Class and Party Divisions: Britain as a Test Case

Abstract

The relationship between occupationally working-class persons and the Labour Party since 1900 is considered in terms of the recruitment of political leaders, mobilization of working-class electors and material and symbolic policies. No consistent relationship between class and party on these three dimensions is found, nor is there evidence of a trend toward or from convergence. Secondary analysis of Gallup Poll data from the 1964 general election shows the relative influence of indices of social position other than occupational class, including that cluster of characteristics possessed by the `ideal-typical' working-class voter. Deviant case analysis and comparison of Britain with other European countries supports the hypothesis that class is important in Britain because of the composition of society (i.e., the absence of stronger grounds of cleavage) rather than because of distinctive or unique cultural values.