Getting it right when it counts: constituency marginality and voters’ perceptions of British parties’ policy positions

Milazzo, Caitlin

Abstract

This article argues that despite the importance of national party politics in Britain, constituency-level electoral marginality makes it easier for citizens to select parties based on policy. Using data from the 2005 and 2010 British Election Studies, I find that citizens residing in marginal constituencies are more likely to perceive parties' relative ideological positions correctly, and that electoral marginality promotes knowledge by increasing both the attention that parties pay to a constituency and citizens' engagement in the election. Finally, preliminary findings suggest that citizens do not necessarily perceive differences in the tone of the campaign material.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 15, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Mar 17, 2014
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Mar 27, 2018
• Print ISSN: 1745-7289
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 111-136
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2014.892010
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1106514
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17457289.2014.892010