What explains how people vote, and how much do the media shape elections?
Voting behaviour and the media: long-term and short-term factors that influence how people vote, the decline of class voting, and the role and influence of the media in elections.
A WJEC AS Unit 2 study of voting behaviour and the media: long-term factors such as class, age and partisanship, short-term factors such as issues, leaders and the campaign, the decline of class-based voting and partisan dealignment, and debates about media influence.
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What this dot point is asking
This WJEC AS topic asks you to explain why people vote as they do and to evaluate the influence of the media in elections. You need the long-term and short-term factors behind voting behaviour, the decline of class-based voting, and the debate about how far the media shape outcomes.
The answer
Long-term factors
These factors still matter, but their power has declined as society and the parties have changed.
Short-term factors
As long-term attachments have weakened, these short-term factors have become more decisive in determining results.
Class and partisan dealignment
Two linked trends reshaped UK voting. Class dealignment means the link between social class and party support has weakened, so class no longer predicts the vote as it once did. Partisan dealignment means fewer voters have a strong, lifelong identification with a single party, making the electorate more volatile and responsive to issues, leaders and campaigns.
The role and influence of the media
The media shape elections in several ways: agenda-setting (deciding which issues get attention), framing leaders and parties as competent or weak, and, increasingly, social media targeting voters directly. The debate is over how much this matters. Some argue the media strongly influence perceptions and can sway undecided voters. Others argue the media mainly reinforce existing views, that voters respond to many other factors, and that broadcasters are required to be impartial during campaigns, limiting any one-sided effect.
Examples in context
Why short-term factors now decide more elections. The decline of class and partisan alignment explains a more volatile electorate. When most voters had a fixed class-based party loyalty, campaigns moved few votes; as that loyalty weakened through class and partisan dealignment, the issues of the day, the economy, leader image and the campaign came to matter much more, and the media's agenda-setting gained potential influence over a larger pool of persuadable voters. This is why a strong essay links dealignment directly to the growing weight of short-term factors and media coverage.
Try this
Q1. What is partisan dealignment? [3 marks]
- Cue. The weakening of voters' long-standing identification with a particular party, making the electorate more volatile.
Q2. Name two short-term factors that influence voting. [2 marks]
- Cue. Any two of issues, the economy, party leaders, the campaign, and tactical voting.
Q3. To what extent do the media determine the outcome of elections? [25 marks]
- What the marker wants. A judgement weighing agenda-setting and framing against reinforcement, impartiality rules and the many other factors behind the vote.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC AS Unit 210 marksExplain the long-term factors that influence voting behaviour.Show worked answer →
A short-answer question testing AO1 knowledge of voting behaviour.
Long-term (structural) factors include social class (historically a strong predictor of party support), age (older voters lean differently from younger voters), region and nation (for example distinctive patterns in Wales and Scotland), and partisanship or party identification (a long-standing attachment to a party). Education and ethnicity are also relevant.
The best answers explain how each factor shapes voting and note that long-term factors have weakened over time through class and partisan dealignment, so short-term factors now matter more.
WJEC AS Unit 220 marksTo what extent do the media determine the outcome of elections?Show worked answer →
An extended evaluation requiring a balanced judgement.
Case for strong media influence: newspapers and broadcasters set the agenda, frame issues and leaders, and social media now targets voters directly; coverage can shape perceptions of competence.
Case for limited influence: voters are influenced by many factors (class, age, issues, the economy); the media may reinforce existing views rather than change them; and broadcasting must be impartial during campaigns.
The top band weighs agenda-setting and reinforcement against the many other factors that shape the vote, and reaches a supported judgement.
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