Voting for a Scottish Government The Scottish Parliament Election of 2007

by Johns, Robert; Denver, David; Mitchell, James; Pattie, Charles

• ISBN13: 9780719081088
• ISBN10: 0719081084
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-07-01
• Publisher: OXFORD UNIV PR

Summary

In 2007 Labour lost an election in Scotland for the first time in half a century and the SNP went on to form the Scottish Government. This book explains why. It is based on a unique three-wave survey of the Scottish electorate and can truly be described as the first full-scale Scottish national election study. As such, the book is notable not only for its innovative methodology but also because theories and concepts are taken from the recent electoral studies literature and applied to Scotland. Other questions investigated include the impact of campaigning and of the party leaders (at both Scottish and British level) on the election outcome. In addition, for the first time in the UK context, a special study is made of the causes and consequences of rejected ballots – the large number of which at the election in question caused a media outcry. This book will be required reading for anyone interested in, involved in, teaching or studying Scottish politics. It will also be an important text for those concerned with UK politics in general and attract particular interest among students of elections, both in the UK and internationally.

Author Biography

Robert Johns is Lecturer in Politics at the University of Strathclyde. David Denver is Professor of Politics at Lancaster University. James Mitchell is Professor of Politics at the University of Strathclyde.

Charles Pattie is Professor of Geography at the University of Sheffield.

Table of Contents

List of figures * List of tables * Preface * The road to ‘a historic moment’ * Results and the sources of party support * Voters, parties and leaders * Issues, polices and performance * The ‘Scottish question’ * ‘Scottish not British’? The election in multi-level context * Battling for votes: campaigning and its impact * Turnout and turning out: a normal election? * Scotland’s hanging chads: rejected ballots in 2007 * Why did the SNP win? * Appendix 1: Technical details of the SES surveys * Appendix 2: Opinion polls in Scotland, 2003–07 * Appendix 3: Full results of regression analyses * References * Index