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Understanding the General Election 2024: Resources and Insights
The PSA is committed to showcasing the valuable contributions from our journals, magazines, members and Specialist Groups. If any PSA members would like to submit a blog, or share/provide information about resources, please contact comms@psa.ac.uk.
UK Election Analysis 2024 Report
The Election Analysis series, published by the Centre for Comparative Politics & Media Research at Bournemouth University in partnership with the Political Studies Association (PSA) and the Conversation UK, released the 2024 UK Election Analysis report on Monday, July 15th. This free publication features 101 contributions from over 130 leading academics and emerging scholars, offering immediate thoughts, reflections, and early research insights on the 2024 UK General Election.
Published just 10 days after the election, the short and accessible contributions provide authoritative analyses of the campaign, including research findings and new theoretical insights, drawing from a diverse range of disciplines such as political science, cultural studies, journalism studies, and geography. For more information, links to the report and a table of content,please see here.
A Fragile Win Amidst a Shift to the Right
James Newell, Adjunct Professor at the University of Urbino and PSA member, analyses the UK General Election of July 2024. Labour's apparent landslide victory, with 412 seats, masks deeper issues. Their success stemmed more from Conservative losses and a rise in far-right Reform UK votes than increased Labour support. Despite the majority, low voter turnout and lack of a clear mandate present significant challenges for Labour, suggesting a troubling rise in right-wing populism. Read more from James Newell here.
Labour Landslide Masks Deep-Rooted Challenges for UK Unity
Jack Liddall, PSA ECN member and PhD candidate at University of Cambridge, blog "Election 2024 analysis: The UK Union may appear restrengthened — but is it really?" examines the recent UK election results, showing a Labour landslide across Scotland, Wales, and England. Does this suggest a temporary unity within the UK Union or is the story more about Tory losses than Labour victories? Challenges remain with underrepresentation and regional tensions, especially with the SNP's losses in Scotland and mixed results for nationalist parties in Northern Ireland and Wales. Labour's low vote share relative to its seat count raises questions about its UK-wide mandate. Read more from Jack Liddall on these complex dynamics here.
Professor Richard Rose's Insights on Voter Engagement
Professor Richard Rose's latest blog, "The Electoral System Got It Half Right" examines the British First Past the Post (FPTP) electoral system's effectiveness in achieving stable governance while representing voter divisions. Rose highlights the recent election, where Labour secured a large parliamentary majority with a minority of the vote, and critiques the resulting misrepresentation of voter preferences. Explore his analysis of the disproportionate outcomes for smaller parties and the implications for electoral reform here.
ECN Conference: Politics Today 15-19th July
Join the Political Studies Association's Early Career network at their conference, where they will explore 'How can we study the political world today?' and 'how can our research have real-world impact to create a better future for everyone?'. There has never been a more exciting time to study politics! With elections in more than 80 countries in 2024 (including the UK General Election), the widespread use of AI, the rise of far-right extremism, all while facing economic and global recovery from Covid-19 and the cost of living crisis, there is lots going on for political scientists to make sense of.
You can find out more about the conference and register here.
General Election news audits, Centre for Research in Communication and Culture:
Academics from the Loughborough University’s Centre for Research in Communication and Culture have conducted news audits for every General Election since 1992. The audit for 2024 is concentrating on the main television news bulletins, alongside newspaper print coverage.
Weekly reports provide commentary about the week’s coverage and systematic measurements of which politicians and parties received the most coverage, the proportion of negative and positive coverage of candidates and parties, which issues received greatest prominence and the amount of coverage given to the election. The reports can be found here.
Articles in Political Insight
Stay informed with the latest edition of Political Insight magazine, which covers the most pressing topics and trends in political science.
This edition featured articles on the impact of digital campaigning, voter behaviour, and electoral strategies. PSA members enjoy full access to all articles in the magazine and its wealth of knowledge. Read Political Insight's June 2024 issue here.
Open Access Articles:
- How the Electoral Map of England and Wales has been Redrawn by Jamie Furlong and Will Jennings
- In Focus: Zero Action on Net Zero? UK Political Shifts on Climate Commitments by Benjamin D. Hennig
- Conservatism After the Flood: Old Wine, New Bottles? by Emily Jones
Understanding Election '24 in 15 articles
To help make sense of the campaign, the Political Studies Association (PSA) and SAGE Publishing brought together 15 of the most insightful articles from across our four journals: Political Studies, Political Studies Review, The British Journal of Politics & International Relations and Politics and the magazine, Political Insight. These articles, designed to help you examine the complexities of the General Election, are informed by the latest research and expert analysis over a range of topics and include:
- The public funding of election administration
- Campaign strategies and voter behaviour
- The impact of digital campaigns and transparency
- Electoral pacts and tactical voting
- The role of popular culture and media in shaping political perceptions
For a detailed look at these articles, visit the collection here: Understanding General Election 24.
PSA's 2023 Annual Lecture
Our 2023 Annual Lecture, "Getting Under the Skin of General Election 24," featured distinguished speakers Professor Sir John Curtice and Professor Kate Dommett. They examined the dynamics of the campaign and how current research informs our understanding of likely voting behaviours.
Event Highlights:
- Professor Sir John Curtice examined public reactions to the upcoming General Election in his talk "A Return to Normality? The 2024(?) General Election.
- Professor Kate Dommett discussed various aspects of campaigning, from AI and micro-targeting to the realities on the ground
- The event concluded with a lively Q&A session led by Peter Geoghegan, editor of Political Insight magazine.
If you would like to revisit the discussions, you can watch the video here:
Electoral communication in 2024: Responding to a year of turbulence in media and politics
This is the theme of the PSA Media & Politics Specialist Group Annual Conference taking place January 8-9 2025. The conference will be held at the University of Birmingham, with keynotes from Dr Patricia Rossini (University of Glasgow) and Professor Darren Lilleker (Bournemouth University) .
The Media & Politics SG encourage applications from Early Career Researchers. They also offer reduced conference fees for PhD researchers/precarious workers and those participating remotely, and have a limited number of travel subsidies for PGRs.
Access the full Call for Papers.
The deadline for abstracts (250 words max) is Monday, 29 July 2024. We also welcome panel proposals of three to four papers. Please send to a.j.rhodes@bham.ac.uk.