Michael Thrasher
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 895175 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Michael Thrasher |
| PRENOMES | Michael |
| SOBRENOME | Thrasher |
| ASSINATURA | THRASHER M |
| AFILIAÇÕES | University of Plymouth |
| VERIFICADO | Não |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 77 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 631 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 77 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 1981 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2024 |
| ÍNDICE H | 13 |
The Electoral Consequences of Tax Increases
Do governments presiding over tax increases lose votes? One assumption is tax increases affect incumbent parties equally but we also expect asymmetric responses with differing penalties for left- and right-wing parties. Influential literature also assumes voters incapable of assigning responsibility to policymakers or holding them accountable. We find that tax increases are more costly to a left-of-centre party. Previous research assessing this i…
Mobilising the ‘People’s Army’ at the Grassroots
Between 2013 and the referendum on Britain’s EU membership in 2016, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) emerged as the most significant new party in English politics for a generation. Yet, despite rising to become the third most popular party, temporarily replacing the Liberal Democrats in the polls, UKIP failed to translate support into a large presence in Westminster. At the 2015 general election, the party won only one seat and in the aftermath o…
Candidate Ethnic Origins and Voter Preferences
This article examines the relationship between candidate names as they appear on the ballot paper and voting patterns in British local elections. Specifically, it explores whether some voters favour candidates with British-sounding names over those whose names suggest either European or non-European ethnic origins. Name classification software identifies three categories of candidate: British, other European and non-European. Separate analyses of…
Forecasting the 2015 general election using aggregate local election data
Councillors in Context
The time investment in council duties and the roles adopted by local councillors in Britain have been studied extensively but rarely has research incorporated information about the type of area represented. This article combines individual-level survey responses from councillors with aggregate-level data that describe characteristics of the wards that elect each councillor. The survey data report each councillor’s social and political characteris…
Voting systems in parallel and the benefits for small parties
In simple plurality voting systems smaller parties facing resource constraints may struggle to field candidates, particularly when the number of electoral districts is large. In the absence of a strong coordinating party organization, the pattern of contestation may also be sub-optimal – the small party fields candidates where support is minimal, ignoring other electoral districts where voters would support the party if it had stood a candidate. …
Ballot Order Positional Effects in British Local Elections, 1973-2011
Ballot order positional effects, electoral advantage gained from a candidate's surname location on the ballot paper, have been extensively studied. For 'low-information' elections especially candidates located at or near the top of the ballot paper are advantaged relative to their competitors. This examination of alphabetic bias uses data from local council election results in Britain. The examination of election contests featuring more than half…
Mayoral referendums and elections revisited
Bame Candidates in Local Elections in Britain
Differences between white and Black, Asian and other minority ethnic (BAME) local election candidates in Britain are examined using survey data. BAME candidates are more likely to be younger and better educated but fewer women are recruited from among this group. Such candidates are electorally inexperienced, have stronger ties with community-related organisations and are more likely to make their own decision to stand for election rather than be…
Local campaign activity and voting
Councillor Perceptions of the Boundary Review Process
Local ward boundary reviews are designed to equalise electorates within each local authority, thereby satisfying the requirement of ‘one vote, one value’. In 2010 this responsibility was passed to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England which has sought to engage with key stakeholders about the process generally. The main actors affected by this process are incumbent councillors who frequently find their own ward boundaries have alte…
Unequal and Unequally Distributed Votes
Using a method for decomposing electoral bias in a three-party competitive system we contend that discussion surrounding electoral reform for the House of Commons is largely based on misconceptions about bias sources at recent British general elections (Northern Ireland is excluded from the analysis). Labour is the principal beneficiary across these seven elections while the third party, the Liberal Democrats, consistently suffers from a negative…
British National Party
Forecasting the 2010 general election using aggregate local election data
Much Ado about Not Very Much
The liberalisation of the rules covering postal voting attracted a good deal of attention during the 2005 general election campaign, including several allegations of fraud and malpractice. This article uses both survey and aggregate-level data to examine the increase in the numbers of postal voters and its impact on both turnout and party choice at that election. It demonstrates the legacy of the all-postal voting pilots held between 2000 and 200…
Parties, Recruitment and Modernisation
Using pooled data from four separate nationwide surveys of local election candidates conducted from 2006–09 the paper assesses the role and importance of parties in the recruitment and selection of candidates. In many respects candidates are similar to councillors with men outnumbering women in a two to one ratio, with very few non-white candidates coming forward for selection and an age bias towards older rather than younger people. Candidates a…
Another (small) step on the road towards a multi-party Britain – turnout and party choice at the 2009 local and European Parliament elections
Parliamentary Constituency Boundary Reviews and Electoral Bias
