6. Electoral Turnout

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we think about the issue of electoral turnout, focusing in particular on: (i) the trend in electoral turnout in recent decades – and the reasons for this change; (ii) the reasons why some people might choose not to vote; (iii) the increase in volatility in recent decades, and the consequent difficulty faced by polling companies of predicting the result; and (iv) other forms of political engagement beyond party politics, e.g. protest movements.

Course

In this course, Professor Peter Dorey (Cardiff University) explores various aspects of voting behaviour. In the first module, we think about voting behaviour in terms of class and partisan alignment and dealignment. After that, in the second module, we think about the importance of individual political issues (e.g. Brexit) and of the figure of the party leader him or herself influencing how people vote. In the third module, we think about the importance of the election campaign itself, before turning in the fourth module to consider the extent to which voting behaviour can be explained by age and gender. In the fifth module, we consider the extent to which the media can be said to influence voting behaviour, before turning in the sixth and final module to think about the issue of electoral turnout, how it has changed over the past fifty years, and some of the reasons for this change.

Lecturer

Prof. Peter Dorey is Professor of British Politics at Cardiff University. His research interests focus on several aspects of British Politics, and public policy, in the period from 1945 to the present day. To date, he has written, co-authored or edited fifteen books on aspects of British politics or public policy, including Comrades in Conflict: Labour, the Trade Unions and 1969's 'In Place of Strife' (2019) and (as co-editor) Choosing Party Leaders: Britain's Conservatives and Labour Compares (2020).