Reflections

Abstract

The chapters in this study, together with the statistical Appendix, offer strong confirmation to the image of this particular European contest as a ‘second-order’ national election. Yet it was a national election, with all that this implied for expenses and activities. What, then, did it mean for British politics? At one level, the election was clearly a dry run, a dress rehearsal for the first-order General Election that was generally expected for the spring of 2005. The experiences of all of the parties would be fed back into their calculations on how to maximise their tactical advantages and how to hone their campaigning machinery.