Political Participation You can be involved with Politics through any of the following:- Standing for election Joining a political party and attending meetings Protesting Campaigning and writing letters And not least – BY VOTING IN AN ELECTION

Voting Behaviour This area fascinates political sociologists because they have to study the voting behaviour of the British people. The number of people voting in an election is called the turnout.

Voting types  Loyal  Floating  Tactical

Non Voters  Are apathetic and / or  Uneducated in the issues and / or  Dislike all the candidates.

Attitudes of groups is important – the following will affect voting behaviour.  Class  Gender  Age  Ethnicity  Region  Religion

Class  Labour has traditionally been supported by the working class.  Changes in society over the last 25 years have changed this.  Likewise the traditional support that the Conservatives had from the middle classes can no longer be relied upon.

Gender  More women than men vote in elections.  They are more likely to vote Conservative.

Age  Young people are less likely to vote but when the do they are more likely to vote Labour.  Older people are more likely to vote and usually for the Conservatives.  Why are these two age groups likely to vote in this way?

Ethnicity  Minority groups are less likely to vote.  When they do they tend to vote for Labour.

Regions  Conservatives strong in Southern England  Just one Conservative MP in Scotland  Lib Democrats strong in the Southwest of England.  Nationalists in Wales and Scotland challenge Labour for voters.

Religion  Not an issue in England and Wales.  In Northern Ireland Catholic Christians and Protestant Christians tend to vote for parties that are aligned with each denomination.

Other factors  Policies – e.g. Europe  Party image – e.g. sleaze  Leaders – positive or negative images  Parental socialization & guidance with discussions at home  The mass media – newspapers and TV stations will choose the stories that are heard.

Your turn…  What is the voting behaviour of your family?  Why do you think that some people do not vote? Should they be made to?  Would 16 year olds be able to cope with choosing a political party to vote for?  How will you choose the political party which you will vote for in two years time?