Tag: Liberal Democrats

General election 2019: what difference are the Unite to Remain and Brexit Party pacts likely to make?

General election 2019: what difference are the Unite to Remain and Brexit Party pacts likely to make?

The Unite to Remain alliance means the Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru and the Greens are trying to pool their votes to ensure a Remain-backing candidate is elected. But the Brexit Party’s decision to stand down their candidates in Tory-held seats makes this tougher. Heinz Brandenburg concludes that the overall effect of these pacts will be minimal.

The empty centre: why the Liberal Democrats need to demonstrate competence and unity to win votes

The empty centre: why the Liberal Democrats need to demonstrate competence and unity to win votes

Liberal parties in western democracies which advocate broadly centrist economic policies, such as the Liberal Democrats, have performed badly in some recent elections, even though their policies are often in tune with a large proportion of the electorate. Using survey data Roi Zur finds they have little scope for winning votes by shifting in either direction on the left-right spectrum. Instead they need to demonstrate they are a credible and competent governing party, able to prevent Brexit, and are not just expressing their opposition to it.

European elections 2019: what will happen in Scotland?

European elections 2019: what will happen in Scotland?

In 2014 four parties won two or one of Scotland’s six seats, with the SNP topping the poll at 29%. This time SNP support is high enough that they are sure of winning three seats, with the Brexit Party also guaranteed a seat. The remaining two seats are up for grabs between the big two and the other parties (Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Greens). With voters able to cast only a single vote for a party list in this PR election, which takes place tomorrow, 23 May, the Democratic Audit team reviews the likely outcomes for the parties, and looks at who the potentially electable candidates are.

How not to recruit postal voters in the UK

How not to recruit postal voters in the UK

Joshua Townsley and Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte tested the ability of parties to recruit postal voters in a field experiment carried out during the 2018 local elections in London. The result? Sending personal letters persuading voters to become postal voters is not an effective recruitment technique.

Behind the scenes of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat Coalition

Behind the scenes of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat Coalition

The UK’s Coalition government of 2010–15 was established with an array of formal agreements and rules for cooperation. However, finds Felicity Matthews, the informal norms and micro-level practices of individual relationships were critical to its operation. This opens up a new area in research, which focuses on the detailed practices of multi-party governance. 

Do party leaflets and canvass visits increase voter turnout?

Do party leaflets and canvass visits increase voter turnout?

Experiments in the US consistently find that Get Out The Vote campaigns boost participation at election time. Is the same true for Britain? Using a field experiment carried out in cooperation with the Liberal Democrats in May 2017, Joshua Townsley finds that leaflets and canvass visits did boost turnout, but that postal voters were unaffected by campaign contact.

How democratic are the UK’s political parties and party system?

How democratic are the UK’s political parties and party system?

For our 2018 Audit of UK Democracy, Patrick Dunleavy and Sean Kippin examine how democratic the UK’s party system and political parties are. Parties often attract criticism from those outside their ranks, but they have multiple, complex roles to play in any liberal democratic society. The UK’s system has many strengths, but also key weaknesses, where meaningful reform could realistically take place.

England’s local elections 2018: the Lib Dems’ performance was underwhelming – but these were not the elections to judge the party on

England’s local elections 2018: the Lib Dems’ performance was underwhelming – but these were not the elections to judge the party on

Despite media headlines to the contrary, the Liberal Democrats’ performance in the recent local elections was pretty underwhelming, explains David Cutts. But it is the 2019 local elections that will tell us more about the long-term viability of the party, since those will concern a larger number of English districts where the Lib Dems will be seeking to reclaim ground lost to the Conservatives since 2010.

Snap election a win-win for Theresa May: she’ll crush Labour and make Brexit a little easier

Snap election a win-win for Theresa May: she’ll crush Labour and make Brexit a little easier

How could Theresa May resist breaking her word? Tim Bale says a new cohort of Conservative MPs will boost her majority and enable her to return from Brussels with a softer Brexit. The Labour party, meanwhile, will be annihilated, and the Lib Dems can hope for at most 15% of the vote. Centrists may take […]

Long read review: Politics: Between the Extremes by Nick Clegg

Long read review: Politics: Between the Extremes by Nick Clegg

The UK government of 2010-2015 was the first UK coalition since 1945 and faced the consequences of the 2008 financial crash. In Politics: Between the Extremes, former Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg explains the challenges of being the small, Liberal partner in the coalition, and argues forcefully for the importance of […]