Abandon Ship? An Analysis of Strategic Voting among Liberal Democrat Voters in the 2015 UK Election

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-521
Author(s):  
Isaac D Hale
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Strategic Voting ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Theoretical Reason ◽  
Ideal Case ◽  
Electoral Outcome ◽  
Liberal Democrats ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Strategic voting occurs when voters make vote choices using their ex ante expectations about the results of an election in addition to their sincere candidate preferences. While there is ample theoretical reason to believe strategic voting should occur under certain electoral conditions and institutional arrangements, the evidence for it in the literature has been mixed. I theorise that the polarisation of the two main British political parties and the highly publicised predictions of defeat for Britain’s primary national third party, the Liberal Democrats, make the 2015 UK election an ideal case for studying strategic voting. I adapt established methods of identifying strategic voting to this election and find evidence that Liberal Democrat voters in the UK voted strategically for Labour and Conservative candidates to maximise their odds of affecting the electoral outcome in their constituency.

Funding Local Political Parties in England and Wales: Donations and Constituency Campaigns

2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron Johnston ◽  
Charles Pattie
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Liberal Democrats ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

The funding of political parties is an issue of considerable contemporary concern in the UK. Although most attention has been paid to the situation regarding national parties, the new funding regime introduced in 2001 also applies to constituency parties, and some concerns have been raised regarding the limits on spending and expenditure there. Using data released by the Electoral Commission on all donations above a specified minimum to constituency parties, this article looks at the pattern of donations over the period 2001–05. It then analyses the impact of spending on the 2005 constituency campaigns, showing that for the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats substantial donations enhanced their vote-winning performances in seats where their candidates were challengers whereas for Labour substantial donations aided its performance in marginal seats that it was defending.

scholarly journals Financing political parties in the United Kingdom

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Rowbottom
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Legislative Action ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Political Finance ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Party Funding

Shortly after the 2010 general election in the United Kingdom, the new Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government promised to reform the way British political parties are financed and ‘to remove big money from politics’. Such promises are not new, and in the last decade there has been no shortage of legislative action on party funding. The problem has been that the laws failed to address some of the biggest concerns about money in politics, and that the political actors found strategies to avoid the controls. Looking at the UK approach, this article aims to give an overview of the controls in place, while highlighting some of the main difficulties experienced. While the UK laws have some differences compared with those proposed in New Zealand (particularly in relation to third-party activity), there is much common ground and the British experience may offer some lessons and show some of the pitfalls in regulating political finance. 

THE ALLIED NEUTRAL? PORTUGUESE BALANCE OF PAYMENTS WITH THE UK AND GERMANY IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR, 1939-1945

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-110
Author(s):  
Eric Golson
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Balance Of Payments ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Third Party ◽  
World War ◽  
Portuguese Empire ◽  
Active Choice ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Second World

ABSTRACTIn September 1939, Portugal made a realist strategic choice to preserve the Portuguese Empire maintaining by its neutrality and also remaining an ally of Great Britain. While the Portuguese could rely largely on their colonies for raw materials to sustain the mainland, the country had long depended on British transportation for these goods and the Portuguese military. With the British priority now given to war transportation, Portugal's economy and Empire were particularly vulnerable. The Portuguese dictator Antonio Salazar sought to mitigate this damage by maintaining particularly friendly financial relations with the British government, including increased exports of Portuguese merchandise and services and permission to accumulate credits in Sterling to cover deficits in the balance of payments. This paper gives an improved set of comprehensive statistics for the Anglo-Portuguese and German–Portuguese relationships, reported in Pounds and according to international standards. The reported statistics include the trade in merchandise, services, capital flows, loans and third-party transfers of funds in favour of the British account. When compared with the German statistics, the Anglo-Portuguese figures show the Portuguese government favoured the British in financial relations, an active choice by Salazar to maintain the Portuguese Empire.

scholarly journals Regulating health professional scopes of practice: comparing institutional arrangements and approaches in the US, Canada, Australia and the UK

