Performance Politics and the British Voter (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780521874441)

What matters most to voters when they choose their leaders? This book suggests that performance politics is at the heart of contemporary democracy, with voters forming judgments about how well competing parties and leaders perform on important issues. Given the high stakes and uncertainty involved, voters rely heavily on partisan cues and party leader images as guides to electoral choice. However, the authors argue that the issue agenda of British politics has changed markedly in recent years. A cluster of concerns about crime, immigration and terrorism now mix with perennial economic and public service issues. Since voters and parties often share the same positions on these issues, political competition focuses on who can do the best job. This book shows that a model emphasizing flexible partisan attachments, party leader images and judgments of party competence on key issues can explain electoral choice in contemporary Britain.

Author: Harold D. Clarke,David Sanders,Marianne C. Stewart
ISBN-10: 0521874440
ISBN-13: 9780521874441
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 08/31/2009
Pages: 388
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.60lbs
Size: 9.00h x 5.90w x 0.90d