting trends can be seen in young people?


  - Young people tend to be more socially progressive which are often linked with left-wing parties

  .- Young people also tend to be less entrenched in party tribalism and so are more likely to vote for parties offering something instead of parties they feel an obligation to, e.g. many voted LD in 2010 due to tuition fee policies and opposition to Iraq war.
• What are three reasons why young people tend to vote more left-wing?


  1) Young people tend to be more left-wing and care more about issues of equality, justice and freedom. Because they have less responsibilities they can afford to vote on matters of the heart, rather than the practical interests of older people

  .2) Young people are associated with the growth of the 'gig economy', whereby jobs are more flexible and less protected. They tend, therefore, to be less concerned with trad econ policies offered by the conservatives

  .3) Radical issues play a more significant role in the lives of young people, with issues such as environmentalism and democratic reform taking precedence over taxes and economic policy.
• What percentage of young people voted in favour of Scottish independence?


  71%
• What are 2 examples of young people voting based on radical issues?


  1. One of the reasons why Corbyn was so popular with the younger voters. 2. It may also explain why young people tend to back radical proposals such as Scottish independence, which may have been why the SNP allowed 16-17y/os to vote, as it would have given them an advantage.
• How does voter turnout impact age?

  - Younger voters are less likely to vote than older voters.- Even in 2017 with a reported 'youthquake', the proportion of younger voters turning out to vote was only 54%, below the average turnout and far below that of over-65s.
• What is the consequence of poor youth turnout?


  This means parties tend to favour older voters. This lesson was learned by Miliband in 2015 when he pledged to scrap tuition fees and limit pension increases and lost heavily.
• What are three examples of changing regional voting behaviours?

  1) 2015: SNP won 56/59 in Scot -- no longer a Labour stronghold2) 2017: Labour made gains in Cons heartlands (e.g. Canterbury) and Cons won Labour (e.g. Mansfield)3) 2019: Red Wall breached by Cons Brexit pledge. Seats held by Lab for a century fell to Cons.
• factors affecting voter turnout

  -apathy

  -disillusionment

  -abstention

  -alternative political engagement

  -issues vs ideology