Thomas Quinn
Biographic Data
| ID | 4377744 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Thomas Quinn |
| GIVEN NAMES | Thomas |
| FAMILY NAME | Quinn |
| SIGNATURE | QUINN T |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Essex |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0553-7275 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 175 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 23 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1995 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
The Red–Green Electoral Threat to the Labour Party
For the first time, Labour faces credible electoral threats from minor parties to its left. The Greens and the newly formed Your Party offer left‐wing and Muslim voters disillusioned with Labour viable electoral alternatives and parliamentary representation. This article considers how great the threat is to Labour. It uses a model of how minor parties emerge under the first‐past‐the‐post electoral system to show that Labour faces challenges in so…
Surge‐and‐Collapse’ under First Past the Post: Reform UK 's Electoral Threat to the Conservative Party
Could the Conservative Party lose its status as one of the two major parties in the British party system and be supplanted by Reform UK? Such collapses are rare under the first‐past‐the‐post electoral system, but not unknown. We consider Alan Ware's argument that major‐party collapses follow a catastrophic election defeat after a party finds itself fighting on two separate fronts. This applies to the Conservatives, who lost votes to small parties…
Party fragmentation and problems of accountability in the British general election of 2024
Under ‘first past the post’ (FPTP), voters can hold governments to account by ‘throwing the rascals out’. The 2024 British general election appears to offer a clear-cut example, with voters removing the Conservatives after 14 years in government. However, FPTP ensures that the principal alternative to a Conservative government is a Labour government. This article argues that ‘throwing the rascals out’ works best for centrist voters with a genuine…
Ethics of using artificial intelligence (AI) in veterinary medicine
This paper provides the first comprehensive analysis of ethical issues raised by artificial intelligence (AI) in veterinary medicine for companion animals. Veterinary medicine is a socially valued service, which, like human medicine, will likely be significantly affected by AI. Veterinary AI raises some unique ethical issues because of the nature of the client–patient–practitioner relationship, society’s relatively minimal valuation and protectio…
Why Was There a Hard Brexit? The British Legislative Party System, Divided Majorities and the Incentives for Factionalism
The UK parliament of 2017–2019 had to decide what form of Brexit, if any, it would accept in the government’s negotiations with the EU over a withdrawal agreement. Despite a large majority of MPs having supported Remain in the 2016 referendum, with most opposed to a ‘hard’ Brexit of looser ties between the UK and the EU, all attempts to pass a ‘soft’ Brexit failed. The final withdrawal agreement reflected a hard Brexit that was closer to the pref…
Parliamentarians versus party members? Leadership selection systems in the British Conservative and Labour parties
British parties have pioneered the use of ‘one-member, one-vote’ ballots to select their leaders. However, the elections of Jeremy Corbyn (Labour) and Liz Truss (Conservative) prompted calls to return leadership selection to parliamentarians. Critics claim that party members are non-centrist and liable to impose unsuitable leaders on MPs. This weakens the cohesion of parliamentary parties, undermining the functioning of Britain’s majoritarian dem…
What Would the British Party System Look Like under Proportional Representation
British debates over electoral reform are invariably debates about what party system would emerge. While there is agreement that proportional representation (PR) would boost the size of existing smaller parties, there is no consensus over the emergence and prospering of new parties. The main weakness in the British debate concerns the types of governments that would form under PR. Some believe the Liberal Democrats would be perennial kingmakers. …
The Conservative Party’s leadership election of 2016: Choosing a leader in government
Third-Party Strategy under Plurality Rule: The British Liberal Democrats and the New Zealand Social Credit Party
This article examines the strategic options facing small centrist third parties in two-party parliamentary systems operating under the single-member district plurality electoral system. It uses a spatial model to show that centrist third parties are better off targeting the ‘safe’ districts of a major party rather than marginal districts. Furthermore, it is optimal to target one party’s districts, not both, to benefit from tactical and protest vo…
The British Labour Party’s leadership election of 2015
This article examines the British Labour Party’s leadership election of 2015 , which resulted in the unexpected victory of the radical-left candidate, Jeremy Corbyn. It looks at the contest using Stark’s academic model of leadership elections, based on the tripod of selection criteria acceptability, electability and competence, and finds it wanting. Selection rules, which are downplayed in Stark’s model, are then examined, as Labour used a new se…
Throwing the rascals out? Problems of accountability in two‐party systems