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Leslie ◽  
Jean Moore ◽  
Chris Robertson ◽  
Douglas Bilton ◽  
Kristine Hirschkorn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Professional ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Swot Analysis ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Scope Of Practice ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Background Fundamentally, the goal of health professional regulatory regimes is to ensure the highest quality of care to the public. Part of that task is to control what health professionals do, or their scope of practice. Ideally, this involves the application of evidence-based professional standards of practice to the tasks for which health professional have received training. There are different jurisdictional approaches to achieving these goals. Methods Using a comparative case study approach and similar systems policy analysis design, we present and discuss four different regulatory approaches from the US, Canada, Australia and the UK. For each case, we highlight the jurisdictional differences in how these countries regulate health professional scopes of practice in the interest of the public. Our comparative Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis is based on archival research carried out by the authors wherein we describe the evolution of the institutional arrangements for form of regulatory approach, with specific reference to scope of practice. Results/conclusions Our comparative examination finds that the different regulatory approaches in these countries have emerged in response to similar challenges. In some cases, ‘tasks’ or ‘activities’ are the basis of regulation, whereas in other contexts protected ‘titles’ are regulated, and in some cases both. From our results and the jurisdiction-specific SWOT analyses, we have conceptualized a synthesized table of leading practices related to regulating scopes of practice mapped to specific regulatory principles. We discuss the implications for how these different approaches achieve positive outcomes for the public, but also for health professionals and the system more broadly in terms of workforce optimization.

scholarly journals A Case Study of a Negotiated Tender within a Small-to-Medium Construction Contractor: Modelling Project Cost Variance

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 260
Author(s):  
James Ellis ◽  
David John Edwards ◽  
Wellington Didibhuku Thwala ◽  
Obuks Ejohwomu ◽  
Ernest Effah Ameyaw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Review Literature ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Open Book ◽  
Competitive Tendering ◽  
Construction Contractor ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Insight Into

This research explores the failure of competitively tendered projects in the UK construction industry to procure the most suited contractor(s) to conduct the works. Such work may have equal relevance for other developed nations globally. This research seeks to teach clients and their representatives that “lowest price” does not mean “best value”, by presenting a case study of a successfully negotiated tender undertaken by a small-to-medium enterprise (SME) contractor; SME studies are relatively scant in academic literature. By applying the “lessons learnt” principle, this study seeks to improve future practice through the development of a novel alternative procurement option (i.e., negotiation). A mixed philosophical stance combining interpretivism and pragmatism was used—interpretivism to critically review literature in order to form the basis of inductive research to discuss negotiation as a viable procurement route, and pragmatism to analyse perceptions of tendering and procurement. The methods used follow a three-stage waterfall process including: (1) literature review and pilot study; (2) quantitative analysis of case study data; and (3) qualitative data collection via a focus group. Our research underscores the need to advise clients and their representatives of the importance of understanding the scope of works allowed within a tender submission before discounting it based solely on price. In addition, we highlight the failings of competitive tendering, which results in increased costs and project duration once the works commence on site. These findings provide new contemporary insight into procurement and tendering in the construction industry, with emphasis on SME contractors, existing relationships, and open-book negotiation. This research illustrates the adverse effects of early cost estimates produced without first securing a true understanding of project buildability and programming. Our work concludes with a novel insight into an alternative procurement option that involves early SME contractor involvement in an open-book environment, without the need for a third-party cost control.

The exit option: mediation and the termination of negotiations in the Northern Ireland conflict

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niall O´ Dochartaigh ◽  
Isak Svensson
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Third Party ◽  
British Government ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Irish Republican Army ◽  
Northern Ireland Conflict ◽  
Exit Option ◽  
Information Advantage ◽  
The Uk

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the mediation exit option, which is one of the most important tactics available to any third party mediator.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyzes a crucial intermediary channel between the Irish Republican Army (hereafter IRA) and the British Government utilizing unique material from the private papers of the intermediary, Brendan Duddy, including diaries that cover periods of intensive communication, extensive interviews with the intermediary and with participants in this communication on both the British Government and Irish Republican sides as well as recently released official papers from the UK National Archives relating to this communication.FindingsThe study reveals how the intermediary channel was used in order to get information, how the third party and the primary parties traded in asymmetries of information, and how the intermediary utilized the information advantage to increase the credibility of his threats of termination.Research limitations/implicationsThe study outlines an avenue for further research on the termination dynamics of mediation.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the conditions for successfully using the exit‐option is vital for policy‐makers, in particular for peace diplomacy efforts in other contexts than the Northern Ireland one.Originality/valueThe paper challenges previous explanations for why threats by mediators to call off further mediation attempts are successful and argues that a mediator can use the parties' informational dependency on him in order to increase his leverage and push the parties towards settlement.

scholarly journals Adolescent Depression Screening: Not So Fast

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-69
Author(s):  
Edmund C. Levin
Keyword(s):  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Adolescent Depression ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Screening Tools ◽  
Depression Screening ◽  
The Us ◽  
National Organizations ◽  
The Uk

