Three ways media can influence the outcome of an election in the uk
Newspapers
Parties are keen to convince newspapers to back them
Older voters who are more likely to vote than younger voters read newspapers
1997 Tony Blair convinced Rupert Murdoch to switch allegience to labour, showing how important he felt that the sun newspaper was
However, newspapers reflect existing views of the reader, newspaper membership declining,
newspapers in 2017 were highly critical of corbyn and he almost won the election
Three ways media can influence the outcome of an election in the uk
Broadcast Media
trusted by voters to be impartial and fair
Live TV debates attract millions of viewers
2019, mays refusal to debate, 67% turnout, second highest since 1997
cleggmania, lib dems lost seats, 2019 election turnout went down from 2017 by 1.5%
most people still vote as they were regardless of broadcast media
Three ways media can influence the outcome of an election in the uk
Social Media
used by many young voters to access political information
Political parties spend a lot more money on social media campaigns
Labour 2017 86 million views on their social media campaign whereas tories on 25 million
However social media generally used to share views one already holds creating an echo chamber
Conservatives still won 2017 election with a 21 point lead
Three ways in which UK political Parties select their leaders
Conservatives
no formal mechanism for electing leaders until 1965
Between 1995-97 only MPs could run in the leadership election
1997 Fresh Future outlined the current election rules
2 stages
Tory MPs vote in elimination rounds until 2 candidates are left
Party members then vote out of the two candidates
The process has become more democratic internally with greater involvement of party members
more power to Mps than Labour or Lib Dems as only 2 candidates progress to 2nd round and each are heavily backed by supporters
Three ways in which Uk Political Parties select their leaders
SNP
3 potential candidates
candidates need 100 nominations from 20 geographical branches to stand
candidates ranked in order of preference using alternate voting, more than 50% of vote is needed to win
no worry of wasted votes
Single ballot and avoids need for tactical voting
Three ways in which Uk Political Parties select their leaders
Liberal Democrats
relied on postal ballots from members since 1975
uses alternate voting, more than 50% needed to win
candidates must be MPs with support from at least 10% of Lib Dems, from 20 local consituencies, and at least 200 members
Three ways in which the EU has had an impact on UK politics
Impact on Devolution
Threat to stability in northern ireland after brexit. Northern ireland protocal allowed northern ireland to stay in the EU customs Union, provided it follows EU trade rules,
in 2021 Uk government threatened to suspend the protocal in response to distruption cased by goods checks
SNPs calls for a second Scottish Independence referendum after majority voted to remain in 2016
Three ways in which the EU has had an impact on UK politics
Impact on constitution
brexit involved a massive change to constitution - EU law no longer suspended UK law
Future Uk laws and policies could be developed independently of the EU
Leavers argued this restored full sovreignty back to parliament
Three ways in which the EU has had an impact on UK politics
Impact on Government
David Camerons decision to do a referendum and his subsequent resignation
attempt to prevent UKIP from taking votes from the conservatives, included a EU referendum in his mannifesto
tories very divided over eu Cameron wanted remain, boris and michael grove opted to leave
resigned after as he was the leader of the remain campaign, defeated after result was declared
Explain and analyse three long-term factors, other than class, that can influence voting behaviour
Age
older more likely to vote conservative, and young more likely to vote labour
70% of 18-24 voted remain in 2016 referendum compared to 40% of those aged over 65
impact on turnout - younger voters less likely to vote than older people, 47% amongst 18-24 year olds and 72% among those aged 65 and up
Explain and analyse three long-term factors, other than class, that can influence voting behaviour
Geography
Traditionally there was a clear North/South divide - southern being more likely to vote conservative and northern being more likely to vote labour
divisions linked to social class and occupation with the north being mostly industrial jobs and the south being higher paying professional jobs
Reigonal shifts, 2019 traditional labour midlands seats lost to tories due to issues such as Brexit
Explain and analyse three long-term factors, other than class, that can influence voting behaviour
Ethnicity
BAME groups (black, asian and minority ethnic groups) are significantly more likely to vote labour, in 201964% of BAME voters voted labour
harsh legislation regarding immigration from tories deters BAME voters
Explain and analyse three influences upon individual MPs when voting in the House of Commons
Whips
Party 'Whip' issues instructions on how MPs shpuld vote on a weekly basis
A three line whip is a strict instruction to attend and vote according to the party line
Boris Johnson's expelled multiple rebel Conservative MPs because they voted against the whip and voted against a no-deal Brexit
a Party Whip influences MPs largely when voting in the House of Commons because the consequence of voting against the whip is disciplinary action, which could end in expulsion
Explain and analyse three influences upon individual MPs when voting in the House of Commons
Constituency representation
each MP represents a constituency and everyone within it
jeremy corbyn represents everyone in islington north
a fifth of Labour MPs defied the three-line whip and voted against the Brexit Bill Feb 2017, with many citing constituents as a reason for doing so
in the delegate model of voting, some people view MPs and some MPs act as a mouthpiece for their constituents, therefore they will vote along with what their constituents want, further influencing them
Explain and analyse three influences upon individual MPs when voting in the House of Commons
Public Responsibility
where constituents trust their MP to make the right decision and vote for what they feel is best, Burkean or Trustee Model
Usually surrounding specific issues involving abortion, same-sex marriage, war etc
MPs may feel pressured to vote for what is right and go against what the party or their constituents want, therefore influencing them