by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: November 12, 2008   Last Updated: April 15, 2011

For the average voter who is not an avid follower of politics it is much easier to vote according to emotion rather than trying to rationalise their decision. At election time people are inundated with claims about political motivations, counter-claims and denials, and it becomes harder and harder to establish who is telling the truth about what. It becomes increasingly difficult to escape election fever and the surfeit of coverage often turns people off altogether.

The major parties in the United Kingdom are the Conservatives and Labour, with the Liberal Democrats trailing in a distant third. Individuals seem to become very tribal when it comes to politics. There are still those who vote Labour in the belief that they are the true representatives of the working class. Such individuals tend to regard the Tories as representing the wealthier classes and pursuing free market economics at any cost. However, Labour, or rather New' Labour, has been cosying up to big business since its very inception, and has taken only very small steps to tackling the issue of inequality between the rich and the poor in the UK.

Meanwhile the smaller parties, such as the Liberal Democrats, struggle to have their voices heard. The internet may have revolutionised how elections are conducted in America, but the majority of people still turn to the television and newspapers to inform their decisions about how to vote in the UK. It is therefore very difficult for a person to enter a polling booth fully informed about all of the issues and what all of the different parties represent, particularly for someone who does not usually follow politics.

Luckily, in the UK there are laws stipulating that broadcasters cannot give a disproportionate amount of coverage to one party, though newspapers are allowed to campaign for whichever party they so choose. Although newspaper sales are falling they still seem to have a disproportionate amount of influence over voters with The Sun' even claiming in its headline It's the Sun wot won it' for the Conservatives in 1992. That may have been 16 years ago, but Gordon Brown still feels the need to get on the right side of Rupert Murdoch.

Even though broadcasters cannot come out in favour of one particular party, the commentators and opinion polls that they utilise in their reports must have some influence. If a landslide victory is predicted it may discourage people from voting, as there would seem little point, which could affect the outcome of an election.

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