Flashcards
Gov and Politics - AS Unit 1 (Participation and Voting Behaviour)
Cards in this deck (38)
- 1Turnout figures in General Elections - how have they changed?1950 - 83.9% = VERY high
Average used to be around 75%
There has been a recent decline in the turnout rate
2001 - 59.4% (very low)
2015 - 66.1% - still disappointing figure
2017 - 68.7% - increase was surprising considering there was a snap election. - 2Other types of elections - turnout - difference?Usually much lower than a General Election
Averaged around 30%
By election average - 20%
2016 EU referendum = 72.2% (VERY high) - 3Reasons for decline in voting- Apathy - no interest in voting and politics
- Alienation of different groups - 18 - 25 year olds / ethnic minorities = average age of MP is 50 / 2017 election = 52 BME MPs
- Party dealignment - great numbers in the 1950s because of party identification and the decline in this affects participation = Blair alienated loyal Labour supporters.
- Hapathy - abstain because of happiness with the way they are being governed - 2005 = 29% abstained because of their happiness.
- The electoral system - differences between constituencies = electoral deserts or safe constituency where your vote will not count. E.g Billericay, Basildon and Wickford
- Public perception of politicians - MPs do not represent real people.
- Changing nature of political participation - use of direction action - 4Important studies about political participation1) Milbrath and Goel (1977) = divided US population into 3 groups: Gladiators = 5 -7% (fight the political battle), spectators = around 60% (watch the battle but only vote) and apathetics = around a third (abstain from politics)
2) Parry et al. (1992) = surveyed Britain during 1980s and found 23 methods of participation.
Conclusion = not everyone participates and those that do, not in the same. 23.2% went beyond voting.
Research conducted 20-30 years ago and therefore the levels of turnout / participation has changed dramatically. - 5Factors affecting Political Participation- Age = young people are less likely to vote
- Ethnicity = high turnout amongst Jewish and Asian voters / Lower amongst African - Caribbean
- Gender = men were traditionally seen to participate more but women are taking an active role and it can be argued that women's participation was ignored such as W.I
- Location = higher in urban areas
- Socialisation and Personality = politically active family and their upbringing.
- Social class = Higher classes are more likely to participate (level of education) - 6Political participation = IMPORTANT- Democracy = people can hold the govt. to account, voting is not enough. Political aware electorate is important for evaluation of the govt.
- Danger of increasing alienation and political exclusion of some social groups.
- Political participation by the moderate counteracts the extremist minority = Majority of British muslims oppose the tactics used by extremists and therefore have to show this.
- Participation is the way to counteract apathy and alienation = make a system that works for them.
- Cannot have their say about what the government is doing - Taxation and NHS
- All over the world people have fought for their right to vote.
- Symbol of democracy = voting. - 7Political participation = NOT IMPORTANT- Over emphasis on the traditional methods of participation
- Technological advancements = different methods of participation
- Politics is not an important priority in many people's lives
- People participate in times of crisis - Depression in Germany
- Little you can do to boost participation - 8Social Structures Model- Social characteristics influence the way people participate in politics
- Pulzer (1967) = "class is the basis of British politics" - 9Party Identification Model- Process of growing up and its impact.
- Parents can have a heavy influence on their child's views and this can stay with them.
- Political loyalty to a party and in some senses a psychological attachment to a party = 'partisan alignment'
- However, there has been a decline and therefore more of 'partisan dealignment' since the 1960s. - 10Rational Choice Model- Votes after examining a number of different factors and therefore coming to a rational decision.
- You make look at important issues to you - such as: the economy
- Suitability of PM is a major factor as well. - 11Dominant Ideology Model- Influenced by the mass media
- Political communication is distorted through shaping the agenda .
- Media is our main source of political information and electorate is heavily influenced during the run up to a General Election. - 12Voting Context Model- Type of election and the timing of elections will have an impact on how votes will be cast.
- Lower tier elections = more protest votes - 13Social class and its impact on voting behaviour (PRIMACY FACTORS)- Traditionally = most important factor in determining how you would vote.
- Pulzer (1960s) = 'class is the basis of British party politics'
- A/B/C1 = Conservatives
-C2/D/E = Labour - 14Class dealignment- Last 30 - 40 years = social class has become less important ---> Class Dealignment
- Thatcher's housing policies were very popular amongst working classes.
- Importance of class has declined
- Social mobility - system is not rigid.
- Changes in occupational structure - loss of many manufacturing jobs and traditional working class jobs = very high earners. - 15Voting patterns of social classes at recent elections.* 2010 = 39% of A/B voted for Conservatives and 40% D/E voted for Labour
* 2015 = 46% of A/B voted for Conservatives and 40% of D/E voted for Labour
* Rise of UKIP in 2015 = took votes away from leading parties ---> 21% of C2 votes.
