In: Political science quarterly: a nonpartisan journal devoted to the study and analysis of government, politics and international affairs ; PSQ, Volume 88, Issue 2, p. 310-311
When Walter Bagehot first published his English Constitution in 1865, it was already possible to regard 'Her Majesty's Opposition' as an established part of the constitution. Indeed, Bagehot regarded it as an essential concomitant of cabinet government, and remarked that a 'critical opposition is the consequence of cabinet government'. Already the folklore of politics was full of apposite quotations from statesmen of the old school about the virtues of an opposition, although perhaps only Disraeli and Derby were prepared to accept the doctrine, attributed to George Tierney (1761-1830) that 'the duty of an Opposition was very simple – it was to oppose everything and propose nothing'.
Small sample studies of voting behavior in selected constituencies are informative but limited. The marginal constituency is not necessarily representative of opinion in other constituencies, which are often very different in type. Moreover, the smallness of the sample means that they are little more than case-studies. Constituencies need first to be classified & then a sample of each class studied. There should also be studies of local communities & of specific soc groups such as council house tenants & trade unionists. The latter could be submitted to a more rigorous statist approach than such intangible groups as the Mc: & community studies could be carried out in conjunction with the sociol'st & historian. (IPSA).