Social class

TEXT B

LOCAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS IN SCOTLAND

2007 marked the first time the Single Transferable Vote (STV) voting system was used to elect Local Councilors in Scotland. This followed criticisms that some councils in Scotland were dominated by a single party. Using a form of PR, not FPTP, it would be fairer and all parties would be better represented. It is hoped that more people will turn out to vote however, it will lead to coalitions running many Scottish councils.

STV uses multi-member constituencies of 3 or 4 councilors per ward. Each party selects a number of candidates to be elected. Voters rank their preferred candidate(s) in order of preference. To be elected a candidate needs to reach a set number of votes also known as a quota. The candidate with the least votes drops out and their votes are reallocated to the voters’ second choices until the required number of candidates (3 or 4) have reached the quota and are elected. Using STV ensures there are far fewer wasted votes.

Only five councils in Scotland are now controlled by one party and 27 councils have no one party in control. Many councils have formed coalitions or partnership agreements. This will no doubt make it difficult to get things passed if there is not agreement among the parties.

VOTING BEHAVIOUR

Voting behaviour is the way in which people tend to vote. Voting is influenced by a number of different factors. The most important are:

social class

geography

age and background

issue voting

media

SOCIAL CLASS

When voting analysis began in 1945 it became clear that social class was the most important factor in the way people traditionally voted. People tended to vote according to their natural class. This is not a perfect classification but will explain the social class influences on voting behaviour:

A - upper class

B - middle class

C1 - upper working class

C2 - lower working class

D/E - temporarily or long-term unemployed

From the 1940s to the 1960s the majority of the electorate were strongly linked to one or other of the two main political parties. Although there are always exceptions, party loyalty closely corresponded to social class. C1 and C2 voters tended to vote for the Labour Party and B voters tended to vote for the Conservative Party.

In the mid 1960s, B voters supporting Conservative and C1 and 2 voters supporting Labour accounted for 64% of the total vote. But the 1970s saw a decline in the number of people voting according to their natural class; this is referred to as class dealignment. By 1979, this had fallen to 57% of the total vote and the decline continued throughout the 1980s confirming that the British public were moving away from voting according to class.

One explanation for this is that the electorate was becoming better educated through more access to the media, which gave increasingly more information on politicians and parties. Also, in the 1980s and early 1990s, more C2 voters tended to vote Conservative. In the 1987 General Election, 42% of C2 voters supported the Conservative Party while only 35% voted for Labour. This was a total reversal of previous voting behaviour and was, partly, attributed to the policies of the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

The move away from voting according to class could also be due to a change in the size of the classes. Since the 1970s, the number of manual workers has fallen from nearly 50% of the population to just 33%. This is because of the changes in employment patterns, educational opportunities and the rising standard of living.

However, although it appears that voters are moving away from their natural class, statistics suggest that voting behaviour and class are still linked to some extent. In 2001, the highest social class, AB, voted 40% in favour of the Conservatives - less than in previous elections, but still a strong vote. Almost half of the working classes still voted Labour. The transfer of working class votes to Conservative and upper class votes to Labour might also be due to the fact that New Labour policies are moving further to the right. Although the elections in 1997 and 2001 saw Labour regaining C1 and C2 voters, this trend may be attributed to the collapse of the Conservative Party. It is said that opposition parties do not win elections; governments lose them.

In the 2010 General Election the Conservatives gained from all groups with the exception of the lowest class DE which stayed Labour. ABC1 (grouped together) had a 39% vote for the Conservatives while Labour had 27%. In the C2 class 37% voted Conservative compared to 29% for Labour, and in the DE group 31% voted Conservative and 40% Labour.