Constituency Campaigning in 2005: Ever More Centralization?

Abstract

Over the last fifteen years or so, despite using different methodological approaches and empirical indicators, three different research teams have consistently demonstrated that in general Elections well-organised and intense election campaigns at constituency level can yield electoral benefits (see, for example Whiteley & Seyd, 1994; Pattie et al., 1995; Denver et al., 2003). This research was originally labelled ‘revisionist’, since the results contradicted the traditional view of the impact of campaigning in British general Elections — namely, that if it was in any way beneficial to the performance of the parties then it was national campaigning that made the difference. Constituency campaigning, it was held, was essentially a sideshow inherited from a previous age. Times have changed, however. Even the most ardent ‘tradition-alist’ now accepts that constituency campaigning, to some extent at least, yields payoffs. The ‘revisionist’ school has now become the mainstream.

Most of the research featured in this chapter was funded by the Electoral Commission via a tender for the analysis of the General Election campaign. See Fisher et al. (2005).