Voting Behaviour - The 2017 General Election

Background:
  • Having repeatedly stating there would be no election, she announced one on the 18th April, people were surprised when she called a snap election to get a mandate for Brexit – Labour backed the election.
Key Issues:
  • Were the polls accurate and would the Conservatives gain a landslide victory?
  • Would the election be dominated by Brexit or leadership?
  • What role would the smaller parties like UKIP play in the election?
  • Was this even a gamble worth taking?
Key Policies:
  • Most parties focused on Brexit. Conservatives promised to protect the NHS and cutting costs in other areas and to also have major reforms in education
  • Labour would improve welfare and increase investment. They would also get rid of tuition fees whilst introducing 4 new bank holidays
  • Lib Dems focused on Brexit because they wanted a second referendum. Social reforms were also announced which would lead to an increase in tax.
  • UKIP ensured that Conservatives would commit to a hard Brexit. SNP was fighting for Scotland’s right in Brexit negotiations and another independence vote.
The Campaign:
  • First few weeks were quiet as local elections were taking place
  • May attended no TV debates, Corbyn said no and then did. The Prime Minister said that she and opposition had already debated in PMQs. At the start of the election, opinion polls put the Conservatives ahead.
  • Dementia tax by the Conservatives was scrapped 24 hours after announced whilst commitments on grammar schools and a lock on pensions alienated some traditional Conservative voters.
  • Lib Dems were focused on personal views of their leader, Tim Farron due to his views on gay rights.
  • Labours Diane Abbot made some media errors whilst Corbyn was addressing large crowds in public spaces. In comparison, May was meeting small groups in unknown places.
  • The whole campaign was side-tracked by two terrorist attacks, one in Manchester and one in London which means that most of the campaign was about security and all parties attacked the Conservatives and blamed the police cuts they introduced for the reason this was happening.
Impact:
  • A return to traditional two-parties politics. Both parties increased the share of the vote by 5.5% for the Conservatives and 9.5% for the Labour party. UKIP was wiped out across the country winning no seats.
Party
Seats
Win/Loss
Share Of Vote %
Conservatives
 318
 -13
 42.4%
Labour
 262
 +30
 40.0%
Lib Dems
 12
 +4
 7.4%
Plaid Cymru
 4
 +1
 0.5%
SNP
 35
 -21
 3.0%
Other
 19
 -1
 6.7%
  • Despite May gaining more votes than Cameron (6%), May lost 6 seats leading to a hung parliament the second in 7 years. She stayed on as a leader and as PM and went into a deal with the DUP. Corbyn sealed his role as party leader for Labour. He won more votes than Blair in 2005. UKIP share of the vote fell from 12.6% to 1.8% with no seats. Lib Dems gained 4 seats but votes fell by 0.5% and the leader resigned.
How Did People Vote?:
Geography
Rural England remained Conservatives, Labour gained in some areas e.g Canterbury
Labour remained strong in urban areas and gained strength in London.
SNP fell back in Scotland with most gains coming from the Conservative party
Lib Dems gained in London and Scotland but lost in Yorkshire. UKIP was wiped out across the country.
Class
 Conservatives made gains among C2s and DE. Labour gained votes among AB and the C1 meaning class was divided.
Gender
 Female were equally voting for Conservatives and Labour. Male leaned towards Conservatives by 6%
Age
 A person was 9% more likely to vote for Conservatives for every 10 years. Younger votes came out in full force and voted for Labour.
* No data for race
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