This article critically examines the concept of ‘accountability’ as it is understood in two‐party systems and majoritarian democracy – namely the ability of voters to remove governments that violate their mandates or otherwise perform poorly. Voters’ capacity to ‘throw the rascals out’ is one of the main normative appeals of two‐partism and the single‐member plurality (SMP) electoral system. However, this article uses a spatial model to show that…
From Two-Partism to Alternating Predominance: The Changing UK Party System, 1950–2010
This article uses Sartori's classification of party systems to map changes in the post-war UK party system. Using measures of the effective number of parties and of parties' policy positions, the article shows that ‘classic’ two-partism from 1950 to 1970 broke down amid ideological polarisation. This development created a ‘vacated centre’, which the Liberals filled, leading to fragmentation of the electoral-party system. This period gave way in 1…
Spin doctors and political news management: A rational-choice ‘exchange’ analysis
From New Labour to New Politics: The British General Election of 2010
New Labour and the Trade Unions in Britain
This article examines the relationship between the British Labour Party and its affiliated trade unions under the Blair government. It shows that the party–union link in Britain, contrary to expectations, was not characterized by further institutional de‐linkage under Blair. The article explains why, using a political exchange model focusing on the unions’ supply of votes and finance in return for policy concessions. It is shown that the capacity…
Ten years of New Labour
Membership Ballots in Party Leadership Elections in Britain
Given the propensity of party members to be ideologically less centrist than voters, British parties’ shift to membership ballots in leadership elections might have been expected to result in radical leaders. This paper explains why this development has largely not occurred, using data from four recent leadership elections. Following Stark (1996), it argues that members’ selection criteria are unity, electability and competence. The paper shows t…
Choosing the least-worst government: The British general election of 2005
This article provides an overview of the British general election of 2005. It examines the major political issues that arose during the Blair government's second term in office and their impact on the governing Labour Party's electoral support. Despite voters' growing sense of weariness with Labour, the Conservative opposition failed to convince the electorate that it was a credible government-in-waiting. The result was that Labour was comfortabl…
Leasehold or Freehold? Leader-Eviction Rules in the British Conservative and Labour Parties
This paper examines how leader-eviction rules affect the security of tenure of party leaders in the British Conservative and Labour parties. It sets out a framework for analysing and comparing eviction rules based on the political risks and institutional costs incurred by challengers and selectors alike in removing incumbents. Entering a contest entails mobilisation costs as challengers seek the backing of allies. Political risks are increased fo…
Electing the Leader: The British Labour Party's Electoral College
This article uses a principal-agent model to explore how leadership selection rules affect the autonomy and security of tenure of the British Labour party's leader. It examines Labour's electoral college, which was intended to enable activists and trade unions to hold the leader to account. However, it had the reverse effect, increasing leaders' autonomy. Nomination rules frustrate activist attempts to instigate leadership contests, while a range…
Driving Out of Poverty in Private Automobiles
Transportation is a critical problem for Welfare-to-Work households; thus, the West Central Wisconsin Community Action Agency, Inc. developed resources to launch a facilitated-automobile purchase program named JumpStart. The program data and client survey results presented in this paper show that ownership of a private automobile is a key element of success in Welfare-to-Work households in rural areas. Private automobiles make it possible for fam…
Block Voting in the Labour Party: A Political Exchange Model
This paper offers a retrospective analysis of the trade union block vote, a key internal institution in the decision-making bodies of the British Labour Party. The block vote is normally presented as an institution that facilitated oligarchic control of the Labour Party, a claim largely accepted in this paper. Much less attention has been given to its efficiency in safeguarding the supply of trade union resources to the party by linking financial…
A Brief Original Contribution
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) incidence rates in India were estimated using a new method that accounts for follow-up bias. Follow-up bias arises in epidemiologic cohort studies when the incidence rate among individuals who do and do not return for follow-up are different. The new method combines data on the prevalence of p24 antigenemia among all those initially screened together with the longitudinal follow-up data on the subset of patients…
Leasehold or Freehold? Leader-Eviction Rules in the British Conservative and Labour Parties
This paper examines how leader-eviction rules affect the security of tenure of party leaders in the British Conservative and Labour parties. It sets out a framework for analysing and comparing eviction rules based on the political risks and institutional costs incurred by challengers and selectors alike in removing incumbents. Entering a contest entails mobilisation costs as challengers seek the backing of allies. Political risks are increased fo…
From Two-Partism to Alternating Predominance: The Changing UK Party System, 1950–2010