* 2017 = 46% of A/B voted for Conservatives (but Lab still got 38% of vote) and 44% of D/E voted for Labour (Cons still got 41%)
* 2017 was a very close election and the Conservatives failed to gain a single majority ---> therefore showing social class was less important in this election. - 16Gender and its impact on voting behaviour.- Traditionally, Cons always had a strong advantage amongst women (Thatcher = first female PM)
- 2005 = clear that Labour had a clear lead amongst female voters (38%)
- Labour boosted the number of female candidates and therefore over 100 MPs in 1997.
- Some women work part-time = Labour are seen for protecting women's rights.
- Traditional views of the role of women held by some Conservative MPs is seen as outdated. - 17Voting patterns of gender at recent elections.* 2010 = gender gap was in favour of Conservatives ---> 36% women and 38% men
* 2015 = 37% women voted for Conservatives and 32% for Labour.
* Only a slight gap and therefore did not have a massive impact.
* 2017 = 43% women voted for both parties = showing that gender is no longer a huge factor in determining voting behaviour. - 18Ethnicity and its impact on voting behaviour.- Labour has clear lead amongst BME voters.
- Sympathetic on key issues such as immigration.
- Link to class, some BME will be from working class backgrounds.
- 2005 = 56% of non White voters, voted for Labour.
- Although, still ahead there has been a fall in the share of their vote (used to be 70-80%) ---> due to opposition to Iraq War and therefore lost a high proportion of the vote. - 19Voting patterns of ethnicity at recent elections.* 2010 = 68% of non-White voted for Labour.
* Still slightly lower and shows that anger at the Iraq War still remained ---> George Galloway and the Respect Party was able to win 55.9% in Bradford West in 2012.
* 2015 = 65% of BME voted for Labour and this was first time Cons had gained 1 million BME votes = gaining popularity.
* 2017 = 73% of BME voted for Labour - 20Region/Geography and its impact on voting behaviour- Since 1980s there has been a North/South divide
- Labour = the North, Scotland and Wales
- Conservatives = the South, East Anglia and rural areas
- Liberal Democrats = the South West - 21Voting patterns of region/ geography at recent elections.*2010 = 42% of Scotland voted for Labour (18% Cons) / 50% of South East voted for Cons (16% Lab) / 36% of Wales voted for Labour
*2015 = 41% of England voted for Cons and support for UKIP was very strong in England (14.1%)
*Labour relied heavily on the Scottish vote but in 2015 SNP won 56 out of 59 seats and this was a significant blow to Labour and the collapse of Lib Dems was very significant.
* 2017 = SNP only won 35 seats, Cons won 13, Lab - 7 and Lib Dems - 4 / more of a distribution of votes
* 2017 = Cons = 45.6% of votes in England but the fall of UKIP meant votes went to Cons. - 22Age and its impact on voting behaviour.- Trend that younger people are more likely to vote for Labour = idealistic and want change (Corbyn)
- Older = more conservative
- Young voters are also considered volatile and their vote cannot be guaranteed. - 23Voting patterns by age at recent elections* 2015 = 36% of 18 - 29 voted for Labour and 45% of 60+ voted for Cons - 16% of 60+ voted for UKIP (less tolerant of immigration)
* 2017 = 63.7% of 18-29 voted for Labour and 63.5% of 60+ voted for Cons. (Impact of the fall UKIP) - 24Religion and its impact on voting behaviour.- Historically, there was a strong link between religion and voting behaviour.
- Labour = Catholic and BME
- Conservatives = Church of England
- Lib Dems = Non-conformists - 25Voting patterns by religion at recent elections.* 2015 - 46% of C of E voted for Conservatives, 41% Catholic voted for Labour and 72% Muslims voted for Labour.
- 26Party dealignment and its impact on voting behaviour.- Since the 1950s and 1960s - the support for the larger parties has declined
- 1951 = 96.7% of all votes cast were for Labour and Conservatives
- 2010 = figure had fallen 65.1%
- Why? = class dealignment, education, ideology and the emergence of a multi party system. - 27Voting patterns by party dealignment at recent elections.*2010 = Cons-Lib Dem coalition
*2015 = Cons won 331 seats and Labour 232 but SNP won 56 seats
- UKIP won 12.6% of the vote (only 1 seat)
* 2017 = Cons won 318 seats (not enough for a parliamentary majority) and Labour won 262 seats - the support for UKIP fell but SNP were still very popular (35 seats). - 28Issue voting- Parties can no longer rely on the loyalty of their voters
- Compete for votes based on their policies and vote for the one that best suits their views. - 29Issue voting and its impact on voting patterns.* 2010 - issues which were identified = economy - 70%, immigration - 49% and NHS - 36% (economy was an important issue due to the 2008 credit crunch)
* 2015 - Cons found themselves defending their record and disregarding the input of the Lib Dems - economic policy (cut the deficit in half), promised to reduce spending on welfare (protect the NHS and education) and promised an EU referendum (threat of UKIP to their core voters)
* 2017 - most important issue = Brexit (86%), terrorism and NHS were second (two terrorist attacks in the period before the election - 6th June and 22nd May 2017) - 30The importance of issue voting- Hard to measure the exact impact of issue voting
- How many voters actually read the manifestos?
