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Summary Edexcel A-level Politics Paper 1 essay plans - TOPIC 4 Voting Behaviour
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Edexcel A-level Politics Paper 1 essay plans - TOPIC 4 Voting Behaviour
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Topic 4: Voting behaviour1) Evaluate the view that the media plays a major role during and between elections
Intro:
Dominant ideology model – argues that voters are influenced by the ideology of powerful elites, who, through their
role in the media are in a position to project ideas that suit their interests – therefore one could argue that the media
plays a major role during and between elections due to the extent to which their voting behaviour is swayed by
broadcast, print and social media.
Counter – it seems more convincing however to suggest that our voting behaviour is shaped by other factors such as
those stressed by the sociological structures, party identification and rational choice models rather than just the
media – however, it would not be wrong to suggest that while the media might not change how we think, it can
strongly influence what we think about – this is known as the agenda setting theory – for this reason the most
compelling argument is that the media plays a major role in during and between elections
Para 1: Print media
- Historically, print media has arguably played a large role in influencing voting behaviour – therefore the
media in general plays a major role during and between elections.
- “It’s the Sun wot won it” - 1992 they endorse the conservatives, and the conservatives win by a landslide – in
1997 they endorse labour, and labour wins in a landslide.
- In particular, newspapers have a tendency to subtly frame (present) issues to influence how we think about
them – often by vilifying those candidates they are opposed to.
- For example, in 2018, the sun newspaper ran the headline “Corbyn and the Commie Spy” - likewise in 2017
the daily mail published the headline “Corbyn at rally attended by jihadists linked to the London Bridge
killer” - this was significant for Corbyn as it shaped how many viewed him – an extremist politician – which
according to the rational choice model can have a significant impact on electoral success – valence model
shortcuts – leader reputation – arguably translated into electoral failure for the former Labour leader – lost
60 seats in 2019.
- COUNTER: There is strong statistical evidence to suggest that the media does not influence voting
behaviour to a large degree and therefore does not play a major role in elections.
- For example, despite the frequent attacks on Corbyn by right-wing papers, there was a 9.6% swing to
Labour 2017.
- Likewise, in recent years less and less people are engaging with papers – switching their attention to
social media and online publications – readership of tabloids down 50% since 2010 – Sun 3.9m
(1997) to 1.14m (2019)
- Despite this whilst newspapers still play a major role in elections – with many of them migrating
online they retain their influence.
- In the 2019 general election 72% of the population had frequent access to at least 1 news
website during the campaign.
Para 2: Broadcast media
- The role of broadcast media during and between elections has been particularly significant in the context of
interviews and TV debates – the latter was introduced in 2010
- The First debate had an audience of over 10 million viewers – lib Dem leader Nick Clegg surprised many by
winning the first debate – his approval rating reached 68% compared to Cameron (45%) and Brown (35%) -
strength of support didn’t directly translate into a massive gain in seats for the Lib Dems but their national
vote share did increase to the extent to which they would become coalition partners with the conservatives
– rational choice model – valence model - parties will win if they appear to be the most capable of delivering
good results on valence issues – competency of a leader can be an important factor in achieving this.
, - COUNTER:
- The significance of broadcast media can be negated due to the extent to which it is ignored by
politicians – does not play a major role during and between elections.
- For example, in 2019, Boris Johnson refused to be interviewed by Andrew Neil before the polling
day, despite the fact that all the other leaders of the major parties had agreed to do so – the
conservative party would go on to win the election by a landslide majority of 80 seats.
- Likewise, in 2019, Boris Johnson refused to participate in the channel 4 conservative party leadership
contest debate – a contest he would eventually go on to win.
- Ignoring TV debates and interviews can have massive implications for candidates – for example,
in 2017, Theresa May decided not to turn up for the BBC election debate despite the fact that all
the other party leaders were present – Theresa May seen as a less competent leader – valence
model of voting – election resulted in a hung parliament for the conservatives – resulted in a
coalition being agreed between the DUP and the conservatives.
- For this reason, the media plays a major role during and between elections.
Para 3: social media
- The role of social media during and between elections is particularly significant for younger voters who tend
not to be engaged with the traditional forms of media – rather they tend to be engaged with online forms of
media – in 2015: 79% 18–24-year-olds received their news online.
- The significance of this has been emphasised by the success of Labour in appealing to younger voters in
recent years – due to their more successful social media campaigns than the conservatives.
- For example, on Facebook Jeremy Corbyn and Labour achieved 86.2 million views on campaign videos,
compared with only 24.5 million views for Boris Johnson and the Conservatives.
- This translated into Labour experiencing huge success in garnering younger votes in the 2019 general
election.
- 2019: 62% 18-24 = Lab
- COUNTER:
- The significance of this form of media is negated by the fact that it appeals to a very small proportion
of the electorate – typically younger voters.
- For example, 75+ = 12% social media news + 95% TV news
- Likewise, social media sources struggle with trust and therefore are less effective in influencing
voting behaviour than other forms of media – Ofcom Report 2022: “social media platforms continue
to score relatively poorly on trust”
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