News - Disengagement
Youthquake – a reply to our critics
In the wake of the release of the 2017 BES face-to-face data, and our analysis that showed no evidence of a surge in youth turnout at the 2017 election, some commentators have challenged our findings. The key message of our original article (published on…
Don’t blame young voters: new film from ‘UK in a Changing Europe’
The UK in a Changing Europe programme, which is injecting research based information into the referendum debate, has produced a video for younger people which we feature below. Professor Anand Menon, who leads the progamme, says the decision matters to young people in particular, who…
PhD Studentship with the British Election Study and the Hansard Society: Investigating...
We are recruiting an outstanding student to undertake PhD research with the British Election Study (Professors Jane Green and Edward Fieldhouse) and the Hansard Society (Dr Ruth Fox), to analyse the factors governing the perceived problem of representation in politics. The student will use British…
BLOG UPDATE: is Labour really too left-wing to win an election?
Few could have anticipated the surge in support for Jeremy Corbyn, who after getting on to the Labour leadership ballot by the skin of his teeth has become remarkably popular among his party’s grassroots . Most Labour people have something to say on the Corbyn…
Will younger voters turnout to vote? By Ed Fieldhouse
There has been a lot of speculation about the turnout of young voters in tomorrow’s General Election. In 2010 only an estimated 44% of the under 25s voted compared to 65% overall. But with a close run and unpredictable election turnout may well be higher…
BES FactCheck #GE2015
This page will be regularly updated on election night to fact check the claims and counter claims of politicians in real time. A British Election Study team led by co-Director Professor Cees van Der Eijk from The University of Nottingham’s will be scanning the election…
Join BES Fact Check on election night
Join BES Fact Check on election night Britain’s most detailed study of electoral behaviour is to fact check the claims and counter claims of politicians in real time on General Election night. A British Election Study team led by The University of Nottingham’s Professor Cees…
The Impact of Coalition on the 2015 General Election
By Jane Green and Ed Fieldhouse There has been a lot of talk about how the 2015 election is different: more voters than ever before look set to vote against the major Westminster parties; the fragmentation of the two-party system enhances uncertainty about the assumptions…
Lessons for the UK in electoral integrity. By Pippa Norris
By Pippa Norris: Harvard University and the University of Sydney Issues about the integrity of UK elections have become a major concern in the run-up to the general election. In recent contests, questions have arisen over insecure postal ballots, proxy voting, and fraudulent practices. The…
Contact matters: voters like to be asked personally for their support
Ed Miliband has announced that to counter the Conservative party’s financial advantage during the 2015 election campaign Labour will outnumber them in supporters out on the streets engaging with voters – and will benefit accordingly. Is that a sensible strategy? David Cutts, Ed Fieldhouse (BES…