No such thing as a safe seat as fewer voters than ever stick with the “major parties”

The ANU’s Australian Election Study has revealed just how greatly Australians have changed how they vote.

Back in the late 1960s the ALP and the LNP were, in effect, able to sit back and know that around a third of voters would always vote for them – their votes were locked in, and effectively able to be ignored.

But over the decades voters have drifted away from the hold of the parties. They were willing to switch their votes – either to the other party or to minor ones.

In the May election just 11% of those who voted for the ALP had always voted for them, while 13% of the LNP voters likewise have always stood firm with the party:

When you can no longer rely on two thirds of voters to always vote the same way, not only is it unsurprising that the ALP and LNP primary votes are also falling, it very much means there is no such thing as a safe seat. It means voters anywhere can put pressure on a major party to deliver. It makes for a better democracy and should be a reminder to government not to take its voters for granted.