Voting behaviour and the media

• Psephological is the branch of political science that focuses on elections and voting behaviour
• AB classification

  • higher and intermediate managerial, administrative, professional occupants
  • banker, doctor
• C1 classification

  • supervisory,clerical and junior managerial, administrative, professional occupants
  • teacher, office manager, it manager
• C2 classification

  • skilled manual occupants
  • plumber, hairdresser
• DE classification

  • semi skilled and unskilled manual occupations, unemployed and lowest grade options
  • Labourer, bar staff
• gender influence on voting behaviour

  • conservative gets more female support than male
  • labour gets more male support
  • women less likely to be in paid employment -> less likely to be in trade unions
  • now more women are in public sector jobs
• ethnicity influence on voting behaviour

  • conservatives tend to have more white voters
  • labour tend to have more non white voters
  • labour have a history of supporting the rights of ethnic minorities
  • it has been Conservative Party that’s been more vocal in opposing current immigration levels
• age influence on voting behaviour

  • conservative Gets more support from older voters
  • labour gets more support from younger voters
  • younger voters more in favour for equal distribution of wealth
  • more in favour of equality and change on social issues
  • older voters more sceptical about creating an equal society
• region influence on voting behaviour

  • further down the country labour support drops
  • conservative support grows
  • labour do better in the north
  • northern historically home to working class industries like mining
  • southere has many wealthy rural constituencies that are safe conservative seats
• class dealignment- the process where individuals no longer identify themselves as belonging to a certain class and for political purposes fail to make a class connection with their voting pattern
• turnout is the percentage of people who were eligible to vote who did turn out to vote

  • highest turnout was 1950 at 85%
  • lowest turnout was 2001 at 59%
• variable turnout is the higher up social strata you are, the more liKelly you are to vote
• age- THe older you are the more likely you are to vote
• party voting

  • in the past people were vary loyal to the parties they voted for
  • even if they changed class they would stick to the same party
  • however this core vote has decreased because of partisan dealignment
• partisan dealignment is the process of voters becoming less loyal to political parties
• gender

  • in the 1970s and early 1980s the Conservative Party was seen as the party of housewives
  • since the 1980s more women have entered the workplace
  • this also saw women begin to make up higher percentages of the staff in some traditional labour voting occupations
• age

  • the pattern tends to be that labour have slightly more support among younger voters than older Ines
  • the conservative increased in support up the ages
  • young people are more likely to vote labour as younger people tend to be more progressive
  • younger people have fewer responsibilities and can therefore indulge in more outward looking ideas
  • younger voters are less likely to vote than older voters
• ethnicity

  • BAME voters tend to vote labour due to historic and economic factors
  • historically immigrants from BAME backgrounds came to the uk and were employed in the major cities working in industry roles which made them natural allies of the Labour Party
  • BAME voters less likely to turn out to vote than white voters
• primacy factors-long term
• recency factors- short term
• rational choice theory

  • people vote based on what they consider to be in their own best interests
  • voters look at the manifestos and all the various policies of which party overall will govern most effectively in a way that suits them as individuals
• problems with rational choice theory

  • people aren’t going to take the time to read through manifestos
• issue voting

  • voters will decide whom to vote for based on a single issue that means a great deal to them
  • this could be rational
  • the issue could be environmental
• problems with issue voting

  • not long term
  • how many times are issues that big
• valence issues

  • how generally competent the previous government was and how competent voters think other parties would be if in government
  • how economically competent the government was and the other parties are likely to be
  • how strong and ’prime ministerial’ the leader of the party is
• problems with valence issues

  • some people’s loyalties override these
• a swing is the movement of voters from one party to another
• a churn is even if a few seats change hands and party votes remain stable this does not mean that most people voted for the same party as in the previous election
• spatial model of voting behaviour

  • stresses that their is much importance of positional voters
• salient issues

  • issues considered to be the most important within an election
• what factors influence valence voters

  • lower crime rates
  • economic growth
  • lower unemployment
  • can handle economy
• Manifesto is a list of policies a party sets out to try to appeal to voters and persuade them to vote for it
• labour 2019 manifesto

  • 4.3% increase per year in health budget
  • to negotiate the brexit deal with a new uk eu customs union
  • abolish uni fees
• conservative 2019 manifesto

  • increase number of nurses by 50,000
  • pensions will increase by at least 2.5% each year
  • spend at least 6.3 billion on 2.2 million disadvantageous homes
• Lib Dem 2019 manifesto

  • stop brexit
  • increase income tax by one penny in the pound to fund the nhs
  • to recruit 20000 more teachers
• mandate is wher ethe successful party following an election claims it has authority to implement its manifesto to promises
• doctrine of the mandate is when a patry wins an election and forms the government it has a mandate to Cary out all the party commitments contained in its election manifesto
• significance of doctrine of the mandate

  • electors can feel confident that they understand which policies they are consenting to when they cast their vote
  • the mandate strengthens government so that the winning party gains legitimacy for its politics
  • mandate means that parliament can call government to account on the basis of the governing parties manifesto
• problems with doctrine of the mandate

  • the doctrine does assume that electors have full knowledge of the manifesto and so can make rational judgement
  • it depends upon single party winning an election outright
  • voters who have opted for one party do not necessarily agree with all its manifestos commitment
  • circumstances may change after a party takes power
  • some manifesto commitment may be vague
• what important qualities should a party leader display

  • record in office
  • compassion
  • decisiveness
  • apparent honesty and sincerity
  • strong leadership
  • clear vision
  • communication skills