It is frequently canvassed by some politicians and political commentators that the current British electoral system is biased against the Conservative party because of variations in constituency size: seats won by the Conservatives at recent elections have been larger than those won by Labour in terms of their registered electorates, thereby disadvantaging the former. As a consequence, it is argued that equalisation of constituency electorates by…
The 2008 Local Elections
Local elections took place in England and Wales on 1 May 2008. The London mayor and assembly contests dominated media coverage, with the incumbent Ken Livingstone seeking a third consecutive term
The Demise of New Labour? The British 'Mid-Term' Elections of 2008
The annual local elections in Britain are closely scrutinised for the clues they offer about the current state of public opinion. The 2008 contests attracted particular attention. The governing Labour party recorded its worst local election performance for 40 years; the Conservative opposition its best since John Major's electoral honeymoon in 1992. These elections, and other evidence, appear to have shifted the political narrative so that a Cons…
Changing the Boundaries but Keeping the Disproportionality
Parliamentary boundary reviews in the UK are undertaken to remove — as far as is practicable — inter‐constituency variations in the number of electors. Their impact has almost invariably favoured the Conservative party — largely because population shifts between reviews tend to favour Labour with the movement of electors away from the inner cities and old industrial areas. That has been the case again with the Fifth Periodical Reviews conducted b…
Electoral salience and the costs of voting at national, sub‐national and supra‐national elections in the UK
This paper considers the impact of distance to polling station upon electoral turnout. Using polling station level data from a London borough, it examines three types of election – parliamentary, European and local elections – over a twenty year period. The UK is notable among western liberal democracies for its relatively large turnout gap – the percentage point difference between turnout at elections for the Westminster parliament compared to t…
Ballot Photographs as Cues in Low‐Information Elections
In low‐information elections, voters are often faced with the task of choosing from a list of unknown candidates. By examining a set of low‐information elections where candidate photographs were displayed on the ballot, we test how first impressions of candidates can influence election outcomes. We find that attractive candidates are more likely to be attributed the qualities associated with successful politicians and these trait inferences, base…
Investigating Differences in Electoral Turnout
Electoral turnout is an important measure of the health of a liberal democracy. Although research identifies factors that affect electoral participation, we still know little about how electors in a specific location respond to opportunities to vote for different kinds of local, national, and supranational institutions. This paper addresses this issue by analysing the relative rates of turnout at local, parliamentary, and European elections withi…
Measuring bias
Ballot Photographs as Cues in Low‐Information Elections
In low‐information elections, voters are often faced with the task of choosing from a list of unknown candidates. By examining a set of low‐information elections where candidate photographs were displayed on the ballot, we test how first impressions of candidates can influence election outcomes. We find that attractive candidates are more likely to be attributed the qualities associated with successful politicians and these trait inferences, base…
Party Politics and Local Government
Colin Copus Manchester University Press: 2004. 313pp., £14.99 pbk., ISBN 0719066352
Seasonal factors, voter fatigue and the costs of voting
Not All ‘Second-Order’ Contests are the Same
The European Parliament elections in June 2004 coincided with local elections in many parts of England. In four regions of the country these elections were conducted entirely by postal ballots; in four other regions traditional methods of polling were used. Overall turnout was higher where all-postal voting was in place, but having local in addition to European elections made an independent and significant contribution to the level of electoral p…
Candidate Ethnic Origins and Voter Preferences
This article examines the relationship between candidate names as they appear on the ballot paper and voting patterns in British local elections. Specifically, it explores whether some voters favour candidates with British-sounding names over those whose names suggest either European or non-European ethnic origins. Name classification software identifies three categories of candidate: British, other European and non-European. Separate analyses of…
Turnout in English local elections-An aggregate analysis with electoral and contextual data
Explaining Split-Ticket Voting at the 1979 and 1997 General and Local Elections in England
Only in 1979, 1997 and 2001 have British general elections coincided with the annual local government elections. Uniquely, this study uses both survey and aggregate data to examine aspects of split-ticket voting at the simultaneous elections in 1979 and 1997. Through the use of bi- and multi-variate analysis, it suggests that ticket-splitting is a product of both voter attitudes and party strategies: although it is almost wholly confined to the l…
Mayoral Referendums and Elections
The principle of directly elected mayors forms a key part of the Labour government's strategy to modernise local democracy and strengthen accountability. First applied to London, the government has sought to extend the institution, allowing local referendums to determine whether the public favours the principle or not. This article examines the state of public opinion regarding elected mayors before reporting on the outcome of referendums held si…
Coalition Theory and Local Government
Formal coalition theory has tended to ignore the existence of local government coalitions. Local government studies have tended to ignore the existence of formal coalition theory. Yet local administrations frequently comprise coalitions of parties. There is clearly a need, therefore, to bring the two areas of study together
Policy Payoffs in Local Government