- What happens when the voter does not agree with all the policies?
- Impact of the media in presenting these ideas?
- For example, 2005 = 2/3rds of voters said that they disagreed with Labour's handling of the Iraq War but still won. - 31The election campaign and its impact on voting behaviour.- Parties can no longer depend on core support.
- Electorate makes the decision in the run up to the election.
- Party of the election campaign - release a party manifesto.
- National campaign = focus on key leaders
- Local campaign is run by grass roots voters and will focus on key marginal seats. - 32Voting patterns by the election campaign at recent elections.*1997 and 2001 = campaigns did not have much of an impact ---> Prescott Punch had limited impact.
* 2010 = the economy and this was tough for Labour as they were responsible for the dealings with the 2008 credit crunch ---> Cons attack
- Views on immigration were on the rise --> 'Bigotgate' = Brown called loyal Lab supporter 'bigot' due to her views on immigration.
-Doubts on the impact on the election campaign.
* 2015 = Cameron refused to take part in the TV debates (only one 7-way debate), surge in support for SNP and the rise of UKIP.
* 2017 = Dementia Tax lost the support of core voters for Cons (U-turn four days later - capping the amount that was required), Corbyn and Diane Abbott make stumbles on radio, impact of Corbyn and his appeal to the youth (tuition fees) and public sector cuts.
* - 33The importance of leadership and its impact on voting behaviour.* Margaret Thatcher - portrayed as the 'Iron Lady' by the media and strong image --> clearly success = 1979 - 1990
* Tony Blair - public had lost faith in Conservatives after Major, Blair very good on TV and good speaker and key reason for victory in 1997 and 2001.
* Conservative leaders 1997 - 2005 = Hague was not viewed as successful and Iain Duncan-Smith = removed from own party.
* Gordon Brown = took over from Blair in 2007 - looked indecisive and the credit crunch --> economic recession (Cons easily blamed as he was Chancellor)
* David Cameron = set about modernising the party, good on TV (portrayed him well) but did fail to win a parliamentary majority in 2010. - 34The Dominant Ideology Model- Increasingly seen as an important factor
- Do not read manifestos or attend political meetings.
- Get all info from the media ---> allows for the media to influence elections (Rupert Murdoch can have a great influence)
- Manipulative theory - mass media controlled by an elite which is focused on maintaining its position and therefore diverts readers away from real stories through meaningless trivia.
- Hegemonic theory - journalists have their own political view and therefore write in that particular perspective.
- Pluralist theory - individuals chose to read a wide range of media based on their own outlook. The media then reinforces readers' views. - 35The impact of the Sun Newspaper at General Elections.- Changes the political party it will support --> For example 1992 and 1997
- However, it is increasingly supporting the Conservatives (at the last 3 elections)
- However, sister paper in Scotland = support the SNP
- Could suggest that they back the winning side. - 36The impact of the media at recent elections.- Typically - The Guardian, Daily Mirror will support Labour and Daily Mail, The Sun, The Times and Telegraph will support Conservatives.
- No different in 2017 - 37TV and its impact on voting behaviour.- Politically neutral and therefore has a limited impact.
- 97% of British homes have televisions and many will have more than one.
- Both parties try to bully the BBC into giving more coverage.
- Spin Doctors - such as Alastair Campbell
- Party Political Broadcasts - 38Voting context model- Voter fatigue - less important elections there will be a lower turnout.
- Protest voting - often used in by-elections or local elections - such as UKIP in European elections.
- Protest candidates - Dr Richard Taylor won the seat in Wyre Forest in 2001 and 2005 on the platform of keeping local hospital open.
- Protest Parties - George Galloway - formed the Respect Party - target areas of high ethnic minorities - success in 2005 and 2012.
- By election - takes place when an MP dies or decides to reign - often encourages protest voting.
- Local elections - often decided by national issues rather than local ones.
- European elections - similar scenario to local
- Tactical voting - cast votes to stop the least favourite from winning - coalition between Lib Dem and Labour voters.
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- A level Politics Flashcards on Gov and Politics - AS Unit 1 (Participation and Voting Behaviour), created by Alicia Brown on 16/01/2018.
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- Alicia Brown · Jan 2018
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- Feb 1, 2018
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