11909039
Description
Flashcards by Alicia Brown, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Alicia Brown
about 6 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| Turnout 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. |
| Other 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) |
| Reasons 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 |
| Important studies about political participation | 1) 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. |
| Factors 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) |
| Political 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. |
| Political 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 |
| Social Structures Model | - Social characteristics influence the way people participate in politics - Pulzer (1967) = "class is the basis of British politics" |
| Party 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. |
| Rational 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. |
| Dominant 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. |
| Voting 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 |
| Social 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 |
| Class 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. |
| Voting 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. |
| Gender 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. |
| Voting 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. |
| Ethnicity 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. |
| Voting 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 |
| Region/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 |
| Voting 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. |
| Age 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. |
| Voting 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) |
| Religion 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 |
| Voting 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. |
| Party 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. |
| Voting 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). |
| Issue 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. |
| Issue 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) |
| The 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. |
| The 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. |
| Voting 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. * |
| The 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. |
| The 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. |
| The 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. |
| The 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 |
| TV 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 |
| Voting 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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