Background: Screening adolescents for depression has recently been advocated by two major national organizations. However, this practice is not without controversy. Objective: To review diagnostic, clinical, and conflict of interest issues associated with the calls for routine depression screening in adolescents. Method: The evaluation of depression screening by the US Preventive Services Task Force is compared and contrasted with those of comparable agencies in the UK and Canada, and articles arguing for and against screening are reviewed. Internal pharmaceutical industry documents declassified through litigation are examined for conflicts of interest. A case is presented that illustrates the substantial diagnostic limitations of self-administered mental health screening tools. Discussion: The value of screening adolescents for psychiatric illness is questionable, as is the validity of the screening tools that have been developed for this purpose. Furthermore, many of those advocating depression screening are key opinion leaders, who are in effect acting as third-party advocates for the pharmaceutical industry. The evidence suggests that a commitment to marketing rather than to science is behind their recommendations, although their conflicts of interest are hidden in what seem to be impartial third-party recommendations.

scholarly journals Political Parties’ Preferences about the Volume of Social Spending and its Distribution between Programs and Age Groups: a Comparative Study of France, Spain and the UK

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-98
Author(s):  
Cristina Ares ◽  
Antón Losada
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Public Welfare ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
Welfare Regimes ◽  
Welfare Systems ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Welfare State ◽  
Welfare Expenditure

The transformation of the Welfare State is not a standardized response to globalization or a by-product of European Union policies, but rather ‘what parties make of it’ (Burgoon, 2006). Different welfare regimes and welfare cultures contribute to the maintenance of diverse national responses to global and regional integration in terms of their public welfare systems, but there are also meso-level variables, such as parties´ ideologies, that may have an impact on the volume and distribution of welfare expenditure. This article presents a new scheme and procedure to code party manifesto statements in favor of social spending and retrenchment; it applies them in Britain, France and Spain in order to show the possibilities of the new data. The preliminary results indicate that ideologies are linked to parties´ preferences regarding the distribution of social spending between programs, the emphasis on different age groups as beneficiaries of welfare expenditure, and the rationale for social cuts.  

scholarly journals Electoral Shocks

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Fieldhouse ◽  
Jane Green ◽  
Geoffrey Evans ◽  
Jonathan Mellon ◽  
Christopher Prosser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Electoral Volatility ◽  
Liberal Democrats ◽  
Scottish National Party ◽  
Electoral Choice ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Scottish Independence ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis ◽  
The Uk

This book offers a novel perspective on British elections, focusing on the importance of increasing electoral volatility in British elections, and the role of electoral shocks in the context of increasing volatility. It demonstrates how shocks have contributed to the level of electoral volatility, and also which parties have benefited from the ensuing volatility. It follows in the tradition of British Election Study books, providing a comprehensive account of specific election outcomes—the General Elections of 2015 and 2017—and a more general approach to understanding electoral change.We examine five electoral shocks that affected the elections of 2015 and 2017: the rise in EU immigration after 2004, particularly from Eastern Europe; the Global Financial Crisis prior to 2010; the coalition government of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats between 2010 and 2015; the Scottish Independence Referendum in 2014; and the European Union Referendum in 2016.Our focus on electoral shocks offers an overarching explanation for the volatility in British elections, alongside the long-term trends that have led us to this point. It offers a way to understand the rise and fall of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), Labour’s disappointing 2015 performance and its later unexpected gains, the collapse in support for the Liberal Democrats, the dramatic gains of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 2015, and the continuing period of tumultuous politics that has followed the EU Referendum and the General Election of 2017. It provides a new way of understanding electoral choice in Britain, and beyond, and a better understanding of the outcomes of recent elections.

scholarly journals Financing Political Parties in France, Germany and The United Kingdom

2016 ◽  
pp. 91-110
Author(s):  
Jan Misiuna
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Final Conclusion ◽  
Election Campaigns ◽  
Low Level ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk

The paper compares the systems of financing political parties in France, Germany and the UK. The analysis concentrates on effectiveness of collecting contributions, dependency on large donors for providing funds for financing election campaigns and daily operation of political parties, and the level of transparency of finances of political parties. The final conclusion is that only introducing limits on expenditures on election campaigns allows to keep the costs of election campaigns and political parties at a low level, while mandatory common accounting standards and public access to financial information is necessary to preserve transparency of finances of political parties.

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