This article applies the portfolio allocation model of government formation to the formation of local government administrations in general, with a particular empirical application to the formation of administrations in British local authorities with hung councils. First, the implications of the portfolio allocation model for the formation of local administrations are discussed. Secondly, this model is operationalized in the context of British lo…
British National Party
Comparing local electoral turnout in Great Britain and France
Electoral and census data from Great Britain and France are used in a comparative analysis of the levels and determinants of local election turnout in the two countries. First, nine simple propositions about variations in turnout are tested using as similar as possible variables for each country. These variables are then used as the bases for multi‐variate regression analyses. The residual cases in each country are compared in order to explore th…
Women in English local government, 1973–2003
Trends in Local Elections in Britain, 1975–2003
Five aspects of local elections in Britain over a thirty year period are examined. First, the process of party politicisation has seen the growth of more three-party systems whilst in parts of the Celtic fringe electors may have a choice of at least four parties. The increase in party candidates has had an important impact on the second aspect considered, that of uncontested seats. In some areas, particularly in the larger towns and cities, lack …
Voter Support for Minor Parties
The context of support for a range of minor parties in the United Kingdom is identified using ward-level aggregate data from the 2004 European elections in London. Four parties in particular, namely Respect, Green, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and the British National Party (BNP), which collectively obtained 3 in 10 of all European votes cast in London and performed well at the subsequent general election in 2005, are considered. …
Just Another Expensive Talking Shop’
Rallings C. and Thrasher M. (2006) ‘Just another expensive talking shop’: public attitudes and the 2004 Regional Assembly Referendum in the North East of England, Regional Studies 40, 927–936. Electors in the North East of England voted overwhelmingly in November 2004 against the establishment of an elected regional assembly. All parts of the region, every type of elector, and supporters of all major political parties were opposed to the new inst…
The epidemiology of the Liberal Democrat vote
Electing Mayors
In 2000 and 2002 the first direct elections for mayors were held in England. They were elected using the supplementary vote method. This article summarises the discussion which led to the adoption of this electoral system, analyses some of the main arguments used, states some general criteria by which electoral systems can be judged, and evaluates some other possible methods for conducting such elections. It concludes that in the light of at leas…
Parties, Recruitment and Modernisation
Using pooled data from four separate nationwide surveys of local election candidates conducted from 2006–09 the paper assesses the role and importance of parties in the recruitment and selection of candidates. In many respects candidates are similar to councillors with men outnumbering women in a two to one ratio, with very few non-white candidates coming forward for selection and an age bias towards older rather than younger people. Candidates a…
Ballot Order Positional Effects in British Local Elections, 1973-2011
Ballot order positional effects, electoral advantage gained from a candidate's surname location on the ballot paper, have been extensively studied. For 'low-information' elections especially candidates located at or near the top of the ballot paper are advantaged relative to their competitors. This examination of alphabetic bias uses data from local council election results in Britain. The examination of election contests featuring more than half…
Changing the Boundaries but Keeping the Disproportionality
Parliamentary boundary reviews in the UK are undertaken to remove — as far as is practicable — inter‐constituency variations in the number of electors. Their impact has almost invariably favoured the Conservative party — largely because population shifts between reviews tend to favour Labour with the movement of electors away from the inner cities and old industrial areas. That has been the case again with the Fifth Periodical Reviews conducted b…
Electoral salience and the costs of voting at national, sub‐national and supra‐national elections in the UK
This paper considers the impact of distance to polling station upon electoral turnout. Using polling station level data from a London borough, it examines three types of election – parliamentary, European and local elections – over a twenty year period. The UK is notable among western liberal democracies for its relatively large turnout gap – the percentage point difference between turnout at elections for the Westminster parliament compared to t…
Measuring the Level and Direction of Split-Ticket Voting at the 1979 and 1997 British General and Local Elections
Only in 1979 and 1997 have British general elections coincided with the annual local government electoral contests. This research note uses both survey and aggregate data to provide new estimates of the extent of split-ticket voting in England at those two elections, and to compare similarities and differences between them. It appears that no fewer than one in six of those electors who voted for one of the three major parties in both contests mad…
Personality politics and protest voting
Journal Article Personality politics and protest voting: the first elections to the Greater London Authority Get access C Rallings, C Rallings Local Government Chronicle Election Research Centre, University of Plymouth, UK Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar M Thrasher M Thrasher Local Government Chronicle Election Research Centre, University of Plymouth, UK Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Aca…
Patterns of voting choice in multimember districts
The Concept of a Central – Local Government Partnership
Controversy currently surrounds the relationship between central and local government as policies designed to control and curb public expenditure are viewed by local authorities as yet another attempt to erode their capacity for autonomous action. In recent years the whole issue of central–local relations has been typified by a mood of despondency and frustration as efforts to improve the situation have failed, unable to move beyond the most basi…
