Class Dealignment

What happens when political parties begin to lose the support of social groups they have traditionally relied upon to get elected? Class dealignment refers to a trend in which political preferences and voting patterns are less determined by a person's social or economic class than they used to be. Traditionally, certain social classes were more likely to support particular political parties. However, with class dealignment, these associations have weakened over time, leading to a more complex political landscape where class is less predictive of political preference.

This explanation will explore this phenomenon by defining class dealignment, explaining why electorates feel underrepresented, and what that means for political parties more broadly.

Class dealignment: meaning

Class dealignment in politics describes a political process where members of a particular social class stop voting for a party they traditionally supported and were aligned with. It comes from the term class alignment, which describes a situation where a particular social class is associated with a political party and is often their core voter base.

While class dealignment describes people simply becoming disengaged from the traditional parties they support, class realignment describes the situation where people switch their political affiliation and ‘realign’ their support to a new party.

The overall impact of this is partisan dealignment: people become less committed or loyal to a party over the long term. In the UK, this has been particularly prevalent in the last decades of the twentieth century and the early twenty-first century. A key factor for this is the growing middle class, which we will discuss in depth below.

Voting behaviour and class dealignment

Let’s explore how voting behaviour in the UK has changed.

Class dealignment in the UK

In the United Kingdom, the Labour Party traditionally caters to the working class and this is highlighted by their strong links with trade unions. The Labour Party also garner support from middle-class voters who tended to work in state sectors like education.

It is important to note, however, that this partisan segmentation was never so clear-cut. The Conservative Party also has support from some working-class voters who possess conservative social values and embrace patriotism and traditional institutions such as the monarchy. Despite some nuances, there are clear patterns that we can draw in relation to class dealignment based on voting behaviours in recent years.

Class dealignment: examples

Class dealignment refers to the weakening of the relationship between social class and voting patterns. This change reflects a variety of societal shifts, including changes in class structure, the erosion of traditional class identities, and the rise of new political issues that cross-cut class lines.

An example of class dealignment can be seen in the UK's political landscape over the latter part of the 20th century. Traditionally, the Labour Party had been strongly supported by the working class, while the Conservative Party was the preferred choice of the middle and upper classes.

However, during the 1980s under the leadership of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the Conservative Party made significant inroads into traditionally Labour-supporting, working-class areas. This was due in part to policies that allowed public housing residents to buy their homes and the promotion of share-ownership among ordinary citizens. The aim was to create a 'property-owning democracy,' and it succeeded in breaking down some of the traditional class alignments.

Similarly, under the leadership of Tony Blair in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Labour Party pursued a strategy of 'Third Way' politics, aiming to balance a market economy with social justice. This approach attracted a significant number of middle-class voters, further evidence of class dealignment.

These shifts indicate that class-based voting patterns have become less predictable and the relationship between social class and party support has weakened, both of which are key characteristics of class dealignment.

Fig. 1 - Class dealignment leads to a more complex political landscape where class is less predictive of political preference.

Statistical example of class dealignment in voting

To understand what class dealignment looks like in the UK, we will examine and compare the results of the 1979 elections with the general election of 2010 to see what a weakening relationship between social class and voting pattern looks like.

We will consider three categories of social class: the middle class, the skilled working class, and the semi/unskilled working class.

The middle class

The skilled working class

The semi/unskilled working class

The evidence in the tables above makes clear that over the years, the Labour Party’s support from the working class has declined. In regards to the skilled working class, their support for the Labour Party dropped from 41% to 29%. The semi/unskilled working class’ support for Labour dropped from 49% to 40%.

There are several reasons for this change. One of the main reasons is the rise of the Liberal Democrats, who have significant support from the middle-class.

Reasons for class alignment

Class alignment in politics refers to a scenario where political affiliations and voting patterns are strongly influenced by an individual's social or economic class. This means that people within a particular social class are likely to have similar political views and voting behaviour, often supporting the same political party.

In the UK, until roughly the 1970s, social class had a significant impact on how an individual voted. There were two main reasons for this.

1. Representation: people feel a party may represent the views and interests of their social class more strongly than their counterparts. Similarly, with growing independence in Scotland, the SNP was able to better represent the views of ordinary Scottish people.

2. Loyalty: class alignment is based on long-standing traditions. For example, in the 1970s and the 1980s in particular, the Labour Party was linked with the trade union movement and represented the interests of the people working in key industries such as the steel, coal, and textiles industries. Therefore, some will remain lifetime supporters of certain parties, as they are loyal to the values they stand for.

Reasons for class dealignment

As the evidence suggests, there has been a huge decline in class ties to voting patterns over time. Let’s study some of the reasons for this phenomenon.

Expansion of the middle class

Since the Second World War, there has been an expansion of higher education as well as increased levels of homeownership. This is because as society became more affluent, and levels of education increased, this allowed for greater aspirations for the working class. Furthermore, the number of those employed in government and the state sector, particularly in healthcare and education, has also increased.

As a result, the Labour Party has gained greater support from a substantial segment of the middle class.

The role of UKIP and the Liberal Democrats

Another key factor for the overall decline in support for traditional party allegiances based on class, is the growth in options beyond the two-party system. This has meant that in some areas such as the North of England, populist parties such as UKIP have gained significant support. This is partly because of the changing perception of the Labour Party as a party that caters to the middle class. However, it is also because they feel better represented by UKIP, who take a more divisive stance on immigration. The emergence of the Liberal Democrats has meant that traditionally Conservative and Labour voters, mainly lower-middle-class and socially liberal upper-middle-class voters, have switched their support over to the other parties such as the Liberal Democrats, Green Party, and the SNP.

The changing political scope in Scotland

In the 2015 election, a significant number of traditional Labour supporters switched their support to the Scottish National Party. This is due to the growth of nationalism and its association with socialism.

The decline of the traditional working-class

This is linked to the point above regarding the growing middle class. As the aspirations of the working class have increased, many people working manual labour jobs have in fact amassed greater income than some people considered to have middle-class jobs such as teachers.

As a result, the obvious line between the working class and the middle class has become significantly blurred. Furthermore, with huge increases in ethnic minority populations, there have been additional patterns of ethnic minority voters to consider when looking at voting behaviour.