This article uses Sartori's classification of party systems to map changes in the post-war UK party system. Using measures of the effective number of parties and of parties' policy positions, the article shows that ‘classic’ two-partism from 1950 to 1970 broke down amid ideological polarisation. This development created a ‘vacated centre’, which the Liberals filled, leading to fragmentation of the electoral-party system. This period gave way in 1…
Electing the Leader: The British Labour Party's Electoral College
This article uses a principal-agent model to explore how leadership selection rules affect the autonomy and security of tenure of the British Labour party's leader. It examines Labour's electoral college, which was intended to enable activists and trade unions to hold the leader to account. However, it had the reverse effect, increasing leaders' autonomy. Nomination rules frustrate activist attempts to instigate leadership contests, while a range…
Block Voting in the Labour Party: A Political Exchange Model
This paper offers a retrospective analysis of the trade union block vote, a key internal institution in the decision-making bodies of the British Labour Party. The block vote is normally presented as an institution that facilitated oligarchic control of the Labour Party, a claim largely accepted in this paper. Much less attention has been given to its efficiency in safeguarding the supply of trade union resources to the party by linking financial…
The British Labour Party’s leadership election of 2015
This article examines the British Labour Party’s leadership election of 2015 , which resulted in the unexpected victory of the radical-left candidate, Jeremy Corbyn. It looks at the contest using Stark’s academic model of leadership elections, based on the tripod of selection criteria acceptability, electability and competence, and finds it wanting. Selection rules, which are downplayed in Stark’s model, are then examined, as Labour used a new se…
From New Labour to New Politics: The British General Election of 2010
Why Was There a Hard Brexit? The British Legislative Party System, Divided Majorities and the Incentives for Factionalism
The UK parliament of 2017–2019 had to decide what form of Brexit, if any, it would accept in the government’s negotiations with the EU over a withdrawal agreement. Despite a large majority of MPs having supported Remain in the 2016 referendum, with most opposed to a ‘hard’ Brexit of looser ties between the UK and the EU, all attempts to pass a ‘soft’ Brexit failed. The final withdrawal agreement reflected a hard Brexit that was closer to the pref…
The Conservative Party’s leadership election of 2016: Choosing a leader in government
Membership Ballots in Party Leadership Elections in Britain
Given the propensity of party members to be ideologically less centrist than voters, British parties’ shift to membership ballots in leadership elections might have been expected to result in radical leaders. This paper explains why this development has largely not occurred, using data from four recent leadership elections. Following Stark (1996), it argues that members’ selection criteria are unity, electability and competence. The paper shows t…
Spin doctors and political news management: A rational-choice ‘exchange’ analysis
Throwing the rascals out? Problems of accountability in two‐party systems
This article critically examines the concept of ‘accountability’ as it is understood in two‐party systems and majoritarian democracy – namely the ability of voters to remove governments that violate their mandates or otherwise perform poorly. Voters’ capacity to ‘throw the rascals out’ is one of the main normative appeals of two‐partism and the single‐member plurality (SMP) electoral system. However, this article uses a spatial model to show that…
Choosing the least-worst government: The British general election of 2005
This article provides an overview of the British general election of 2005. It examines the major political issues that arose during the Blair government's second term in office and their impact on the governing Labour Party's electoral support. Despite voters' growing sense of weariness with Labour, the Conservative opposition failed to convince the electorate that it was a credible government-in-waiting. The result was that Labour was comfortabl…
Driving Out of Poverty in Private Automobiles
Transportation is a critical problem for Welfare-to-Work households; thus, the West Central Wisconsin Community Action Agency, Inc. developed resources to launch a facilitated-automobile purchase program named JumpStart. The program data and client survey results presented in this paper show that ownership of a private automobile is a key element of success in Welfare-to-Work households in rural areas. Private automobiles make it possible for fam…
What Would the British Party System Look Like under Proportional Representation
British debates over electoral reform are invariably debates about what party system would emerge. While there is agreement that proportional representation (PR) would boost the size of existing smaller parties, there is no consensus over the emergence and prospering of new parties. The main weakness in the British debate concerns the types of governments that would form under PR. Some believe the Liberal Democrats would be perennial kingmakers. …
Third-Party Strategy under Plurality Rule: The British Liberal Democrats and the New Zealand Social Credit Party
