Survey of election agents for study of constituency campaigning at the 2015 British general election

Abstract copyright data collection owner.

This data collection consists of a survey of elections agents from the Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party (SNP), Plaid Cymru (PC) and the UK Independence Party (UKIP) conducted immediately after the British general election of 2015. The survey covers details of the preparations for the campaign, organisation and strategy, and campaign and polling day activities. In addition, it covers an evaluation of the administration of the campaign. Surveys were sent to all agents and the dataset comprises responses from 244 Conservative Agents; 336 Labour Agents; 332 Liberal Democrat Agents; 31 SNP Agents; 21 Plaid Cymru Agents; and 204 UKIP Agents.

Project description:

Constituency level campaigning has become crucial to the electoral strategies of all the major parties in Britain, and a significant academic literature - initially regarded as 'revisionist' - has emerged. This work - now regarded as mainstream - has revealed many things including how campaigns have changed over time; how parties have responded to wider changes in society, the electorate, and within their own parties; and the degree to which parties are able to harness their resources effectively to fight elections. They have also informed discussions about power within parties - how far central party organisations are able to coordinate constituency party campaigns and how much is left to the grass-roots. And finally, they have furthered our understanding of how voters respond to cues from the parties, and the extent to which voters can be mobilized.

This study will examine constituency campaigning at the 2015 British General Election and will provide not only a continuation of a unique and valuable time series that began in 1992, but also a programme of innovation that furthers our understanding of the impact, role, and nature of campaigns in the modern political arena. The study will seek to address four underlying research questions: 1) What is the electoral impact of constituency campaigns?; 2) How have campaign techniques evolved?; 3) How are party campaign organisations evolving?; 4) What is the impact of constituency campaigns on different groups of electors?