Suchergebnisse

Reports on the results of the 2001 UK general election in Wales. 1 Table, 1 Figure. Adapted from the source document.

Since the 1997 election, Wales has experienced a significant transformation in its system of governance with the establishment of the devolved National Assembly for Wales. Some of the salient features of the pre-campaign phase of the election include the number of women candidates for available seats & the status of "safe seats." The nature of the campaigns of Labour, the Plaid Cymru, the Conservatives, & the Liberal Democrats are described. One implication for the future is that Labour cannot assume that it will be victorious in 2003. 1 Figure. E. Larsen

Low levels of voter turnout in the first election to the National Assembly for Wales in May 1999 brought into question both the ability of devolution to revitalize representative democracy and the legitimacy of the Assembly itself. But drawing wider implications from turnout requires that we understand why electoral abstention was so widespread. We examine three hypotheses about voter turnout in 1999: that non-participation simply reflected a general apathy towards politics; that it was based on a specific apathy towards the new Assembly; or that low voter turnout reflected antipathy towards an unwanted political institution. We find support for the first two hypotheses, but little evidence for the third. Devolution has failed to engage the interest and support of many in Wales, but low turnout has not been prompted by fundamental antagonism to the devolved institution among the Welsh electorate.

In the 2001 general election, the Conservative Party once more performed substantially worse in Wales & Scotland than in England. Yet in contrast to Scotland, where the Tories have been in secular decline since the 1950s, Welsh Conservative support has followed a much more consistent pattern relative to their English brethren. In this article, we examine why the Tories always seem to do worse in Wales than in England. After exploring the historical roots of Welsh Conservatism, & tracing the evolution of support for the Tories in Wales, we specify three potential hypotheses for explaining the relative weakness of Conservatism in Wales. These hypotheses -- based on socioeconomic factors, Welsh 'radicalism,' & perceptions of the party -- are then tested using survey data from the 2001 election. Our findings suggest that Welsh anti-Conservatism is more readily explicable through political factors than socioeconomic ones, but they also indicate a degree of alienation from the Tories in Wales that goes beyond even the factors identified here. 4 Tables, 1 Figure, 17 References. Adapted from the source document.

Norris, P.: Apathetic landslide: the 2001 British general election. - S. 565-589. Bara, J.; Budge, I.: Party policy and ideology: still new Labour? - S. 590-606. Seyd, P.: The Labour campaign. - S. 607-623. Collings, D.; Seldon, A.: Conservative in opposition. - S. 624-637. Denver, D.: The Liberal Democratic campaign. - S. 638-649. Crewe, I.: The opinion polls: still biased to Labour. - S. 650-665. Deacon, D.; Golding, P.; Billig, M.: Press and broadcasting: 'real issues' and real coverage. - S. 666-678. Coleman, S.: Online campaigning. - S. 679-688. Fisher, J.: Campaign finance: elections under new rules. - S. 689-700. Brown, A.: Scotland. - S. 701-711. Jones, R. W.; Trystan; D.: Wales. - S. 712-724. Mitchell, P.; O'Leary, B.; Evans, G.: Northern Ireland: flanking extremists bite the moderates and emerge in their clothes. - S. 725-742. Lovenduski, J.: Women and politics: minority representation or critical mass? - S. 743-758. Saggar, S.: The race card, again. - S. 759-774. Whiteley, P.; Clarke, H.; Sanders, D.; Stewart, M.: Turnout. - S. 775-788. Sanders, D.; Clarke, H.; Stewart, M.; Whiteley, P.: The economy and voting. - S. 789-802. Curtice, J.: The electoral system: biased to Blair? - S. 803-814. Cowley, P.: The Commons: Mr. Blair's lapdog? - S. 815-828