Launch of 'Britain Votes 2017'
Tue. 20 Mar 2018
On 20 March, Professor Sir John Curtice and a panel of leading commentators outlined their findings at the launch of the first major study of the 2017 general election, 'Britain Votes 2017'.
Get our latest research, insights and events delivered to your inbox
Share this and support our work
The general election was one of the most extraordinary contests of recent times. Widespread assumptions that it would be a one-sided election - a coronation rather than a contest - were confounded as Theresa May mislaid her majority and a hung Parliament emerged.
How did the Conservatives achieve the largest share of the vote by any party since the landslide election in 1997 but still not secure a majority?
Is any party likely to secure an overall majority in the future or are narrow or non-existent parliamentary majorities to become the norm not the exception?
Why was Labour’s left-wing manifesto not the ‘suicide note’ that most commentators anticipated?
In many respects it was a novel election campaign, but what made the difference? Was it the ability to deploy activists on the doorstep, provide favourable visuals of packed rallies for traditional media, or innovations in digital campaigning?
Join leading analysts and commentators to discuss these questions and more as they present the latest findings from their research on the dramatic election and assess what it all means for the future of British politics.
Copies of 'Britain Votes 2017' will be available for purchase at a special launch offer price. The event will be followed by a reception with drinks and light refreshments.
Chair: Carolyn QuinnBBC radio presenter across a range of political and current affairs programmes including Westminster Hour and PM
Professor Sir John CurticeProfessor of Politics at the University of Strathclyde and Chief Commentator at What UK Thinks: EU
Professor Tim BaleProfessor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London and Deputy Director of the Mile End Institute
Dr Kate DommettLecturer in the Public Understanding of Politics at the University of Sheffield
Dr Eunice GoesAssociate Professor of Politics at Richmond University and BBC Dateline London panelist
Professor Jonathan TongeCo-editor of 'Britain Votes 2017' and Professor of Politics at the University of Liverpool
'Britain Votes 2017' is a special edition of the Hansard Society's journal, Parliamentary Affairs. It has been co-edited by Professor Jon Tonge, Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira and Dr Stuart Wilks-Heeg and is published in partnership with Oxford University Press.
More
Related
Blog / Controverted elections: how disputed results used to be part and parcel of English political and parliamentary life
Disputed parliamentary election results – often taking months to resolve – were a frequent feature of English political culture before the reforms of the 19th century. But how could defeated candidates protest the result of an election, and how were such disputes resolved?
Blog / The Brecon and Radnorshire recall petition process: personal reflections by Sir Paul Silk
As an elector in Brecon and Radnorshire, Hansard Society Trustee Sir Paul Silk sets out 12 shortcomings he observed in the recall petition process that led on 21 June to the triggering of a parliamentary by-election in the constituency.
Journal / Parliamentary Affairs: special issue on 'Parliamentary work, re-selection and re-election' (vol 71, issue 4, 2018)
This special issue of Parliamentary Affairs brings together comparative research across European legislatures to see how much influence MPs' day-to-day legislative and scrutiny work has on voters when they head to the polls. This issue also includes then-Commons Speaker John Bercow's 2016 Bernard Crick Lecture, 'Designing for Democracy'.
Blog / Will Brexit change the UK constitution?
Whilst the Miller case may be seen as a victory for Parliament, it simultaneously highlights significant constitutional weaknesses on issues such as devolution and the role of referendums. Is it time to consider whether the UK constitution needs more legal as opposed to political regulation?
Journal / Parliamentary Affairs: special issue on 'The 2017 French presidential and parliamentary elections' (vol 71, issue 3, 2018)
To mark the 2017 French parliamentary and presidential election, this special issue of Parliamentary Affairs looks at the realignment of French politics and revival of the presidency, the demise of the Left, and how policy choices for the Front National influenced its electoral success.
Events / Launch of 'Britain Votes 2017'
On 20 March, Professor Sir John Curtice and a panel of leading commentators outlined their findings at the launch of the first major study of the 2017 general election, 'Britain Votes 2017'.
Blog / 'A public phenomenon... impossible to explain': franchise reform in the long 18th century
The first women in the UK got the vote 100 years ago - but what about the preceding centuries? As the Vindication of the Rights of Woman was published in 1792, how were debates surrounding women’s suffrage being framed? And why did it take 86 years after the extension of male suffrage in 1832 for the franchise to be granted to just a small number of women?
Blog / The case for more politicians – electoral reform and the Welsh Assembly
The Welsh Assembly’s Expert Panel on Electoral Reform has today re-made the call for an increase in the Assembly’s size. One of the Panel’s members, former Clerk to the National Assembly Sir Paul Silk, here explains why.
Reports / MPs and Politics In Our Time
This 2005 report reviewed the evidence on public attitudes towards MPs and political institutions, and presented findings on MPs' own views of their relationship with voters. It set out a far-reaching agenda for change in the relationship between electorate and the elected in the interests of building public trust and encouraging democratic renewal.
Reports / Under Pressure: Are We Getting the Most From Our MPs?
At the start of the 21st century, MPs faced increasing demands on their time and skills, both at Westminster and in the constituency, and higher public and regulatory expectations and levels of scrutiny. In this 2000 report, expert contributors reviewed the practicalities of an MP's life and made proposals for reform.
Latest
Guides / Financial Scrutiny: the Budget
In order to raise income, the government needs to obtain approval from Parliament for its taxation plans. The Budget process is the means by which the House of Commons considers the government’s plans to impose 'charges on the people' and its assessment of the wider state of the economy.
Guides / Financial Scrutiny: the Estimates Cycle
In order to incur expenditure the government needs to obtain approval from Parliament for its departmental spending plans. The annual Estimates cycle is the means by which the House of Commons controls the government’s plans for the spending of money raised through taxation.
Data / Coronavirus Statutory Instruments Dashboard
The national effort to tackle the Coronavirus health emergency has resulted in UK ministers being granted some of the broadest legislative powers ever seen in peacetime. This Dashboard highlights key facts and figures about the Statutory Instruments (SIs) being produced using these powers in the Coronavirus Act 2020 and other Acts of Parliament.
Briefings / The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill: four delegated powers that should be amended to improve future accountability to Parliament
The Bill seeks to crack down on ‘dirty money’ and corrupt elites in the UK and is being expedited through Parliament following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This briefing identifies four delegated powers in the Bill that should be amended to ensure future accountability to Parliament.
Articles / Brexit and Beyond: Delegated Legislation
The end of the transition period is likely to expose even more fully the scope of the policy-making that the government can carry out via Statutory Instruments, as it uses its new powers to develop post-Brexit law. However, there are few signs yet of a wish to reform delegated legislation scrutiny, on the part of government or the necessary coalition of MPs.