Voting behaviour is influenced more by political issues than by social factors

... Voting behaviour is influenced more by political issues than by social factors Both political issues and social factors influence voting behaviour. The main social factors include age, gender, class, religion and ethnicity. In normal circumstances the majority of younger voters have tended to vote for the Labour Party, whereas the older voter would tend to support the Conservative Party. This can be seen in the results of the October 1974 election where 42% of new voters (18 - 22 years old) voted Labour, but only 24% voted Conservative. This pattern was reversed in 1983 and 1987, but by 1997 the majority of new voters were again voting Labour. Studies have shown that new voters are often volatile and their behaviour is difficult to predict. Therefore age is not a very influential factor affecting voting behaviour. Pulzer (1967, p.107) stated that there was evidence women are more conservative than men. Between 1979 and 1992 more

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