The announcement of the date of the 2024 British general election may have taken many of us by surprise, but the British Election Study (BES) team has been able to react quickly and will soon release the most recent wave of data from its 30,000-person panel survey, which was collected after the local elections in May.
Further pre-campaign data, collected after the next general election was announced, will also be released before the election.
Professor Ed Fieldhouse, Director of the BES, said,
“We drafted the pre-election BES internet panel survey (wave 27) in just 48 hours, and this has gone out to 30,000 people in the UK. Our campaign survey (wave 28), which will collect data daily has also been designed, and it went into the field on 10th June. We’re also in the process of drafting the post-election survey (wave 29), which will go into the field immediately after the general election on 4th July. We know how vital trusted, quality data is for our user community in the run up to, during and after the election. We are working at full speed to enable this, so please do follow updates on the BES website.”
This year we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the British Election Study, we have released information about the BES in a new infographic. We have also created some short films on important topics, such as Brexit and Vote Choice, Electoral Volatility, and Competence Shocks, Reputation and Trust. Please visit our Impact page to view these.
We are also preparing several short film ‘explainers’ using BES data, the first of which was released on ITVX – Election Matters: Do General Election campaigns actually influence the result?
The BES team has presented BES analysis at a recent conference organised by the British Polling Council and the London School of Economics – Shedding Light on the UK General Election. In addition, at the Cheltenham Science Festival, Co-Director of the BES, Professor Jane Green joined a panel, chaired by Dara Ó Briain, and addressed how BES data is used to guide polling and how, and why, the BES team conduct surveys.
Additional British Election Study data and resources:
- The post-election random probability survey with Ipsos, includes a CSES module. The pilot for this was conducted earlier in the year and fieldwork preparation is going well.
- A version of the BES full panel dataset and recent waves linked to the new constituency boundaries will be released soon.
- A simplified version of the BES internet panel dataset was also recently released, this is particularly helpful for teaching and other purposes during the election.
- Pre-election short films: watch these short informative films and learn more about Brexit and Vote Choice, Electoral Volatility, Competence Shocks, Reputation and Trust.
BES data used in the media:
With around 1,500 BES mentions in the media since 2014, the British Election Study is a well-used resource.
Professor Jane Green, Co-Director of the BES, said:
“We’re all in full election mode, it’s busy and very important for us. We’re preparing information for the ITV News Election Night special programme, as well as for the BBC Election Night programme (exit poll). The BES data provides an in-depth understanding of the way representative democracy functions in British elections. Our data looks into British public opinion, political participation, attitudes towards politics and explanations of electoral outcomes. We’re a trusted resource, and we greatly value that.”
- BES insights and analysis were used in two BBC Radio 4 Newscast explainers on;
- Why people vote the way they do; and
- Polling.
- On the day the election was announced, and on the day of the first leader debate, we were interviewed on ITV Evening News, ITV News at Ten, the Talking Politics podcast, Times Radio, and BBC Wales
- We have also joined the panel of a BBC Today Programme podcast.
- The first of four collaborations with the British Election Study – The Fight for 24: The Path to Power includes analysis by the BES team and uses polling averages to help people understand more about the general election. (The other films will use BES analysis of BES data).
For further information about the BES, the most recent data and updates please follow us on X at @BESResearch and check the website britishelectionstudy.com.