Analyse voting behaviour in the period 1945

Analyse voting behaviour in the period 1945-2001 Essay Voting behaviour can be interpreted in various different ways, but when adopted with the term at face value, on a sociological level; there are many different reasons as to why the way people vote and what causes them to vote the way they do.The period from 1945-70 was the classic era of two- party dominance. Since the early seventies Conservative and Labour power has remained virtually unaltered in Parliament, but their grip has loosened in local government, and the popular foundations of the two party system have been eroded among voters. The following provides a fresh and accessible perspective on theories of electoral change, placing developments in Britain within their broader comparative context, and challenging many assumptions about trends in voting behavior. The primacy approach is long life characteristics which focus on the relatively stability of voting behavior. Political socialisation is the process by which people acquire their political attitudes, values and ways of behaving. The primacy approach assumes that the majority of people retain their party preference and voting habits are formed when they first become politically aware. There is some evidence for this as the Conservatives won a spectacular consecutive period of being in office from the years 1978 to 1997 with a success of 49% of the votes. However although this forms the basis of voting there are other factors and possibilities in order to be taken into account such as occupation, immigration, health system etc, these help to influence the voters choice of party. However there are long terms factors which help to influence us i.e. social class. The electoral choices of voters were at first influenced mainly by social- group identity, which in turn helped to forge partisan identification; however during the 1960s and 1970s the relationship between class and party weakened. The process of class dealignment meant that there was a reduction in Labour support fro the working classes. Most people used to vote for their natural class party but it changed due to different parties introducing different policies to suit the need of their intended audience. Both Conservative and Labour have suffered from party dealignment. In 1964, 48% voted conservatives and 51% Labour voters identified very strongly with their party. In 1992 traditionally conservatives had seen themselves as the party of home-ownership, but the hardship many people had experienced during the major years as a result of high interest, had led to much support being switched to Labour. This shows dealignment. Labour party seemed to attract the council tenants a new audience of voters. By appealing to Middle England, the Labour party may have made it easier for voters who did not belong to the working class to vote for them. . Labour is shown to be much stronger than Conservative in the last 20 years as Labour won back 7. 9% of the working class vote. Some politicians are claiming that Britain is becoming a classless society whereby e are merging and coming together as one. This is clearly the embourgeoisement thesis; capitalism has changed dramatically during the twentieth century. Many of those officially classified as middle class are low paid jobs, indistinguishable from unskilled manual work, todays blue collar and routine clerical workers leaves them little different from manual workers. The universal Franchise was at first limited to those over twenty-one, in the belief that the young are more likely to question established values and favor radical policies. Young people tend to abstain from voting as they are either a political or have cannot see what difference the outcome will make in their everyday lives. .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035 , .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035 .postImageUrl , .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035 , .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035:hover , .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035:visited , .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035:active { border:0!important; } .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035:active , .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035 .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub83a9e62e66ad0484ea1103f11b8c035:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Visual Literacy And The Arts In Essay However, there has been a greater rise in the Labour vote in 1997 amongst the young. This was probably due to the Labour party appealing to the working class and Tony Blairs sense of youth and optimism. In 1992 more young people voted conservative than Labour, suggesting the effect of a generation socialized by unbroken conservative rule. The increasing potential of older peoples votes was shown in 1997 as age concern produced glossy brochures to mobilize the elderly, emphasising that 24% of the electorate had considerable voter power. It has been argued that property and wealth as we grow older lead to a more conservative outlook. 65+ give more support towards conservative. Half of fewer than 45 voters were Labour. Generally black people have been less inclined to register to vote than whites. However, those of an Asian descent are more likely to vote than their white neighbours, while afro-Caribbean are less so. In both cases the strong preference has been for Labour. Many young afro-carribeans generally do not vote .