Party Political Homogamy in Great Britain

Abstract

Richard Lampard is a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Warwick. Much of his research has been in the area of marriage and divorce, but he also has research interests in social stratification and social statistics (especially the analysis of contingency tables and of event history data). He is currently working on an ESRC-funded project looking at the remarriage process.ABSTRACT This paper focuses on husbands' and wives' party political identifications in combination. There is a high level of party political homogamy in Great Britain (i.e. spouses tend to share the same party political identification). Statistical analyses show that levels of homogamy vary according to strength of party political identification, parental homogamy, age and marital status. Levels of party political similarity are also shown to differ between marriage and other social relationships, and between first marriages and remarriages. Attitudes towards homogamy are shown to vary with age.The implications of these findings for theories relating to the origins of homogamy and to the consequences of heterogamy are considered. Broadly speaking, the findings indicate that party political homogamy is a consequence of demographic constraints, utility-maximising choices, and responses to cultural norms.

Stability and Change in Party Preference

“…Most extensively studied so far have been effects between partners living in the same household (e.g. Lampard 1997;Brynin 2000;Johnson et al 2002Johnson et al , 2005Kan and Heath 2006;Zuckerman et al 2007). Results show a strong political homogeneity, which is due to both initial selection and a considerable convergence over time.…”

What Small Spatial Scales Are Relevant as Electoral Contexts for Individual Voters? The Importance of the Household on Turnout at the 2001 General Election

“…Moreover, political/electoral “homogamy,” in party identification and electoral participation, is extremely high among married couples, with heterogamy more likely among those who were cohabiting and married couples with heterogamous family backgrounds (Brynin 2000; Lampard 1997). There is also evidence that married people turn out to vote in greater proportions than those who are single, divorced, separated, or live with a partner because they are more attuned to traditional values, such as a sense of civic duty, than those with other domestic arrangements (Denver 2008).…”

Homo– et hétérogamie dans les attitudes et le comportement politique en Suisse

“…D'autres études, plus ambitieuses en la matière, interrogèrent le répondant sur le comportement politique de son conjoint, par exemple The British Election Study Data, dont les données furent utilisées par Lampard (1997); ce dernier arrivait à la conclusion que le comportement électoral des conjoints était très homogène. De même, Beck (1991) a aussi montré l'importante concordance régnant entre les opinions politiques des époux.…”