News - BES Impact
One of the priorities of the 2015 British Election Study team is to maximize the use and reach of BES data and BES research findings. BES data provides in-depth understanding of the way representative democracy functions in British elections. It provides unique insights into British public opinion, participation, attitudes towards politics and explanations of electoral outcomes. The 2015 BES team is maximizing the usefulness and impact of the BES via:
• An extensive programme of events between 2013 and 2017 in England, Scotland and Wales.
• The release of BES findings for dissemination via national media outlets.
• Expert commentary in national and international media.
• Partnership with the Electoral Commission to study individual electoral registration effects, culminating in a joint report.
• A BES data playground to allow any interested user to access and analyse BES data online (coming soon). We expect this tool to be particularly useful to non-academic researchers in government, political parties, campaigns, charities and think tanks, and to journalists. This will also be of special use to undergraduate and graduate students wishing to explore BES data.
• An international Advisory Board with significant expertise in election studies and research into electoral behaviour.
• A BES Stakeholder Board to ensure cross-party input into BES research and dissemination.
• Regular input and dissemination of BES findings from BES Consultant Professor John Curtice (University of Strathclyde).

The 2015 General Election: Religious Affiliation and Party Vote Share Across Constituencies
By Dr Ben Clements, University of Leicester (reposted with kind permission from British Religion In Numbers) As the weekend round-up of religious news on BRIN flagged up, the British Election Study (BES) 2015 has released the first version of the 2015 general election results dataset….

Seminar: who won the UK General Election, how and why?
Click below to see recorded coverage on BBC Parliament of a Nuffield College Oxford and British Election Study seminar, featuring BES Co-Directors Prof Jane Green and Prof Geoff Evans along with Peter Kellner, President of YouGov. BBC Parliament Channel

Three common errors in interpreting voters’ choices
By the BES FactCheck Team Cees van der Eijk (BES and Nottingham) ,Stuart Fox (Nottingham), Mike Addelman (BES and Manchester) Annemarie Walter (Nottingham), Jonathan Rose (Nottingham), Fanni Toth (Nottingham), Fiona Williams (Nottingham), Katia Kolpinskaya (Nottingham), Josh Townsley (Nottingham), Tom Loughran (Manchester) During election night, we…

ITV’s Election analysis by Prof Jane Green
The British Election Study is working with ITV to bring in-depth analysis and understanding of the most unpredictable election in living memory. The British Election Study has provided an unparalleled source of election data and analysis since it began in 1964. ITV are releasing our…

Will younger voters turnout to vote? By Ed Fieldhouse
There has been a lot of speculation about the turnout of young voters in tomorrow’s General Election. In 2010 only an estimated 44% of the under 25s voted compared to 65% overall. But with a close run and unpredictable election turnout may well be higher…

BES FactCheck #GE2015
This page will be regularly updated on election night to fact check the claims and counter claims of politicians in real time. A British Election Study team led by co-Director Professor Cees van Der Eijk from The University of Nottingham’s will be scanning the election…

Join BES Fact Check on election night
Join BES Fact Check on election night Britain’s most detailed study of electoral behaviour is to fact check the claims and counter claims of politicians in real time on General Election night. A British Election Study team led by The University of Nottingham’s Professor Cees…

British Election Study 2015 General Election Constituency Forecast
By Jon Mellon and Ed Fieldhouse Because of its large sample size, spread across the 632 constituencies of Great Britain, the British Election Study Internet Panel is a valuable tool for understanding how voters are switching between parties. We have developed a BES ‘nowcast’ model…

The Ongoing Independence Referendum in Scotland: Implications for 7th May 2015
By Jane Green and Chris Prosser There is no doubting that the Independence Referendum has had a profound impact on vote intentions for May’s general election. British Election Study (BES) data reveals the depth of that impact, in particular the impact of the transfer of…

The Ebb and Flow: How the flow-of-the-vote adds up to a Liberal...
Most political commentators agree on one thing about the forthcoming General Election: it is too close to call. A conference on forecasting the 2015 British General Election, held at the London School of Economics today reveals that twelve forecasting teams (including the BES) all predict…