What determines the way people vote in the UK?• Long term factors

– Social class– Age– Gender– Geography– Ethnicity– Party affiliation

• Short term factors– Rational choice– Issues– party image and personalities

Social class• Social class way of dividing people into groups based

on occupation

A Professional Accountant, doctor, university teacher

B Intermediate Pilot, manager, police officer, school teacher

C1 Non-manual skilled e.g. clerical, secretary, call centre worker

C2 Manual skilled Electrician, bus driver, butcher

D Partly skilled Bar person, waiter, postal worker

E Unskilled Labourer, cleaner

• We will mostly talk about 4 class groups: AB, C1, C2 and DE

“Mid

dle

clas

s”“w

orki

ng c

lass

”

Social Class• Until the 1970s there was a clear two

party system. • Clear distinction between left and

right• Most voters had strong ties to a

particular party based on their social background and voted along class lines

What does ‘left-wing’ and ‘right-wing’ mean

Voting patterns by social class

• Traditionally, A,B,C1 voted Conservative in large numbers

• C2, D, E voted Labour.

• Voting behaviour 1948 -1958 (Butler and Stokes)

AB C1 C2 DE

• Conservative 85 70 35 30

• Labour 10 25 60 65

Conclusions

• Most people had strong loyalty to one party• Social class was the biggest influence in

deciding which party voters supported• Why?• Labour was seen as the natural party for the

working class because ……………..• Whereas the natural party for the middle and

upper classes was the Conservatives because …………….

Social class changes• Impact of economic changes

– heavy industries in decline, more social mobility, decreasing union membership

• The New Working class were more likely to be concerned with interest rates and personal wealth

• Thatcher’s Conservative policies appealed to them.

Result: party dealignment

• Party dealignment = weakening attachment to a political party

• Evidence– More and more people are voting against

traditional class lines. Only 47% of us voted for our ‘clas party’ at the last general election

• Class voting by party in 1992 (%)

AB C1 C2 DE

• Conservative 56 52 38 30

• Labour 20 25 41 50

• Lib Dem 22 19 17 15

• Class voting by party in 1997 (%)

AB C1 C2 DE

• Conservative 42 26 25 21

• Labour 31 47 54 61

• Lib Dem 21 19 13 13

Analysis

• C2, traditionally skilled manual working class, had been more supportive of the Conservatives in 1992 than Labour .

• However in 1997 they voted decisively in Labour’s favour .

• For the first time in 1997 also, the largely middle class C1 gave more votes to labour than they did to the Tories.

Social ClassWHO VOTED FOR THE

PARTIES? % support in 2005

TORY LABOUR LIB

AB 37 28 29

C1 (lower middle class) 37 32 23

C2 (skilled workers) 33 40 19

DE (unskilled workers) 25 48 18

8 11 18 18

Social Class - Some Changes

The Old Working class, employed in heavy industry , possibly a TU member , living in a council house has been replaced by a “new” working class which does not have the same automatic loyalty to Labour. This New Working class is more likely to be part of a skilled workforce employed in high tech industries and owner occupiers.

Labour had to reinvent itself to win back its traditional working class base but also the middle classes .

Social Class

In the last twenty

years it has been

apparent that the influence of social

class as the main

determining factor

in voting behaviour is decreasing but it still

remains important..

Influences on the floating voter

These can include

family back ground, neighbourhood

geographical location, age, gender religion and ethnicity as well

as short term political and economic factors . Of course how the media report

these could also have an effect.

Religion

Religion• Historically, religion was a big factor in Scottish

elections. The Conservative Party could appeal to “Protestant” working class voters. Labour was portrayed as the party of poor Catholic Irish immigrants.

• The influence of religion has declined in the post war years. It does though retain an influence in Scotland.

• On the other hand, Muslim voters, who in the past have been relatively faithful Labour supporters, have turned away from the party over Tony Blair’s support for the war in Iraq.

• In constituencies where more than 10% voters were Muslims, Labour’s vote fell by 10.6%

Gender

• In 2005, women became the targets of attention for party strategists. Women used to have a strong attachment to the Conservatives

• The main parties have strategies to attract middle class female voters – the so-called School Gate Mum - the British version of the “Soccer Mums” found in the USA.

Gender

• In 2005, women‘s votes were critical to Labour’s success. According to MORI, 38% of women voted Labour, 32% voted Conservative

• Whereas 34% of men voted Labour and 34% voted Conservative.

Age• There is a cliché which

says that as you get older you become more conservative

• Labour still did well among younger voters, but not as well as in 1997, when the “youthful” appeal of Tony Blair was very influential.

• The only social group that has remained solidly Conservative are older voters, with 41% of the over 65s

voting Tory in comparison to 35% voting Labour.

• But 28% 18-24 voted Tory, fewer than the 38% who voted Labour.

• There is a strong link between age and social class

Race• Black voters are significantly more likely to

be Labour supporters. So too are Asian voters, but not as strongly as blacks.

• This could be related to social class, with blacks more likely to live in poorer inner city areas and have a low income.

• Also Labour has tended to have more liberal policies on issues such as discrimination.

• Labour won 56% of the non white vote with the Tories trailing with 19% in 2005

Race

• The Conservatives have sometimes tried to make immigration an issue at General Elections, which alienated black and Asian voters.

• David Cameron has tried to end the Conservatives image as the “nasty party” and has made big efforts to win the votes of minority voters.

• Short term factors

• Party manifesto

• Taxation, NHS, Education, law and order

• However at present little difference in ideology between the parties

• Party image

• competent ? Good track record? Positive

• Issues

• Iraq war, the handling of the economy

Immigration

Impact of the media

1992 Election

Impact of the media• The relationship between

the media and voter is a complex one which should not be simplified. For example, the Sun switched its support from Conservative to Labour in 1997.

• Does this mean “it woz the Sun wot won it” or does it mean that The Sun, like everyone else, saw which way the tide was turning and jumped ship to support the winning team?

1997 Election

Impact of the media

• Political parties would not spend so much time and energy on “spin” if what people see on TV and read in newspapers had no influence on how they vote.

Newspaper 1997 2001 2005

Sun Lab Lab Lab

Daily Mirror Lab Lab Lab

Daily Mail Con Con Con

Daily Express Con Lab Con

Daily Star Lab Lab No Support

Daily Telegraph

Con Con Con

Financial Times Lab Lab Lab

Party Support from newspapers