Introduction
•There are many factors that can affect voting behaviour some of which are more important than others.
•The factors have changed over the years but some have maintained their importance.
•These factors can include age, education, and social class.
•All these factors are important however, in this essay I will show that ‘Age’ is the most importantly factor regarding voting behaviour.
AGE
P - Age is the most important factor affecting voting behaviour. This is because older people are less likely to vote for change as they have more to lose. Younger voters are more likely to vote for equality and free education, promoting progress and political changes, thus far voting for parties like labour over conservatives.
E - For example in the 2024 General Election we saw that 41% of 18-24 year olds voted labour compared to 20% of 70+ years olds
A - This indicates that there is a significant link between age and voting as the divide is vast.
R - However, more recently, older voters have been more willing to embrace change.
E - This was shown during the 2016 EU referendum where voting behaviour existed out of traditional party lines when it came to age. For example, 60% of over 50s voted to leave the EU while over 60% of under 50s were against it.
A - This highlights that age is becoming an influential factor in voting behaviour, but this time for change. However it could be argued that older voters chose to support Brexit to protect their interests.
L - Overall, age is a very influential as a long term pattern shows that older voters are more likely to vote for existing circumstances whilst younger voters get voters are likely to vote for political progress and change in general elections. While some elections have shown this is not the case lil in the 2016 EU referendum it can also be argued that this was not to do with wanting change but instead about going back to the way things were, highlighting a strong link to age again.
SOCIAL CLASS
P - Social class is an important factor in affecting voting behaviour. This is because in the past it was more common seen that those from a working class background would vote for labour, whilst those from a middle to upper class background voted for conservatives, each for their own benefits.
E - This is evident when Ipsos Mori found that in 2016 those who identify as working class were much more likely to vote for ‘Leave’ than those identifying as middle to upper class.
A - This is demonstrated as an obvious divide in social class on voting behaviours between the classes.
R - However, it can be argued that it is now, not considered as big as an influence which is due to parties broadening their appeals. This is called Class Dealignment which means that the association between voting intention and class has declined.
E - This is becoming more noticeable within more recent elections, and how class is not impacting voting behaviours as much. This is seen in the 2024 General Election which showed that conservatives and labours views may start to be similar, no matter the class. Both parties performed well with both class ranges, however Labour did a lot better than conservatives in the higher social grade (36% - 25%) and lower classes (33% - 23%).
A - This shows that class is less likely to be a large factor that affects who people vote for as Labour recently has been able to appeal to all class ranges.
L - Overall, class has been such a big part in voting behaviours in the past and even in the present. Although, things such as class dealignment show that even the usual traditional ways are crumbling, showing class isn’t as much as an influential factor like age.
EDUCATION
P - Education is also an important factor affecting voting behaviour. This is because those who have a higher level of education tend to vote for Labour and lean left wing, whilst those who have a lower level of education tent to vote for conservatives and lean right wing.
E - The evidence to support this would be that in the 2024 General Election, Labour performed better than those who had a university degree (42%-18%), and those who achieved GCSE’s or lower (31% to 28%).
A - This suggests that education is really an important influence on one’s voting go behaviour and there is a clear divide on who votes who.
R - However, it could be argued that education is not an important factor as it may be hard to separate through educational attainment from age as younger people are more likely to be highly educated than older voters potentially to accessibility nowadays.
L - Overall, education can be a key factor when considering voting behaviours due to those accessing Higher Education and understanding both parties.
