Politicians, voters and democracy : the 2011 UK referendum on the alternative vote

Curtice, John (2013) Politicians, voters and democracy : the 2011 UK referendum on the alternative vote. Electoral Studies. ISSN 0261-3794

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Abstract

At the 2010 UK election, Labour proposed a referendum on changing the House of Commons electoral system from single member plurality to the Alternative Vote. Subsequently, a coalition was formed between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, yet it was Labour's policy on electoral reform that was implemented. The paper explains why this proved to be politically convenient for Labour's opponents. At the same time, however, holding the referendum reflected an emergent de facto convention that significant constitutional change should only be introduced after it has secured popular endorsement. The paper assesses whether the dynamics of public opinion during the AV referendum suggests that voters' eventual decisions about constitutional questions reflect their views about the merits of the relevant arguments.

Author(s):Curtice, John ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4029-8916
Item type:Article
ID code:42703
Keywords:referendums, electoral reform, alternative vote, coalitions, party cues, Political theory, Political Science and International Relations
Subjects:Political Science > Political theory
Department:Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) > School of Government and Public Policy > Politics
Depositing user: Pure Administrator
Date deposited:02 Feb 2013 10:55
Last modified:12 Feb 2020 03:41
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URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/42703
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