Q. Discuss three major factors which have influenced recent voting behaviour.

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Q. Discuss three major factors which have influenced recent voting behaviour.

(22 marks)

A. Traditionally, voting behaviour in general elections has been much easier to explain, with voters in the C2DE category generally voting Labour and those in the ABC1 category generally voting Conservative. However, since the 1970’s there has been growing evidence to support the theory of class dealignment. This theory suggests that the people in these social groups have thrown off the strong links with their traditional parties and use their vote more instrumentally.

The causes of dealignment are linked to the changing social structure in Britain which has seen a large number of people moving up in the social categories. The most obvious manifestation of this was the movement of many into the C1 category making the middle classes (ABC1’s) the most numerous. In identifying this change, Tony Blair gradually shifted the Labour party’s left-wing policies, which appealed broadly to the working classes, to the centre. This had the effect of Labour managing to gain hugely on the Tories in the AB category in the ’97 and 2001 general elections (33% compared to the Conservative’s 40%) and even beat them by 4% in the crucial C1 category.

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With Labour’s traditional support of the working classes (although notably waning with 7% less in the DE category in 2001), the Labour ‘landslide victory’ should have come as no surprise.

Tactical voting is a relatively new occurrence in British politics, which became increasingly apparent in the 1997 general election. A collaborative paper aided by Evans concluded that more people voted in the ’97 election than the ’92 election and this was because they “believed the parties had changed.” An on-line news report then ran a survey which showed that 10% of people in the 1997 and 2001 elections voted ...

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