The Electoral System in Britain

The Electoral System in Britain
Author: Robert Blackburn
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 500
Release: 2016-07-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1349240907

This excellent new book provides a comprehensive account of the British system of parliamentary elections. It contains a description of the current structure and operation of the electoral system, and pays special attention to those subjects which have given rise to political concern or controversy in recent years. There is extensive analysis and commentary upon the different proposals for reform which are currently in debate, and the author puts forward his own conclusions on how the electoral system should be developed in the years ahead to modernise and improve the quality of representative democracy in Britain.

Electoral Reform at Work

Electoral Reform at Work
Author: Philip Salmon
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2002
Genre: History
ISBN: 0861932617

This book charts the political transformation of Britain that resulted from the "Great" Reform Act of 1832. It argues that this extensively debated parliamentary reform, aided by the workings of the New Poor Law (1834) and Municipal Corporations Act (1835), moved the nation far closer to a "modern" type of representative system than has previously been supposed. Drawing on hitherto neglected local archives and the records of election solicitors, Dr Salmon demonstrates how the Reform Act's practical details, far from being mere "small print", had a profound impact on borough and county politics. Combining computer-assisted electoral analysis with traditional methods, he traces the emergence of new types of voter partisanship and party organisation after 1832, and exposes key differences between the parties which resulted in a remarkable national recovery by the Conservative party. In passing he provides important new perspectives on issues such as MPs' relations with their constituents, the expense and culture of popular politics after 1832, the electoral impact of railway development, and the role of 'deference voting' in the counties. Dr PHILIP SALMON is Editor of the 1832-1945 House of Commons project at the History of Parliament.

Parliament the Mirror of the Nation

Parliament the Mirror of the Nation
Author: Gregory Conti
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 433
Release: 2019-04-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 1108428738

The notion of 'representative democracy' seems unquestionably familiar today, but how did the Victorians understand democracy, parliamentary representation, and diversity?

The UK's Changing Democracy

The UK's Changing Democracy
Author: Patrick Dunleavy
Publisher: LSE Press
Total Pages: 521
Release: 2018-11-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1909890464

The UK’s Changing Democracy presents a uniquely democratic perspective on all aspects of UK politics, at the centre in Westminster and Whitehall, and in all the devolved nations. The 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU marked a turning point in the UK’s political system. In the previous two decades, the country had undergone a series of democratic reforms, during which it seemed to evolve into a more typical European liberal democracy. The establishment of a Supreme Court, adoption of the Human Rights Act, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish devolution, proportional electoral systems, executive mayors and the growth in multi-party competition all marked profound changes to the British political tradition. Brexit may now bring some of these developments to a juddering halt. The UK’s previous ‘exceptionalism’ from European patterns looks certain to continue indefinitely. ‘Taking back control’ of regulations, trade, immigration and much more is the biggest change in UK governance for half a century. It has already produced enduring crises for the party system, Parliament and the core executive, with uniquely contested governance over critical issues, and a rapidly changing political landscape. Other recent trends are no less fast-moving, such as the revival of two-party dominance in England, the re-creation of some mass membership parties and the disruptive challenges of social media. In this context, an in-depth assessment of the quality of the UK’s democracy is essential. Each of the 2018 Democratic Audit’s 37 short chapters starts with clear criteria for what democracy requires in that part of the nation’s political life and outlines key recent developments before a SWOT analysis (of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) crystallises the current situation. A small number of core issues are then explored in more depth. Set against the global rise of debased semi-democracies, the book’s approach returns our focus firmly to the big issues around the quality and sustainability of the UK’s liberal democracy.

From Votes To Seats

From Votes To Seats
Author: Ron Johnston
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2001
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780719058523

From Votes to Seats is a study of the 14 general elections held between 1950 and 1997 in Britain. Arguing that the British electoral system treats political parties disproportionately, the authors show that the amount of bias in those elections results substantially increased over the period, benefiting Labour at the expense of the Conservatives. With the use of imaginative diagrams, this book examines the electoral process in detail, illustrating how it operates, while stressing the important role of tactical voting in the production of recent election results.

Lowering the Voting Age to 16

Lowering the Voting Age to 16
Author: Jan Eichhorn
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2019-11-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3030325415

This book explores the consequences of lowering the voting age to 16 from a global perspective, bringing together empirical research from countries where at least some 16-year-olds are able to vote. With the aim to show what really happens when younger people can take part in elections, the authors engage with the key debates on earlier enfranchisement and examine the lead-up to and impact of changes to the voting age in countries across the globe. The book provides the most comprehensive synthesis on this topic, including detailed case studies and broad comparative analyses. It summarizes what can be said about youth political participation and attitudes, and highlights where further research is needed. The findings will be of great interest to researchers working in youth political socialization and engagement, as well as to policymakers, youth workers and activists.

The Politico's Guide to Electoral Reform in Britain

The Politico's Guide to Electoral Reform in Britain
Author: Patrick Dunleavy
Publisher: Politico's Publishing
Total Pages: 76
Release: 1998
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

An objective analysis of the Jenkins Report on the reform of the voting system, this work analyses where the debate has got to and predicts what action the Government will take.

The Boundary Commissions

The Boundary Commissions
Author: D. J. Rossiter
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Total Pages: 456
Release: 1999
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780719050831

The four Boundary Commissions, one each for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, were established in the mid-1940s and have now been responsible for creating five new maps of Parliamentary constituencies. Despite their importance in British political life, very little has been written about the Commissions and how they work, and much that has been written focuses on the short-term issues of the electoral impact of a new set of constituencies. This volume is a study of the Commissions, involving in-depth interviews with all major interest groups and individuals alongside scrutiny of all relevant documents and statistical analyses of the outcomes.