Why do those of a lower socio-economic class vote less? The Impact of Newspaper Readership and Anti-Establishment Politics.
In the 2015 UK Election, just 57% of the DE class bracket voted, which is almost 20% less than the 75% of those who voted in the AB class bracket (Hoskins and Janmatt 2016: 73-89). This disparity in engagement is concerning, because those of a lower socio-economic are often the most vulnerable in society, and their lack of engagement results in a lack of fair representation.
The numbers of people needing emergency food supplies in 2015/2016 was 44 times higher than in 2008/2009 (Trussell Trust 2016). What is it that has affected this class bracket so much that such a large proportion are unwilling to vote for change?
Today, this blog will be discussing how anti-establishment rhetoric in some newspaper outlets has a strong impact on how different socio-economic classes choose to politically engage. It will be argued that those from lower class brackets are disproportionately exposed to higher levels of anti-establishment rhetoric through news media that is focused on sales as opposed to public service; and this is a direct cause of lower voter turnout.
Newspaper readership in the UK identifies three things – that the newspapers that have the highest readership are the cheapest, that the newspapers which the lower socio-economic classes engage with the most are the cheapest, and that these specific newspapers have the highest percentages of people who would not vote in elections. Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 support this.
FIGURE 1
Figure 1 shows the 2004 and 2014 price changes of all the mainstream newspapers in the UK, with the Guardian being £1.60 and the Sun being 40p in 2014. Therefore, tabloids with anti-establishment rhetoric (discussed further below) are cheaper than broadsheets.
FIGURE 2
Figure 2 shows the British newspaper circulations since 1950. The Sun, The Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror have had the highest readership since 1985. This shows that the cheapest newspapers are the most popular.
FIGURE 3
Figure 3 shows the statistics of UK Newspaper readership between 2006-2012 in concern to social grades. It shows that those in the ABC1 grade are more likely to read the Guardian and the Telegraph, whereas those in the C2DE grade are more likely to engage with The Sun and the Daily Star.
FIGURE 4
Lastly, Figure 4 shows that newspaper readerships that have the highest percentages for ‘I would not vote’ are the Daily Star (13.9%), the Sun (8.01%) and the Mirror (4.27%). When looking at more expensive newspapers like the Guardian and the Telegraph, only 2.56% of Guardian readers said they wouldn’t vote, which is almost half compared to Mirror readers, and 0% of Telegraph voters said they wouldn’t vote.
These graphs show that lower socio-economic classes (C1DE) consume more red-top media than other classes. This could be because low price points of tabloid newspapers make them more affordable. With the Sun having the highest print-media readership in the UK, its headlines share a portion of control over social discourse. The Sun also has the second highest percentage of citizens who would not vote, with the Daily Star – a newspaper with similar output – being the highest. But are these outlets directly responsible for falling voter turnout? Anti-establishment rhetoric carried in the tabloid press has had an undeniable effect on public sentiment towards politics.
What started out as the sensationalization of the public’s disillusionment with the political system, (most prevalent during the 2009 MPs expenses scandal (Martin 2014)) has been hijacked by the tabloid press in an ongoing campaign of anti-establishment rhetoric. An example of this is through how the self-proclaimed anti-establishment party UKIP was supported heavily by The Sun in the lead up to the 2015 election, with headlines such as ‘UKIP “set for surge and poll triumph”’ (Dunn 2012) and similar being sold. This rhetoric, whilst undeniably selling newspapers (see Figure 2), also provides the public with easy to hate enemies like the metropolitan liberal elite (The Sun 2015). This creates a vacuum for populist politics to flourish in and discourages the primary consumers of red-top media from voting in the first place – who are, as already established, typically from poorer backgrounds.
Whilst the price of newspapers used to heavily influence their readership demographic, the democratisation and accessibility of news online has had a profound effect on how they reach their audiences. Those who consume news are now directly responsible for its dissemination, usually within their own socio-economic network, promoting the reach and power of more titillating narratives rather than public information.
There is strong evidence then that a causal relationship exists between anti-establishment rhetoric found in news media traditionally targeted at a working-class demographic, and low voter turnout in the C2DE grade. With this style of news becoming ever-more popular, it is difficult to see how the values and ideologies it presents will not weave themselves somewhere into the fabric of society and cause deeper division and inequalities in the class system.
Word count: 804 words
Bibliography:
Dunn, T.N. (2012) UKIP “set for surge and poll triumph”. The Sun, Newspaper Groups, Newspaper Limited. Accessed 05.03.17 from https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/politics/376049/ukip-set-for-surge-and-poll-triumph/
Hoskins, B. and Janmatt, J.G. (2016) Educational trajectories and inequalities of political engagement among adolescents in England. Social Science Research, Issue 56. (73-89)
Martin, I. (2014) MPs’ expenses: A scandal that will not die. The Telegraph, Telegraph Media News Limited. Accessed 05.03.17 from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/10761548/MPs-expenses-A-scandal-that-will-not-die.html
The Sun (2015) Save our bacon. Newspaper Groups, Newspaper Limited. Accessed 05.03.17 from https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/politics/184228/save-our-bacon/
Trussell Trust (2016) Foodbank use remains record high. Accessed 05/03/17 from https://www.trusselltrust.org/2016/04/15/foodbank-use-remains-record-high/
Source of graphs:
Figure 1 – Turvill, W. (2014) UK daily newspapers have doubled in price since 2004 and shrunk in size – no wonder sales are down. Sourced from ABC, found in this article on Press Gazette online. Accessed 05.03.15 from http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/uk-daily-newspapers-have-doubled-in-price-since-2004-and-shrunk-in-size-no-wonder-sales-are-down/
Figure 2 – Future TimeLine (2017) 2028 timeline contents. Accessed 05.03.17 from http://www.futuretimeline.net/21stcentury/2028.htm#.WLlbSPnyjIU
Figure 3 – Newspaper Innovation (2013) UK Readership #3: class and sex. Accessed 05.03.17 from http://www.newspaperinnovation.com/index.php/author/admin/page/13/
Figure 4 – Sinha, S. (2015) British Papers: Who Reads Them, and Whom They Back in 2015. Sourced from Alexandre Afonso’s Twitter account (@alexandreafonoso), found in this article on The New York Times online. Accessed 05.03.17 from https://www.nytimes.com/live/uk-elections-2015/british-media-endorse-parties-in-2015-election/