ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the socio-demographic and socio-structural bases of electoral support for contemporary RLPs. The chapter first describes the profile of the electorate of major RLPs on the basis of key socio-demographic and socio-structural variables, and then, with an explanatory goal, analyses the impact of these variables on the likelihood to vote for RLPs. The variables assessed in this chapter are the following: occupational or social class, gender, level of education, employment status, sector of employment, age, and place of residence. The chapter shows that most contemporary West European RLPs’ electorates are composed of a cross-class coalition formed, mainly, by sections of the working class (production workers and/or service workers) and of the new middle class (sociocultural professionals). RLPs appeal to an urban and relatively young electorate where unemployed people and public sector workers are also over-represented. Most RLPs’ electorates follow a relatively similar pattern despite some party and country specificities, which are also described in the chapter.
