News
Labour need to tempt not terrify the voters they have lost to...
By Dr Steve Fisher Abstract: This post summarises the main points from the national and constituency polls in Scotland before discussing what might help Labour north of the border. The British Election Study survey evidence suggests that Scottish Labour MPs will not be saved by…
Following the pink battle bus: where are the women voters in 2015?...
On 11th February Harriet Harman launched the Labour party’s magenta battle bus intended to reach out to women voters. The bus generated a fair amount of publicity and was explained on the basis that women have been less likely to vote in previous elections. Women…
The impact of party leader images on vote switching in the run-up...
By Professor Geoffrey Evans and Dr Jon Mellon Never a day seems to go by without party leaders featuring in the media as heroes, villains, or klutzes. The emphasis of these reports often depends on the political leanings of the media involved, at least with…
Contact matters: voters like to be asked personally for their support
Ed Miliband has announced that to counter the Conservative party’s financial advantage during the 2015 election campaign Labour will outnumber them in supporters out on the streets engaging with voters – and will benefit accordingly. Is that a sensible strategy? David Cutts, Ed Fieldhouse (BES…
BES data updates
The BES team is releasing updated versions of the panel (v1.2), wave 1 (v3.4), wave 2 (v2.4) and wave 3 (v1.2) datasets. This is a minor update that makes a number of small improvements and fixes some errors. The updated datasets are replacing the previous…
Westminster Impact: BES Insights into 2015
The British Election Study made its presence felt in Westminster on December 9, when journalists, political scientists and party staffers were given a series of 10 powerful insights into the General Election, now just a few months away. There was extensive media coverage of the day….
High Class Discontent: Economic Insecurity and UKIP Support
By Steve Fenton (University of Bristol) and Robin Mann (WISERD, Bangor University) Academic analysis and media commentary have shifted the emphasis from Tory voter defectors towards working class voters, and potential Labour supporters, in explaining UKIP support. This was a good corrective to earlier emphases….
Was Blair right: are Labour really too left-wing to win in May?...
Whilst many of us were thinking about how to celebrate the New Year, Ed Miliband might have been forgiven for eschewing the Champagne and going for something a little stronger. Although former PM Tony Blair’s popularity amongst the British public is hardly meteoric, and his…
Voter Trends in 2014 and lessons for the 2015 General Election
By Steven Ayres, Researcher, House of Commons Library Since 1964, the British Election Study (BES) has been surveying voters at each General Election in an attempt to establish who votes for who and why. The study has evolved over time, yet the central focus on…
Trading places? Left-right placement in Scotland. By Professor Phil Cowley
‘But what about the SNP?’ That’s what I’ve been asked most, after writing a blog on the way the public see the ideological positions of the parties. With ‘normal’ opinion polls it’s difficult to do sensible inter-country comparisons– because the number of respondents outside of…