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Locating the Altruistic Voter: Context, Egocentric Voting, and Support for the Conservative Party at the 1997 General Election in England and Wales

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  • Ron Johnston
  • Danny Dorling
  • Helena Tunstall
  • David Rossiter
  • Iain MacAllister
  • Charles Pattie

    (Department of Geography, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 TN, England)

Abstract

Egocentric economic voting models are widely used in studies of voting behaviour in Great Britain: they suggest that people whose standard of living has risen recently as a perceived consequence of government policies are more likely to vote for the government's return to office than are those who blame government policies for a decline in their living standards. But many people whose living standards have increased vote against the government. Analyses reported here, using specially constructed bespoke neighbourhoods around the homes of respondents to the 1997 British Election Study, show that the latter group mainly live in areas of high local unemployment. This suggests a pattern of altruistic voting, of people who are prospering personally, but whose neighbours are not, voting against the incumbent government—a pattern confirmed by statistical analyses of both egocentric and sociotropic voting.

Suggested Citation

  • Ron Johnston & Danny Dorling & Helena Tunstall & David Rossiter & Iain MacAllister & Charles Pattie, 2000. "Locating the Altruistic Voter: Context, Egocentric Voting, and Support for the Conservative Party at the 1997 General Election in England and Wales," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 32(4), pages 673-694, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:32:y:2000:i:4:p:673-694
    DOI: 10.1068/a3294
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dunleavy, Patrick, 1979. "The Urban Basis of Political Alignment: Social Class, Domestic Property Ownership, and State Intervention in Consumption Processes," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(4), pages 409-443, October.
    2. Miller, W. L., 1978. "Social Class and Party Choice in England: A New Analysis," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 257-284, July.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Rachel Hirsch & Jamie Baxter, 2009. "The Look of the Lawn: Pesticide Policy Preference and Health-Risk Perception in Context," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 27(3), pages 468-490, June.
    3. Gordon L Clark & James McCarthy & Ian Smith & Charlotte Burns & Ron Johnston, 2003. "Review: On Global Aging: Old-Age Income Systems in the EU and other Major Parts of the World, Bringing Society Back in: Grassroots Ecosystem Management, Accountability, and Sustainable Communities, Me," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 35(12), pages 2251-2258, December.

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