Abstract
The short answer to the question posed in the title of this book is: Yes, parties do make a difference in the way Britain is governed, but the differences are not as expected. The differences in office between one party and another are less likely to arise from contrasting intentions than from the exigencies of government. Much of a party’s record in office will be stamped upon it by forces outside its control. British parties are not the primary forces shaping the destiny of British society; it is shaped by something stronger than parties.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
See Richard Rose, Ian McAllister and Peter Mair, Is There a Concurring Majority about Northern Ireland? (Glasgow: University of Strathclyde Studies in Public Policy, no. 22, 1978).
See Stein Rokkan, “Votes Count, Resources Decide,” in Makt og Motiv (Oslo: Glyndal Norskforlag, 1976).
Peter Hennessy, “Mrs. Thatcher Warned in Secret Report of Certain Defeat in Confrontation with Unions,” The Times, 15 April 1978.
For a detailed discussion of intraparty divisions, see Richard Rose, The Problem of Party Government (London: Macmillan, 1974), chap. 12.
See Ken Coates, ed., What Went Wrong? (Nottingham: Institute for Workers’ Control, 1979).
Walter Bagehot, The English Constitution (London: World’s Classics ed., 1955), chap. 1.
see Grant Jordan, “Central Coordination, Crossman and the Inner Cabinet,” Political Quarterly 49, no. 2. (1978).
For a fuller development of the process, see Richard Rose, “Comparing Public Policy,” European Journal of Political Research 1, no. 1 (1973): 75–82.
Sir Henry Willink, House of Commons Debates, vol. 426, col. 458 (26 July 1946).
This is assumed already to have happened by S.E. Finer in Adversary Politics and Electoral Reform (London: Anthony Wigram, 1975).
Ian Waller, “After the Honeymoon,” Sunday Telegraph, 14 October 1979.
Michael O’Higgins, “Rolling Back the Welfare State?” in Yearbook of Social Policy in Britain, ed. C. Jones and J. Stevenson (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1983).
See, e.g., David Marquand, “Inquest on a Movement,” Encounter, July 1979, pp. 8–18; Roy Jenkins, “Home Thoughts from Abroad”; and Peter Jenkins, “Staggering towards a Socialist Future,” The Guardian, 21 October 1979.
See, e.g., David Marquand, “Inquest on a Movement,” Encounter, July 1979, pp. 8–18; Roy Jenkins, “Home Thoughts from Abroad”; and Peter Jenkins, “Staggering towards a Socialist Future,” The Guardian, 21 October 1979.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1984 Richard Rose
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rose, R. (1984). Something Stronger Than Parties. In: Do Parties Make a Difference?. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17350-1_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17350-1_9
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-35323-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-17350-1
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)