This article examines the strategic options facing small centrist third parties in two-party parliamentary systems operating under the single-member district plurality electoral system. It uses a spatial model to show that centrist third parties are better off targeting the ‘safe’ districts of a major party rather than marginal districts. Furthermore, it is optimal to target one party’s districts, not both, to benefit from tactical and protest vo…
Parliamentarians versus party members? Leadership selection systems in the British Conservative and Labour parties
British parties have pioneered the use of ‘one-member, one-vote’ ballots to select their leaders. However, the elections of Jeremy Corbyn (Labour) and Liz Truss (Conservative) prompted calls to return leadership selection to parliamentarians. Critics claim that party members are non-centrist and liable to impose unsuitable leaders on MPs. This weakens the cohesion of parliamentary parties, undermining the functioning of Britain’s majoritarian dem…
A Brief Original Contribution
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) incidence rates in India were estimated using a new method that accounts for follow-up bias. Follow-up bias arises in epidemiologic cohort studies when the incidence rate among individuals who do and do not return for follow-up are different. The new method combines data on the prevalence of p24 antigenemia among all those initially screened together with the longitudinal follow-up data on the subset of patients…
Block Voting in the Labour Party: A Political Exchange Model
This paper offers a retrospective analysis of the trade union block vote, a key internal institution in the decision-making bodies of the British Labour Party. The block vote is normally presented as an institution that facilitated oligarchic control of the Labour Party, a claim largely accepted in this paper. Much less attention has been given to its efficiency in safeguarding the supply of trade union resources to the party by linking financial…
Driving Out of Poverty in Private Automobiles
Transportation is a critical problem for Welfare-to-Work households; thus, the West Central Wisconsin Community Action Agency, Inc. developed resources to launch a facilitated-automobile purchase program named JumpStart. The program data and client survey results presented in this paper show that ownership of a private automobile is a key element of success in Welfare-to-Work households in rural areas. Private automobiles make it possible for fam…
Electing the Leader: The British Labour Party's Electoral College
This article uses a principal-agent model to explore how leadership selection rules affect the autonomy and security of tenure of the British Labour party's leader. It examines Labour's electoral college, which was intended to enable activists and trade unions to hold the leader to account. However, it had the reverse effect, increasing leaders' autonomy. Nomination rules frustrate activist attempts to instigate leadership contests, while a range…
Leasehold or Freehold? Leader-Eviction Rules in the British Conservative and Labour Parties
This paper examines how leader-eviction rules affect the security of tenure of party leaders in the British Conservative and Labour parties. It sets out a framework for analysing and comparing eviction rules based on the political risks and institutional costs incurred by challengers and selectors alike in removing incumbents. Entering a contest entails mobilisation costs as challengers seek the backing of allies. Political risks are increased fo…
Choosing the least-worst government: The British general election of 2005
This article provides an overview of the British general election of 2005. It examines the major political issues that arose during the Blair government's second term in office and their impact on the governing Labour Party's electoral support. Despite voters' growing sense of weariness with Labour, the Conservative opposition failed to convince the electorate that it was a credible government-in-waiting. The result was that Labour was comfortabl…
New Labour and the Trade Unions in Britain
This article examines the relationship between the British Labour Party and its affiliated trade unions under the Blair government. It shows that the party–union link in Britain, contrary to expectations, was not characterized by further institutional de‐linkage under Blair. The article explains why, using a political exchange model focusing on the unions’ supply of votes and finance in return for policy concessions. It is shown that the capacity…
Ten years of New Labour
Membership Ballots in Party Leadership Elections in Britain
Given the propensity of party members to be ideologically less centrist than voters, British parties’ shift to membership ballots in leadership elections might have been expected to result in radical leaders. This paper explains why this development has largely not occurred, using data from four recent leadership elections. Following Stark (1996), it argues that members’ selection criteria are unity, electability and competence. The paper shows t…
From New Labour to New Politics: The British General Election of 2010
Spin doctors and political news management: A rational-choice ‘exchange’ analysis
From Two-Partism to Alternating Predominance: The Changing UK Party System, 1950–2010
This article uses Sartori's classification of party systems to map changes in the post-war UK party system. Using measures of the effective number of parties and of parties' policy positions, the article shows that ‘classic’ two-partism from 1950 to 1970 broke down amid ideological polarisation. This development created a ‘vacated centre’, which the Liberals filled, leading to fragmentation of the electoral-party system. This period gave way in 1…
The British Labour Party’s leadership election of 2015
