Communities of online news exposure during the UK General Election 2015

AbstractIn this paper, we document changes in political trust in the UK throughout 2020 so as to consider wider implications for the ongoing handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. We analysed data from 18 survey organisations with measures on political trust (general, leadership, and COVID-19-related) spanning the period December 2019–October 2020. We examined the percentage of trust and distrust across time, identifying where significant changes coincide with national events. Levels of political trust were low following the 2019 UK General Election. They rose at the onset of UK lockdown imposed in March 2020 but showed persistent gradual decline throughout the remainder of the year, falling to pre-COVID levels by October 2020. Inability to sustain the elevated political trust achieved at the onset of the pandemic is likely to have made the management of public confidence and behaviour increasingly challenging, pointing to the need for strategies to sustain trust levels when handling future crises.

Download Full-text

The general election in the UK, May 2005

Electoral Studies ◽

10.1016/j.electstud.2005.12.002 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 814-820 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Justin Fisher

Keyword(s):

General Election ◽

The Uk

Download Full-text

Mediating the Grey Vote: The UK General Election Campaigns of 2005 and 2010

Going Grey ◽

10.4324/9781315585376-15 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 127-158

Keyword(s):

General Election ◽

Election Campaigns ◽

The Uk

Download Full-text

Accession, Renegotiation, Referendum, 1973–1975

Reluctant European ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198840671.003.0006 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 109-137

Author(s):

Stephen Wall

Keyword(s):

Labour Party ◽

General Election ◽

First Year ◽

Special Relationship ◽

Party Leaders ◽

The Press ◽

Oil Crisis ◽

The Uk ◽

Year Of Europe

The first year of Britain’s EEC membership did not run smoothly. The Americans unilaterally declared it ‘the Year of Europe’. Heath was accused by Kissinger of destroying the special relationship. The Arab–Israeli war caused an oil crisis in which the UK, relatively unscathed, did not help her partners. Early in 1974, Heath lost a General Election and was replaced by Wilson. Wilson and Foreign Secretary Callaghan faced a divided Cabinet and Labour Party as they set about renegotiating the terms of Britain’s EEC membership. The improvements they secured, after a second General Election in October 1974, were slight but enough to get the deal through the Cabinet. Labour Ministers campaigned in the referendum on opposite sides, but support for remaining from all the main Party leaders and the Press helped secure a significant majority for staying.

Download Full-text

Good Result or Bad Deal?

Reluctant European ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198840671.003.0005 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 83-108

Author(s):

Stephen Wall

Keyword(s):

Prime Minister ◽

Conservative Party ◽

Labour Party ◽

General Election ◽

Party Voting ◽

The Uk ◽

Enoch Powell

Poised to begin negotiations for EEC accession, Prime Minister Wilson called a snap general election and lost to Edward Heath’s Conservative Party. Heath was a life-long pro-European but there were opponents of EEC entry, led by the disgraced rebel, Enoch Powell, within Tory ranks. The Conservatives adopted the Labour government’s accession strategy. But, out of government, the Labour Party turned against membership. Pro-EEC Labour rebels, led by former Chancellor of the Exchequer Roy Jenkins, voted with Heath to secure parliamentary approval for accession. To prevent the Labour Party voting to take the UK out of the EEC, Wilson promised that he would renegotiate the terms agreed by Heath and put them to the electorate. The EEC countries, especially France, struck a hard deal with the UK and Heath was obliged to accept disadvantageous terms for UK accession.

Download Full-text