Relationship Between Class And Voting

‘A Link Still Exists Between Class and Voting.’ How Far Do You Agree with This Statement?’

Traditionally, in the UK, social class has been a key influence on voting behaviour. Of the two main parties, Labour was set up because the Liberals weren’t doing enough for the working class while the Conservative Party was made to protect the interests of land owners, and people voted accordingly, in their own interests. As recently as 1964, about 66% of voters could be class voters, however since then there has been a process of ‘class dealignment’, as the link between class and voting has weakened more and more. However, many do still vote by class, so it cannot be said it has no influence.

Despite this ‘class dealignment’, many voters still seem

Valence voting is based on electors’ judgment of the competence and image of a party and its leaders, and its record. Often, they are based on which government can best deliver something everybody wants, such as the NHS. Positional voting, however, judges candidates based on their views on a few issues. An example of recent valence voting was in 1997 when Tony Blair’s New Labour was elected by a significant landslide. Tony Blair’s leadership and the party’s reformed image are given as reasons for this win. Another example is the Conservatives party’s win in 2010. The party has a traditional reputation for being economically competent, and this issue was particularly significant in the aftermath of the financial crisis, especially as Labour were seen to have mismanaged the economy in the years before. Positional issues are important, too. For example, the defining issues in the past two general elections was Britain’s membership of the European Union. This can be seen with the rise of the single-issue party UKIP, who promised to take Britain out of the EU. In 2010 they had about 3% of the vote; this quadrupled to 12% in 2015. The issue was seen to be so important that the leader of the Conservative party, David Cameron, promised a referendum if his party won. In 2017, too, parties’ positions on Brexit were the most important part of their manifesto. The Liberal Democrats,

For example, a working-class voter will see pension protection as a much more salient issue then a middle-class voter who has a sure pension. Moreover, it has been argued that the sociological model of voting is still important, but the group membership is now to do with age as opposed to social class, and the numbers seem to reflect this. In 2017 Labour led the conservatives by 47% among voters aged 18-19, but the Conservatives led Labour by more than 50% in the over 70 category. According to YouGov, you are 8% more likely to vote Tory every ten years older you are, and 6% less likely to vote Labour. Figures like reflect the social class divisions in the last century. In 1963 for example, working-class voters were more than three times as likely to vote Labour than Tory. This leads to the conclusion that, at least relating to factors that affect voting, age is the new class. This shows that, while class is now of very minor importance the sociological model of voting still does apply, however it is much less important than the rational-choice model in predicting voting behaviour, especially as about half of voters are now ‘floating’, and much less tied down by things like