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.

Most research on campaign effects in British elections has focussed on exposure to the campaign. Far less attention has been given to how the campaign is perceived, although American research on the effects of negative campaigning suggests that this is a potentially important area. The article investigates the extent to which vote choices in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election were affected by perceptions of the parties’ campaigns as ‘positive’ or ‘negative’. Partisanship and increased exposure to a party’s campaign increased individuals’ chances of rating a campaign positively. Other things being equal, however, campaigns which come to be seen in a negative light backfire on the party responsible, reducing the propensity of people to vote for it. Acknowledgement: The research reported in this paper was funded by a grant from the ESRC (REF 000-22-2256).

The overwhelming majority of voters in Scotland identify as Scottish (and for most that is their primary national identity). In this context, standing up for Scottish interests is in effect a valence issue: more or less all voters want parties to do it, and all parties seek to persuade voters that they would. However, parties vary widely in their success at such persuasion. In this research, based on a major survey of Scottish voters in 2007, we show that parties' constitutional stances are important influences over their perceived commitment to Scottish interests. There is reason to suppose not only that Labour lost that election because of its clear deficit compared to the SNP on the Scottish interests variable, but also that part of that deficit can be attributed to Labour's perceived hostility to further devolution. Meanwhile, although independence remains the minority preference within the electorate, the SNP's endorsement of that policy does not appear to undermine its claim to stand up for Scottish interests.

Five aspects of local elections in Britain over a thirty year period are examined. First, the process of party politicisation has seen the growth of more three party systems whilst in parts of the Celtic fringe electors may have a choice of at least four parties. The increase in party candidates has had an important impact on the second aspect considered, that of uncontested seats. In some areas, particularly in the larger towns and cities, lack of contestation has not been significant. In remaining areas the trend has been towards increased competition and challenge for council seats. The third aspect is electoral turnout, where a recent decline has prompted considerable debate. However, the benefit of a longitudinal study is to provide historical perspective. The data show fluctuations in turnout but no 'golden age' where participation rates were significantly higher than in the modern era. The fourth and fifth aspects are the distribution of votes and seats respectively. The two-party vote share has declined and voters appear more prepared to support minor party candidates. In turn this has contributed to a growth in the variety of party systems in local government.

Political parties maintain local organisations and recruit members mainly to fight elections. For most of the post-war period, however, the dominant view among analysts has been that constituency campaigning in British general elections has little or no effect on election outcomes. This view has been challenged over the last ten years or so. Evidence derived from post-election surveys of constituency election agents following the 1992, 1997 and 2001 general elections is used here to show that the intensity of constituency campaigning significantly affects turnout levels and, for Labour and the Liberal Democrats, levels of party support. There is also some evidence that Conservative campaigning affected constituency variations in the party's performance in 2001. The conclusions reached on the basis of aggregate-level analysis are supported by analysis of individual-level data derived from British Election Study surveys. The effects of campaigning are not large, but they are clear and significant – and sufficient to affect the numbers of seats won by the major parties. In the light of this, parties have good reasons to maintain healthy local organisations.

Along with a number of other researchers, Patrick Seyd and Paul Whiteley have consistently argued that constituency campaigning in Britain influences constituency election outcomes. In recent work, however, they have denied that the major efforts made by the Labour Party’s national headquarters to target resources and expertise into key seats in the 1997 general election was effective and that, as a consequence, the party had better results in these seats than elsewhere. Using various measures of campaign intensity, however, it is clear that target constituencies did have significantly stronger Labour campaigns than comparable constituencies that were not nationally targeted. Multivariate analysis also suggests that Labour’s performance in targeted seats was better than in comparable seats.

Constituency (local) campaigning in British general elections has been transformed over the past ten years or so. Firstly, national party headquarters have taken an increasingly large role in planning and managing constituency campaigns. Although the pace of change has varied across the major parties, all are heading down the same road. Secondly, campaigning on the ground has also changed. Technological and other changes have led to a decline in the use of traditional campaign techniques and increased use of new methods, especially in 'key' seats. These developments are charted using data derived from a unique set of nationwide surveys of election agents at the last three general elections. Finally, the article returns (briefly) to the debate about the electoral effects of constituency campaigning, presenting data relating to its impact in each of the three elections concerned.

The rarity of referendums in the United Kingdom makes them unusual events for voters, parties and students of voting behaviour. The 1997 devolution referendums in Scotland and Wales were highly significant since they led to major constitutional changes. In the novel circumstances of a referendum, political parties and the media played an important role in providing voters with information to guide their voting decisions. Longstanding identities and opinions relating to the pros and cons of the issue involved and attitudes towards the government influenced voting. Reassuringly, opinions about the effects of devolution were highly influential.

Journal Article The Liberal Democrat Campaign Get access David Denver David Denver Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 54, Issue 4, 1 October 2001, Pages 638–649, https://doi.org/10.1093/parlij/54.4.638 Published: 01 October 2001

Journal Article Book section. Devolution and British identity Get access D Denver D Denver Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 53, Issue 4, October 2000, Pages 766–769, https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/53.4.766 Published: 01 October 2000

Journal Article Book reviews. Elections galore Get access D Denver D Denver University of Lancaster, Lancaster, UK Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 53, Issue 2, April 2000, Pages 364–368, https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/53.2.364 Published: 01 April 2000

After the Labour Party's landslide victory in 1997, the results were analyzed. Issues at the top of the agenda included party leader image, campaign strategy, the sleaze factor, the effect of the media and changes in the electoral geography of Britain. This volume records the discussion.