Social factors
Social class
AB Higher managerial positions like bankers, doctors, company directors.
C1 Professional occupations like teachers, office managers.
C2 Skilled manual occupations like hairdressers, mechanics, train drivers.
DE Semi-skilled and unskilled manual occupations like labourers, bar staff,
as well as the unemployed.
Typically, AB voters and most C1 voters voted for the Conservatives, whilst DE
voters and most C2 voters voted for Labour.
- Voting was part of a class identity: to be middle or upper class was to
support the Conservatives.
- Both major parties developed strong roots within communities.
- The Conservative party was perceived to govern more in the interests of
the middle class, while Labour developed policies to help the working class
and the poor.
Floating voters are those who do not identify strongly with any party and
therefore change their political allegiance between elections. These are mainly
C1 and C2 voters which become key groups in determining electoral outcomes.
The main parties tailor their manifestos towards these groups.
In 1964, 64% of the DE social class voted Labour, and 78% of the AB social class
voted Conservative. In 1997 59% of the DE social class voted Labour, and 59% of
AB voted Conservative. In 2019, only 39% of DE voted Labour and only 45% of
AB voted Conservative.
- One major reason for this is class dealignment, the fact that many
individuals no longer identify themselves as belonging to a certain class.
- Since the 1980s, the main parties have tended to adopt centrist and
consensual policies that appeal to a wider class base.
- Property ownership has risen dramatically so more people are able to buy
their own home and now seek middle-class protections that the
Conservatives provide.
- There has been a rise in the influence of other factors that have replaced
social class. In 2019 the Conservatives received the highest percentage of
votes in all four social classes, more in C2 than even C1 or AB. This was as
a result of their commitment to Brexit.
There is a trend that members of the C2 and DE social classes, tend to vote less
than those in AB and DE. In 2019, turnout was 15% less between AB and DE. This
may be down to education or a disconnect from the political system but makes it
harder for parties who appeal to the working class.
Party loyalty
Traditionally, most voters in the UK would closely align with a political party -
usually due to class - and would remain loyal to that party regardless of any
other factor. These are known as core voters that guarantee parties a certain
degree of support.
, However, since the 1970s we have seen a rise in partisan dealignment, the idea
that voters no longer identify themselves with a certain party in the long term
and are therefore more likely to switch from their traditional party. This was seen
most notably in 2017 and 2019, where high numbers of, mainly traditional
Labour voters, switched allegiance over issues like Brexit and Corbyn.
Gender
Before the late 1980s women were much more likely to vote Conservative than
Labour. In 1983 46% of women voted for Conservatives, compared to just 26%
for Labour. The Conservatives were seen as the party of the housewife who kept
costs in the house low whilst the Labour party focused much more on rights and
benefits for working men. This changed as more women entered the workplace,
and the collapse of British industry forced the Labour party to consider a greater
range of issues.
Nowadays, any gender gap within voting is usually quite small. In 2019 3% more
men voted conservative, and 3% more women voted Labour overall. However,
whilst voting preferences are almost identical in the older age groups, wide
differences emerge in the younger age groups. In 2019, in the 18-24 voting
category, women were 50 percentage points more supportive of Labour than the
Conservatives compared to 18 percentage points in men (You Gov). This reflects
the ongoing trend seen since 2010, of support growing for Labour among
women.
Overall Gender is too large a social grouping to effectively explain electoral
results.
Education
Traditionally, less people sat their A-levels and very few went to university.
These were mainly those of the middle and upper class so voting differences in
regard to education were really just showing voting differences between social
class.
Since then, the amount of people entering higher education has massively grown
(50% in 2017 for the first time).
Evidence does seem to suggest that education has a ‘liberalising’ effect, with
people more likely to vote Labour or Liberal Democrats the higher their level of
qualification.
- According to YouGov, in 2019, the Conservatives received 58% of the vote
among people with GCSEs or below, Labour and the Lib Dems received
25% and 8%.
- Amongst degree holders, the Conservatives received 29% of the vote,
whilst Labour and the Lib Dems now received 43% and 17%.
- This trend of voting more left-wing with greater education can be seen in
the jump from GCSEs to A-levels, and then again from A-levels to higher
education.
- In 2017 4% of degree-holders voted for UKIP compared to 17% of those
with no formal qualifications.