This article examines the British Labour Party’s leadership election of 2015 , which resulted in the unexpected victory of the radical-left candidate, Jeremy Corbyn. It looks at the contest using Stark’s academic model of leadership elections, based on the tripod of selection criteria acceptability, electability and competence, and finds it wanting. Selection rules, which are downplayed in Stark’s model, are then examined, as Labour used a new se…
Throwing the rascals out? Problems of accountability in two‐party systems
This article critically examines the concept of ‘accountability’ as it is understood in two‐party systems and majoritarian democracy – namely the ability of voters to remove governments that violate their mandates or otherwise perform poorly. Voters’ capacity to ‘throw the rascals out’ is one of the main normative appeals of two‐partism and the single‐member plurality (SMP) electoral system. However, this article uses a spatial model to show that…
Third-Party Strategy under Plurality Rule: The British Liberal Democrats and the New Zealand Social Credit Party
This article examines the strategic options facing small centrist third parties in two-party parliamentary systems operating under the single-member district plurality electoral system. It uses a spatial model to show that centrist third parties are better off targeting the ‘safe’ districts of a major party rather than marginal districts. Furthermore, it is optimal to target one party’s districts, not both, to benefit from tactical and protest vo…
The Conservative Party’s leadership election of 2016: Choosing a leader in government
Parliamentarians versus party members? Leadership selection systems in the British Conservative and Labour parties
British parties have pioneered the use of ‘one-member, one-vote’ ballots to select their leaders. However, the elections of Jeremy Corbyn (Labour) and Liz Truss (Conservative) prompted calls to return leadership selection to parliamentarians. Critics claim that party members are non-centrist and liable to impose unsuitable leaders on MPs. This weakens the cohesion of parliamentary parties, undermining the functioning of Britain’s majoritarian dem…
What Would the British Party System Look Like under Proportional Representation
British debates over electoral reform are invariably debates about what party system would emerge. While there is agreement that proportional representation (PR) would boost the size of existing smaller parties, there is no consensus over the emergence and prospering of new parties. The main weakness in the British debate concerns the types of governments that would form under PR. Some believe the Liberal Democrats would be perennial kingmakers. …
Ethics of using artificial intelligence (AI) in veterinary medicine
This paper provides the first comprehensive analysis of ethical issues raised by artificial intelligence (AI) in veterinary medicine for companion animals. Veterinary medicine is a socially valued service, which, like human medicine, will likely be significantly affected by AI. Veterinary AI raises some unique ethical issues because of the nature of the client–patient–practitioner relationship, society’s relatively minimal valuation and protectio…
Why Was There a Hard Brexit? The British Legislative Party System, Divided Majorities and the Incentives for Factionalism
The UK parliament of 2017–2019 had to decide what form of Brexit, if any, it would accept in the government’s negotiations with the EU over a withdrawal agreement. Despite a large majority of MPs having supported Remain in the 2016 referendum, with most opposed to a ‘hard’ Brexit of looser ties between the UK and the EU, all attempts to pass a ‘soft’ Brexit failed. The final withdrawal agreement reflected a hard Brexit that was closer to the pref…
Surge‐and‐Collapse’ under First Past the Post: Reform UK 's Electoral Threat to the Conservative Party
Could the Conservative Party lose its status as one of the two major parties in the British party system and be supplanted by Reform UK? Such collapses are rare under the first‐past‐the‐post electoral system, but not unknown. We consider Alan Ware's argument that major‐party collapses follow a catastrophic election defeat after a party finds itself fighting on two separate fronts. This applies to the Conservatives, who lost votes to small parties…
Party fragmentation and problems of accountability in the British general election of 2024
Under ‘first past the post’ (FPTP), voters can hold governments to account by ‘throwing the rascals out’. The 2024 British general election appears to offer a clear-cut example, with voters removing the Conservatives after 14 years in government. However, FPTP ensures that the principal alternative to a Conservative government is a Labour government. This article argues that ‘throwing the rascals out’ works best for centrist voters with a genuine…
The Red–Green Electoral Threat to the Labour Party
For the first time, Labour faces credible electoral threats from minor parties to its left. The Greens and the newly formed Your Party offer left‐wing and Muslim voters disillusioned with Labour viable electoral alternatives and parliamentary representation. This article considers how great the threat is to Labour. It uses a model of how minor parties emerge under the first‐past‐the‐post electoral system to show that Labour faces challenges in so…
Political science (19 works) · Law (18 works) · Law (16 works) · Politics (16 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (13 works) · Political economy (13 works) · Political and Economic history of UK and US (12 works) · Economics (10 works) · Public Administration (10 works) · Public Administration (10 works)