social class and voting behaviour in the uk

How strong are the links between social class and party support in the UK? Is the relationship between social background and voting behaviour in long term decline? Can any political party now hope to win a general election simply by receiving the votes of its natural core support?

Many social factors might influence the voting decisions of individuals - among them we can identify:

• Occupational class
• Age
• Sex
• Religion
• Housing status
• Parents' partisanship
• Political views of peers

Occupational class and voting

What factors are causing class dealignment?

Changing pattern of employment
Changing social structure
Emergence of cross-class locations
rising number of mixed-class households
more fluid family structures with increased job insecurity
Sectoral cleavages
Home owners v Council tenants
Public v private sector employees
Unionised v non unionised workers
Full time earning at or above average earnings versus part time and low paid workers
Alternative patterns of identity
ethnicity / region / gender / sexual preference / lifestyle