Does Disability Affect Political Party Identification?

• In Event: Pushing Barriers: The Place of Disability in Politics and Political Science: Disabling Democracy? Disability, Voting, and Political Attitudes

Abstract

While recent scholarship has greatly advanced our knowledge of political inequality by gender and ethnicity, the influence of disability on political attitudes and behaviour is still relatively poorly understood. International research on disability gaps in electoral participation and political efficacy provide valuable insight, yet the influence of disability on party affiliation and support represents a remaining gap in understanding. To address this gap, we use data from the UK’s Household Longitudinal Study (2009-21) and estimate differences in the preferences of disabled and non-disabled people for political parties. The analysis investigates the extent to which such disability gaps are mediated by changes in socio-economic status and political values, as while itself an important question, the analysis also develops our understanding of the influence of socio-economic status on party support without the same endogeneity of other observational studies, given the well-documented negative and involuntary labour market impact that often accompanies disability onset. Finally, we also use panel estimation methods - taking advantage of the longitudinal nature of the dataset - to provide a more credible estimate of the effect of disability by investigating the effects of transitions in disability status. As such, the analysis sheds light on an important and emerging subfield regarding the effects of disability on political behaviour.

Authors

• Ralph Scott, WISERD

• Melanie Jones, Cardiff University