Minor Party and Independent Politics beyond the Mainstream: Fluctuating Fortunes but a Permanent Presence

Copus, Colin; Clark, Alistair; Reynaert, Herwig; Steyvers, Kristof

doi:10.1093/pa/gsn035

Cited by 40 publications

(24 citation statements)

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“…They argue that the impact of fringe candidates should not be judged by their electoral success alone. The issues that they raise and fight for often change the nature of the electoral debate and force the incumbents to change their behavior (Brancati, 2008;Bolleyera and Weeks, 2009;Copus et al, 2009;Weeks, 2009). As per this view, artificial restrictions on electoral entry choke the voices of dissent and as a result, diversity of opinions -so necessary in a democracy --suffers at the cost of manageability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

More Can Be Less: Hyper Plurality of Candidates, the Rationality of Electoral Choice, and Need for Electoral Reform in India

Bhattacharya

Mitra

2014

India Review

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

More Can Be Less: Hyper Plurality of Candidates, the Rationality of Electoral Choice, and Need for Electoral Reform in India

Bhattacharya

Mitra

2014

India Review

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“…This coincided with a general increase in the representation of minor parties and independents in the UK. 3 The article gives an overview of the formation and early development of Respect and analyses its electoral fortunes. It also charts its inexorable decline after the split from the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in late 2007.…”

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confidence: 99%

All I'm Asking, Is For a Little Respect: Assessing the Performance of Britain's Most Successful Radical Left Party

Peace¹

2012

Parliamentary Affairs

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When the British public awoke on the morning of Friday 6 th May 2005 most would have been unsurprised to discover that the Labour Party had clung on to power but with a reduced majority, as had been widely predicted. What few had expected was that one of those lost seats would have gone to the former Labour MP George Galloway and his Respect party (hereafter Respect). This was the first time a party to the left of Labour had won a seat in parliament since 1951. Respect also managed to elect a number of local councillors between 2004 and 2010 and at one point was even the official opposition to Labour on the council of the London borough of Tower Hamlets. Despite these modest gains, it is perhaps unsurprising that this party has been rather neglected by scholars of politics.2 After all, one could justifiably argue that attention should not be devoted to 'single issue parties' that represent a mere protest vote amongst one particular community. This article endeavours to dispel some of the assumptions held about Respect and its supporters. It is also argued that despite its gradual decline since 2008, the emergence of the party constitutes an interesting experiment in local democracy. It mobilised a number of activists with no previous experience of party politics and its grassroots campaigns shook up the electoral landscape in a number of previously safe Labour heartlands. This coincided with a general increase in the representation of minor parties and independents in the UK. 3 The article gives an overview of the formation and early development of Respect and analyses its electoral fortunes. It also charts its inexorable decline after the split from the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in late 2007. Consideration is then given to how Respect was able to mobilise its supporters during elections and the reasons for its success, particularly amongst some Muslim communities in Britain. Founding and early electoral contests

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“…(Taggart 2004: 275) Three populist parties have become significant forces in the last two decades in the UK -principally in England, as Scotland and Wales are, so far, less affected by them: the BNP on the far right, the Respect Party on the far left and above all UKIP. All have acted as 'channels of discontent' towards political elites, conveying ideas that mainstream parties did not share or dare to express (Copus et al 2009). These populist parties are 'relevant', in Sartori's sense: first they are not or hardly represented in Parliament (UKIP won two seats in the Autumn of 2014), but nevertheless can achieve significant results locally and in the singleissue European elections conducted under proportional representation, institutionally weakening the hold of the major parties (Sartori 1976).…”

Section: The Rise Of Populist Partiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, UKIP has gradually emerged as a major player on the British political scene, in spite of only having only two MPs in the House of Commons at the time of writing, illustrating the various ways in which small parties can deform a political system (Copus et al 2009). As Ford and Goodwin put it, 'they have achieved something unprecedented in modern British political history: they have taken a grassroots insurgency and grown it into a more professional political party with mass support' (2014: 9).…”

Section: The Rise Of Populist Partiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Britain and the Crisis of the European Union

Baker

Schnapper

2015

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Minor Party and Independent Politics beyond the Mainstream: Fluctuating Fortunes but a Permanent Presence

Cited by 40 publications

References 14 publications

More Can Be Less: Hyper Plurality of Candidates, the Rationality of Electoral Choice, and Need for Electoral Reform in India

More Can Be Less: Hyper Plurality of Candidates, the Rationality of Electoral Choice, and Need for Electoral Reform in India

All I'm Asking, Is For a Little Respect: Assessing the Performance of Britain's Most Successful Radical Left Party

Britain and the Crisis of the European Union

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