Abstract
In this chapter, I explore how patterns of political competition in Britain changed after the 2016 vote to leave the EU by comparing the ideological profiles of party voters in 2017 with those of party voters in 2015. The aim is to see whether party voters became more polarised after the EU referendum and, if so, along which dimension polarisation occurred. I go on to investigate whether the electorate as a whole became more polarised with respect to each dimension. I find that while groups of party voters became more polarised with respect to one another along the cultural dimension between 2015 and 2017, overall polarisation of the electorate as a whole, insofar as it occurred, was much more gradual. Another finding is that in Scotland the issue of independence became framed as an economic left–right issue after the 2014 independence referendum.
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
Notes
- 1.
BBC News, “John McDonnell Says Overthrowing Capitalism Is His Job” (20 May 2018) at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-44189922/john-mcdonnell-says-overthrowing-capitalism-is-his-job, accessed 22 May 2018.
- 2.
See also http://www.bsa-data.natcen.ac.uk.
- 3.
British Social Attitudes (2015), “Support for the Death Penalty Falls Below 50% for First Time” at http://www.bsa.natcen.ac.uk/media-centre/archived-press-releases/bsa-32-support-for-death-penalty.aspx, accessed 4 June 2018.
References
Clery, E., Curtice, J., & Harding, R. (2017). British Social Attitudes: The 34th Report. London: NatCen Social Research. Available online at: www.bsa.natcen.ac.uk.
Hooghe, L., Marks, G., & Wilson, C. J. (2002). Does Left/Right Structure Party Positions on European Integration? Comparative Political Studies, 35(8), 965–989.
Kriesi, H., Grande, E., Lachat, R., Dolezal, M., Bornschier, S., & Frey, T. (2006). Globalization and the Transformation of the National Political Space: Six European Countries Compared. European Journal of Political Research, 45(6), 921–956.
Kriesi, H., Grande, E., Lachat, R., Dolezal, M., Bornschier, S., & Frey, T. (2008). West European Politics in the Age of Globalization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lipset, S. M., & Rokkan, S. (1967). Cleavage Structures, Party Systems, and Voter Alignments: An Introduction. In S. M. Lipset & S. Rokkan (Eds.), Party Systems and Voter Alignments: Cross-National Perspectives (pp. 1–64). New York: Free Press.
Phillips, D., Curtice, J., Phillips, M., & Perry, J. (Eds.). (2018). British Social Attitudes: The 35th Report. London: The National Centre for Social Research. Available online at: www.bsa.natcen.ac.uk.
Wheatley, J., Carman, C., Mendez, F., & Mitchell, J. (2014). The Dimensionality of the Scottish Political Space: Results from an Experiment on the 2011 Holyrood Elections. Party Politics, 20(6), 864–878.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wheatley, J. (2019). Towards a More Polarised Britain?. In: The Changing Shape of Politics. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03940-0_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03940-0_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-03939-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-03940-0
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)