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New Approach

  • Christopher Kirkland
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Abstract

This chapter highlights some of the weaknesses of shoehorning “new” elections into a model designed to demonstrate differences between national and European elections. It argues that using the terminology of first- and second-order elections is problematic given the new elections introduced to Britain over the last two decades. Rather than relying upon such terminology, it outlines how a more holistic classification of elections may be achieved and argues that in order to achieve this we should broaden our analysis of groups involved from simply voters to include political parties and the media. As well as offering a new method for understanding British elections, it argues that rather than distinguishing between first- and second-order a more accurate classification would differentiate elections based on geography—between national and subnational elections.

Keywords

Political parties Subnational elections The media Turnout Voters 
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Copyright information

© The Author(s) 2020

Authors and Affiliations

  • Christopher Kirkland
    • 1
  1. 1.School of Humanities, Religion and PhilosophyYork St John UniversityYorkUK

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