A social exchange approach to implementation analysis
Exchange Networks and Implementation
Implementation research utilising a ‘bottom-up’ approach has identified the presence of implementation structures. These structures are comprised of individual implementors from a variety of public and private organisations co-operating to administer policy. This paper suggests that in such cases implementors are involved in a process of resource exchange which results in a network of implementors being formed. Concepts drawn from social exchange…
Local Government Defended
Journal Article LOCAL GOVERNMENT DEFENDED Get access Michael Thrasher Michael Thrasher Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 37, Issue 1, 1984, Pages 240–242, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.pa.a051931 Published: 01 January 1984
Problems in Administering Community Policing
Research focusing on policing is a relatively new phenomenon. Studies purporting to discuss the role of police in society (Alderson 1979; Banton 1973; Cain 1973; Holdaway 1979 and 1983; Whitaker 1979) have pursued that objective without adequately discussing what the term means. Even within the police force itself there remains dispute over the definition of policing (Jones 1980) and since the Police Act of 1829 there has been little examination …
The Juggernaut of Centralisation
Journal Article THE JUGGERNAUT OF CENTRALISATION Get access Michael Thrasher Michael Thrasher Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 39, Issue 1, January 1986, Pages 132–134, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.pa.a052026 Published: 01 January 1986
Assessing the electoral performance of the alliance
Coalition Theory and Local Government
Formal coalition theory has tended to ignore the existence of local government coalitions. Local government studies have tended to ignore the existence of formal coalition theory. Yet local administrations frequently comprise coalitions of parties. There is clearly a need, therefore, to bring the two areas of study together
Party competition and electoral volatility
1988). Party competition and electoral volatility: The case of local by‐elections, 1983–1987. Local Government Studies: Vol. 14, No. 6, pp. 67-76
Local Elections in Britain
Journal Article LOCAL ELECTIONS IN BRITAIN: COMPARING MYTH WITH REALITY Get access Colin Rallings, Colin Rallings Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Michael Thrasher Michael Thrasher Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 41, Issue 2, April 1988, Pages 182–194, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.pa.a052140 Published: 01 April 1988
Turnout in English local elections-An aggregate analysis with electoral and contextual data
The Impact of the Community Charge on Electoral Behaviour
The impact of local government electoral systems
1992). The impact of local government electoral systems: Some thoughts for the local government commission. Local Government Studies: Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 1-8
Exploring uniformity and variability in local electoral outcomes
Retrospective
The Parliamentary Boundary Commissions
The Parliamentary Boundary Commissions: Rules, Interpretations and Politics COLIN RALLINGS, COLIN RALLINGS Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar MICHAEL THRASHER MICHAEL THRASHER Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 47, Issue 3, July 1994, Pages 387–404, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.pa.a052482 Published: 01 July 1994
Coalitions in Britain
Based on a survey of 151 local authorities in Great Britain where no single party had an overall council majority, this article examines the administrative arrangements which form when political parties unused to compromise have to negotiate with each other for a share of power. It also considers the attitudes of the actors involved to the different ways of working that emerge in these ‘hung’ councils. The survey shows that hung councils experien…
Comparing local electoral turnout in Great Britain and France
Electoral and census data from Great Britain and France are used in a comparative analysis of the levels and determinants of local election turnout in the two countries. First, nine simple propositions about variations in turnout are tested using as similar as possible variables for each country. These variables are then used as the bases for multi‐variate regression analyses. The residual cases in each country are compared in order to explore th…
The Local Elections
Journal Article The Local Elections Get access COLIN RALLINGS, COLIN RALLINGS Professor of Politics *University of Plymouth Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar MICHAEL THRASHER MICHAEL THRASHER Professor of Politics †University of Plymouth Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 50, Issue 4, October 1997, Pages 681–692, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfo…
Split‐ticket voting at the 1997 British general and local elections
(1998). Split‐ticket voting at the 1997 British general and local elections: An aggregate analysis. British Elections & Parties Review: Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 111-134
Policy Payoffs in Local Government
This article applies the portfolio allocation model of government formation to the formation of local government administrations in general, with a particular empirical application to the formation of administrations in British local authorities with hung councils. First, the implications of the portfolio allocation model for the formation of local administrations are discussed. Secondly, this model is operationalized in the context of British lo…
The epidemiology of the Liberal Democrat vote
Patterns of voting choice in multimember districts
Sub‐national coalition government formation in Belgium, France and Germany
Coalition Government, Subnational Style: Multiparty Politics in Europe's Regional Parliaments, by William M. Downs. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 1998. Pp.336. $50 hb; $19.95 pb
Proportionality and disproportionality in english county government, 1973–97
Political science (74 obras) · Law (65 obras) · Law (61 obras) · Politics (56 obras) · Public Administration (47 obras) · Public Administration (43 obras) · Economics (42 obras) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (41 obras) · Political economy (34 obras) · Voting (32 obras)