1. What is Social Class?
1. With your shoulder partner, come up with a definition of the term social class.
a division of a society based on social and economic status.
"people from different social classes and walks of life"
2. Create a list of things that you think can determine your social class.
class calculator

2. Lesson 4 –Social Class and Voting Behaviour
Learning Intentions (Pupils should be able to):
Explain what is meant by the term ‘social class’.
Describe one way social class is measured.
Describe the link between social class and voting behaviour.
Explain the extent to which social class remains an important influence on recent voting behaviour.

3. What is Social Class?
A person’s social class is a measure of their status in society. Social class is usually measured in terms of occupation, income, professional qualifications, housing type, etc. According to the Market Research definition of social class*, Social Class A would be higher managerial e.g. accountant, lawyer, etc., whereas Social Class E would be the poorest groups in society including long-term unemployed or those in low wage employment.
Market Research Social Class Scale
A Higher managerial Non-manual Lawyer
B Lower managerial Non-manual Teacher
C1 Skilled supervisor Non-manual Senior technician
C2 Skilled manual Manual Plumber
D Unskilled manual Manual Labourer
E Disadvantaged e.g. unemployed Poor
*There are many definitions of social class.

4. What is Social Class?
Modern day research would argue that this definition is too simplistic.
Class can also have three dimensions now- economic, social and cultural.
A BBC study in stated that economic capital - income, savings, house value - and social capital - the number and status of people someone knows should also be measured.
Also cultural capital, defined as the extent and nature of cultural interests and activities.
Class Calculator

5. Social Class and Voting Behaviour
It has long been recognised that one of the most important factors affecting voting behaviour overall has been the influence of social class.
Up to the 1980s, it was argued that the majority of voters in the UK tended to vote according to their social class. This meant that the majority of people in Social Class A (formerly the middle classes) more often voted for the Conservatives, as they were the party who traditionally favoured low taxation or policies that tended to benefit the better off.
On the other hand, the majority of people in Social Class E (formerly the working class) more often voted Labour, as traditional Labour policies tended to support the poorest in society e.g. support for the Welfare State.

6. Reduction in class-based voting
Studies of voting behaviour show that there has been a reduction in the number of people voting according to their class. Although there is still an important link between social class and voting behaviour, the link is not as strong as it once was. For example, according to the Ipsos/MORI polling organisation, at the 2010 UK General Election of those who turned out to vote, the Conservatives attracted 39% of all AB voters compared to just 29% for Labour. On the other hand, Labour gained 40% of all DE voters whereas only 31% of D/E voters opted for the Conservatives.
Studies of voting behaviour in recent elections show that most people do not vote according to their social class. This movement away from social class as the biggest influence on voting behaviour is known as dealignment.

7. Social Class
Knowledge Points - A social class is generally taken to a set of individuals who share certain social characteristics, which collectively give them a similar attitude to life in general and to politics in particular. Traditionally Conservatives appeal more to the AB classes and Labour to the C1 and C2.
Labour have their CORE VOTERS - they are working class and live in particular Labour ‘heartlands’ – Midlands, Scotland etc. They read the Sun or the Daily Record.
The Conservatives know that their core vote lies with the private sector employed middle classes (people who work for private companies with mid to high earnings). They live in the suburban areas and usually read the Telegraph or The Times.
Analysis – There is still clearly a link between social class and voting behaviour. Those from less well off backgrounds are more likely to identify with the Labour Party whilst more affluent voters associate with the Conservatives.

8. Dealignment
Class has become less important in recent elections because:
Changes within society – Nowadays people are less likely to see themselves in Social Classes D or E. As disposable incomes have increased, people regard themselves as ‘further up the social ladder’. The new definitions of class also highlight less importance on economic capital and more importance being placed on social/cultural capital.
On the other hand, many more people today work in the public sector and as a consequence are more likely to vote Labour as Labour traditionally provides greater support to the public sector.
Tactical voting – As many votes are ‘wasted’ under the FPTP electoral system, more voters are choosing to vote tactically. They know their favoured candidate is not going to win so they vote to keep the candidate/party they least like out. In 2010, some Labour politicians urged Liberal Democrat voters to vote tactically to keep out the Conservatives.

9. Dealignment
Some people have never voted according to their class because:
In classes AB (‘middle class radicals’) some better off people have always voted Labour despite the fact they may be better off financially voting Conservative.
This may be because they are well paid so they wish to support a party that tends to help the poorest more or gives support to working people e.g. introduction/extension of Minimum Wage.
In classes DE (‘working class Conservatives’) some poorer people may vote Conservative (although they might not personally benefit) because they aspire to a ‘higher class’ or hold conservative values.
They may also feel the Conservatives provide more opportunities for people to ‘rise and go’ or that the Conservatives have better policies on managing the economy, education or law and order.

10. Dealignment continued
Third party choice – For many years the Liberal Democrats and the SNP in Scotland have been credible voting alternatives.
In the last thirty years both these parties have attracted considerable support in elections, have won parliamentary and Scottish parliamentary seats (SNP Scottish Government/Lib Dem coalition in Scotland) or have been the dominant party in local councils elections.
In 2010 General Election, the Liberal Democrats polled 24% of the vote, won 57 seats and formed a coalition with the Conservatives (Cameron-Clegg era).
In the 2015 General Election the SNP won 56 out of 59 Scottish seats and attracted 50% of the vote in Scotland, becoming the 3rd largest party overall in the UK Parliament.

11. Social Class
Knowledge – However, some have argued that the link between social class and voting behaviour is becoming weaker. This is known as DEALIGNMENT.
In the 2015 Election Conservative did much better than expected with lower income C1 and DE voters.
Politicians know that the nature of social class in the UK has changed.
The “old” working class has shrunk. It has been replaced by a “new” working class which does not have the same automatic loyalty to Labour.
The middle classes have grown in size but they are not loyal to any single party either.
As a result, political parties such as Conservative and Labour are now/attempt to be “catch all parties”, seeking to build policies which will create a “big tent” of voters across the social classes.
Analysis – Therefore although in the past social class was perhaps the most crucial indicator of voting behaviour, it is clear that it has recently become less significant as a result of dealignment.

12. Social Class
Further Analysis – it could be argued social class as an influence on voting has not gone away, it just has a more sophisticated effect.
Core voters will remain with their party on the whole as they are ideologically driven. They feel that their party best represents them, although they may not realise this.
HOWEVER, people are less defined by class nowadays and other factors influence on voting. The middle classes are more likely to switch their vote.
The new working classes do not have the same automatic loyalty to Labour. Many people in Scotland now see the SNP as a more “left-wing” party than Labour and so Labour has lost ground to the SNP in Scotland in recent elections.
Political parties are now ‘catch all parties’ seeking to build policies which will create a ‘big tent’ of voters across the social classes.

13. Use the following words to help you:
Task
Create a diagram which illustrates the impact of social class on voting behaviour.
Use the following words to help you:
Dealignment
Loyalty
Core voters
Catch all

14. Social Class and Voting Behaviour
Explain what is meant by a person’s ‘social class’.
Using examples, describe the Market Research definition of social class.
i) Describe traditional social class voting behaviour.
ii) Give reasons for traditional social class voting behaviour.
4. Using examples from the 2010 General Election, what evidence is there that social class remains an influence on voting behaviour.
5. What is meant by the word ‘dealignment’?
6. What are ‘middle class radicals’ and ‘working class Conservatives’?
7. Explain three reasons to explain recent class dealignment.