Summary
Contents
Subject index
Providing a complete up-to-date overview of the changing nature of contemporary party politics in Britain, this book draws on models of comparative politics and the latest empirical analysis to explain the capacity of British parties to adapt to a changing political environment. A number of broad themes include: the nature and extent of party competition; the internal life and organizational development of parties; the variety of evolving party systems in the United Kingdom; and the links between parties and the wider political system. The current weaknesses of party performance are addressed, and the scope of reform explained and examined. Contrary to claims of 'decline', however, the book demonstrates that party politic
How Parties Compete 2: Programmatic Adaptation
How Parties Compete 2: Programmatic Adaptation
- Ideological Dimensions and Party Competition 110
- Party Movements in One-Dimensional Space 112
- Party Movements in Two-Dimensional Space 115
- The Connection between Party Ideology and Voter Preferences 127
- The Endogenous Impact of Party Competition on Voter Preferences 129
- Ideology and Voting Behaviour 133
- Conclusion 136
- Notes 136
Having established the broad ideological identities of the main national parties, it is important to examine how these are utilized in the process of party competition. The foregoing discussion of party ideologies points to the (admittedly rather trite) conclusion that the Conservatives are a right-wing party, while Labour and the Liberals/Liberal Democrats have been left-of-centre formations throughout much of the twentieth century. But exactly how far left and right are they? And how have their precise ...
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