Political Choice in Britain

Contemporary Review, Oct, 2004

Political Choice in Britain. Harold D. Clarke, David Sanders, Marianne C. Stewart and Paul Whiteley. Oxford University Press. [pounds sterling]55.00. xix 371 pages. ISBN 0-19-924488-X. This psephological study, by two U.S. and two U.K. professors, looks at the political choices made by the declining number of Britons who vote in general elections: in 2001 it was less than three in every five.

The authors, who were closely involved in the 2001 British Election Study, eschew any one 'explanatory model' and instead examine several to give a sociological understanding behind voting decisions. 'Voters are sensible people whose behaviour in a political world of uncertainty and limited information is guided by a rough and ready rationality ... motivated by collective considerations as well as egocentric concerns'. The authors look at the range of political choices in Britain, at various theories and models of party support, at the workings of party support between 1964 and 2001, at electoral choice in the last general election, at the influence of the 2001 electoral campaign, at the importance of party identification, various theories and models based on voter turnout, at the decision by increasing numbers of people not to vote, and at the 'health of British democracy'. Finally, they give a short concluding chapter in which they argue that 'perceptions of party leaders' do matter 'much more than previous studies of British voting behaviour have allowed' and that despite vast changes between 1964 and today, 'the basic calculus of voters' decisions has not'. The key is still the 'ability of governments to perform in those policy areas that people care about most'.