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The Changing Shape of Politics

Rethinking Left and Right in a New Britain

  • Book
  • © 2019

Overview

Authors:
  1. Jonathan Wheatley

    1. Department of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK

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  • Reconceptualises how we understand “left” and “right” in Britain

  • Examines how patterns of party competition in Britain have changed as a result of the 2016 EU referendum

  • Draws from a number of unique sources of public opinion data

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
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  2. Introduction: British Politics in Turbulent Times

    • Jonathan Wheatley
    Pages 1-25

  3. Beyond Left and Right: The End of an Old Order?

    • Jonathan Wheatley
    Pages 27-43

  4. Patterns of Political Competition

    • Jonathan Wheatley
    Pages 45-69

  5. Towards a More Polarised Britain?

    • Jonathan Wheatley
    Pages 71-93

  6. The European Perspective

    • Jonathan Wheatley
    Pages 95-110

  7. Conclusion: Making Sense of It All

    • Jonathan Wheatley
    Pages 111-124

  8. Correction to: Introduction: British Politics in Turbulent Times

    • Jonathan Wheatley
    Pages C1-C2

  9. Back Matter

    Pages 125-173
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Keywords

About this book

This book investigates whether politics in Britain in the twenty-first century is driven more by issues of culture and identity than by “left versus right” issues of wealth distribution. Drawing from a number of opinion surveys, it explores the shifting positions of voters on both economic matters and matters of culture and identity. It finds that between 2015 and 2017 support for Britain's main political parties became much more predicated on issues of culture and identity, reflecting a radical change in how parties attract voters. In the longer-term, it suggests that issues of culture and identity have become more salient overall, possibly because of the oft-cited divide between winners and losers of globalisation. The book ends by speculating on why politics has become more polarised on these issues, rather than on the economic fallout of globalisation, and suggests that an explanation is to be found in changing forms of political communication between voters and politicians.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK

    Jonathan Wheatley

About the author

Jonathan Wheatley is a lecturer in Comparative Politics at Oxford Brookes University, UK. He has published widely on democratization in post-communist countries; parties, party systems and political cleavages in both established and developing democracies; and the development and deployment of voting advice applications (VAAs).

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