Definitions

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What is turnout?
Percentage of the electorate who vote in any given election
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What is class dealignment?
Class has less influence on voting - e.g working class tories - sale of council houses & privatisation - and middle class labour - move away from socialism
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What is partisan dealignment?
Voters no longer feel so closely aligned to a party - there are more floating voters and allegiance is shorter linked and less secure
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What is democracy?
Ruled by the people
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What is direct democracy?
Decisions are made by referendums
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What is indirect democracy?
Vote for people to make decisions on your behalf
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What is the electorate?
The percentage of people of voting age who are registered and eligible to vote
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What is an opinion poll?
Sample of population (about 1000) everyday in election - "if the election was tomorrow, who would you vote for?"
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What is apathy?
A state of passivity or indifference towards political institutions and their associated processes
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What is electoral participation?
Takes place at election time - voting, canvassing, fundraising, staffing offices
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What is non electoral participation?
Takes place at any time - lobbying officials, joining a party or pressure group, protesting, petitioning
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What is a consumer campaign?
Politically motivated consumer boycotts for ethical reasons or other
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What is party membership?
Paying money to become a member of a political party - RSPB has more members than Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems combined
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What is direct action?
The use of strikes, demonstrations or other public forms of protest rather than negotiation to achieve demands - IRA, Fathers4Justice
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What is the North/South divide?
Considered a socio-economic and political divide - South generally more centre-right and supporters of Conservatives, the north is generally Labour. Lib Dem support is spread out
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What is the grey vote?
65+ most likely to vote - 94 marginal constituencies were decided by the grey vote in 2010, traditionally more conservative.
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What is the gender gap?
Difference between female and male voters
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What are primacy factors?
Voting behaviour is determined by demographic characteristics of voters
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What is a by election?
The election of an MP in a single constituency to fill a vacancy during a government's term in office - won't result in a change of government
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What is issue voting?
When voters cast their vote in elections based on political issues
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What is an exit poll?
Taken outside polling stations on day of election - "who did you vote for?" - correct to within 4 seats in 2010
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What is a manifesto?
A document in which a political party sets out its policy programme at an election
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What are deviant voters?
Departing from expected voting behaviour - middle class labour voters and working class tories
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What is abstention?
Declining from voting in an election
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What is differential abstention?
The difference between one party's abstainers and another party's abstainers
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What is hapathy?
The idea that voters may abstain from voting as a result of happiness with the way they are being governed
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What is the rational choice model?
Voters make rational judgments on how to vote based on own interests
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What is the voting context model?
Voting behaviour is based upon the perceived importance of an election - lower turnout in second order elections - Police & Crime Commissioner
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What is the bandwagon effect?
Most popular party gets more support - 1997 Labour & 2010 Lib Dems
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What is the boomerang effect?
Supporting the underdog - voting for a party doing less well - 1992 Conservatives
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What is tactical voting?
Voting against your preferred candidate to prevent your least preferred from winning - 2010 Labour voters voted Lib Dem hoping for a Labour/Lib Dem coaltition
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What is protest voting?
Voting against 'natural party' to prove a point - more common in second order elections - EU and UKIP
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What is swing?
Shows the extent of change in voter support from one election to another
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What is consensus?
Where UK citizens accept the basic 'rules of the game' - need for toleration, pragmatism, peaceful negotiation and comprimise
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What is deference?
The idea that people deferred to an elite that there was a natural willingness to accept a class-based inequality and a rigid social hierarchy
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What is homogeneity?
The belief that citizens shared a common heritage and identity - a sense of togetherness that transcended what divided them
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What is class dealignment?

Back

Class has less influence on voting - e.g working class tories - sale of council houses & privatisation - and middle class labour - move away from socialism

Card 3

Front

What is partisan dealignment?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What is democracy?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What is direct democracy?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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