voting behaviour

Class dealignment

People don’t associate with a specific social class

Class alignment

People associate themselves with a class and firmly believe they belong to it

Political socialisation

Decide things politically based on how you’ve learnt to behave based on people around you

Partisan dealignment- increased education

Expansion of education encouraged voters to question traditional, party-based loyalties and to take political issues more seriously

Partisan dealignment - Impact of the media

Access to wide variety of political information. Therefore less dependant on party-supporting newspapers

Partisan dealignment - ideological change

Shifts in party policies and ideological beliefs since 1980s have alienated some of their traditional supporters and appealed to non traditional supporters

Percentage of voters as ‘very strong’ party identifiers in 2005

10%

How many voters supported their ‘natural class party’ in 1979

51%

How many voters supported their ‘natural class party’ in 2010

38%

Is class the main dividing like in UK politics

No

Class dealignment

The weakening of the relationship between social class and party support.

Changing class system - manual work force has shrunk

58% - 1961

29% - 2013

The traditional working class gave way to the ‘new’ working class.

Social class have become less clear cut

• Decline in trade union membership

• Increase in home ownership

Embourgeoisement - growing affluence

Encouraged WC voters to see themselves as MC

What have parties done so they appeal to more classes

Parties move to the centre of the political system to be more attractive

Voter unpredictability

Voters have become unpredictable in who they will vote for. They’re more influenced by the image of parties instead of policy.

What was the most impotent factor when voting analysis started in 1945

Social class - people tended to vote for their natural class

A - upper class

B - middle class

C1- upper working class

C2 - lower working class

D/E - temporarily or long term unemployed

Mid 1960s vs 1979 class alignment

Mid 1960 - C1 and 2 voter supported labour, 64% of total vote

1979 - fallen to 57%

Continued to fall throughout 1980s, confirming British public we’re moving away from voting according to class

1987 GE C2 voters

42% Conservative, 35% labour.

Total reversal or previous voting behaviour, partly attributed to politicised of PM Margaret Thatcher

2001 AB constituents

40% in favour of conservatives

Almost half of WC voted labour

2024 - 25%

1979 - 59%

2010 GE

Conservatives gained from all groups except DE

ABC1 - 39% Conservative

DE - 40% labour

North/south divide in voting behaviour in UK - geography

North tends to favour labour, South favours conservatives.

2001 - southern England 56.3% Conservative. North, Scotland, wales - 82.4% labour.

May be linked to UK industrial past - heavy industry and links to trade unions concentrated in north of england, Scotland and wales.

Age - 2024 election

Key dividing line. Younger more likely to vote for labour, older conservatives.

18-24

• 41% lab, 8% con, 18% green, 9% ref

50-59

• 34% lab, 24% con, 5% green, 19% ref

Median age labour is 46, Conservative 63, reform 56, green 39

Men and women 2024

Labour - 34% men, 35% women

Conservative- 26% women, 23% men

Reform - 17% men, 12% women

Young Green - 23% women, 12% men

Young reform - 12% men, 6% women

Education level 2024

University degree - labour 42%, conservative 18%

Lower education level reform 23%, 8% of those with higher education

2024 voter turnout

59.7%, lowest at a general election since 2001

7.6 percentage points lower than in 2019

south vs north turnout gap was around 6% - largest region turnout divide since 2010

Regional turnout 2024

Highest turnout (64.9%) SW England, lowest turnout (55.7%) in Yorkshire