News - BES Findings
The British Election Study & the Scottish Constitutional Debate (by Professor Charlie...
It is striking how insular Scotland’s constitutional debate is. Both sides in the debate see Scotland’s constitutional future in different ways as bound up firmly in relationships with the rest of the UK. The Yes side envisages a form of independence which involves continuing partnership…
Settled wills? The psychology behind stable referendum polls (by Dr Rob Johns,...
In a marathon campaign like the one for votes in the Independence referendum on the 18th September, a good deal of the excitement is generated by ups and downs in the opinion polls. For those seeking to maintain interest, then, it is fortunate that the…
Class divisions and the Scottish Referendum
The Scottish Independence referendum campaign has focused heavily on the economic impacts of independence –whether the No campaign’s claims of a “UK dividend” or the Yes campaign’s promise of an economic renaissance for a newly independent Scotland. But how do voters’ own economic situations affect…
Better Together, whatever happens? Public reactions to post-‘No’ scenarios (by Dr Rob...
If Scotland votes ‘No’ on 18 September, what happens next? And might voters’ answers to that question influence how they vote in the referendum? Here, Rob Johns from the University of Essex analyses a British Election Study Internet Panel survey experiment which examined reactions to various…
Devolution deficit: how the promise of further devolution can save the Union
As the Scottish referendum campaign moves into the final three months the pro Union parties have emphasised their commitment to more devolution should Scotland choose to remain in the Union. The Conservatives recently outlined plans to devolve additional tax raising powers to the Scottish Parliament,…
British Election Study Analysis on BBC Vote 2014 with David Dimbleby
With voting in both the Local and European Elections taking place on Thursday 22nd May, Professor Jane Green of the British Election Study team provided up to date analysis of the elections for BBC Breakfast and the Vote 2014 election special program (BBC1 & BBC2)…
UKIP: Picking up lumps of old labour support?
Written by Professor Geoffrey Evans & Dr Jon Mellon At the final stages of the EU election campaign the leaders put their cases forward to promote their parties. The latest and final interview on The Today Programme on Wednesday 21st May saw Nigel Farage…
British Election Study in the News
On the 7th May 2014, Professor Jane Green of the British Election Study team took part in a Political Studies Association media briefing in Westminster, London. Professor Green’s briefing focused upon whether UKIP’s success at the European Parliament elections in May this year would continue…
Room for switching: European Parliament Vote Intentions
According to a Telegraph/ICM poll published on 19 April, the upcoming European Parliament elections lead to a dismal result for the Conservative party, which is predicted to finish third, after Labour and UKIP. We take no aim with the findings of this poll and the…
Thatcher’s Legacy Still Looms Large: The North-South divide in Britain’s electoral support
During the 1980s Britain witnessed an unprecedented geographical polarisation of voting behaviour and political attitudes. The term North-South divide became popular parlance, not just in the field of economics but also in British politics, as ‘the North’ – defined approximately by an imaginary line from…