This volume combines current academic research on British elections, parties and public opinion with a detailed reference section including a chronology of the major political events of 1993, opinion polls and by-election results for 1993, as well as an up-to-date digest of party and media addresses and contacts.

This volume looks at the political events and discusses the major issues of 1994, most notably the European parliament elections.

This volume looks at the political events and discusses the major issues of 1994, most notably the European parliament elections.

This excellent new book provides a comprehensive account of the British system of parliamentary elections. It contains a description of the current structure and operation of the electoral system, and pays special attention to those subjects which have given rise to political concern or controversy in recent years. There is extensive analysis and commentary upon the different proposals for reform which are currently in debate, and the author puts forward his own conclusions on how the electoral system should be developed in the years ahead to modernise and improve the quality of representative democracy in Britain.

How do voters in Britain decide which party to vote for in elections? Have age and education replaced class as the social basis for voting? Are elections now ‘presidentialised’, with voters simply choosing between party leaders? What role do the media, new and old, play in all of this? The authors examine these and other questions in the fourth edition of this popular text. The core of the text is devoted to examining and explaining theories of party choice, including the debate about whether voters are driven more by issues and ideology or simply by which party and leader looks least likely to make a mess of things in office. The authors also devote separate chapters to turnout trends and patterns, the media, electoral systems, the geography of party support, and – new to this edition – referendums. Fully revised and with detailed analysis of the 2019 election and the electoral fallout of Brexit, the text incorporates the latest research on elections and voting behaviour, and includes analysis of recent trends and developments – such as the effect of digital media on electoral politics and where recent misfires leave the opinion polls.

Contemporary British Conservatism brings together a set of specially-commissioned chapters by leading authorities to provide a broad-ranging assessment of Conservative politics, policy and ideology today. A central concern throughout is to assess the impact of Thatcherism on the party and the extent to which there has been a return to more traditional Conservatism under John Major.