Oxford Scholarship Online: Third Force Politics

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Subject: Political Science Book Title: Third Force Politics

Third Force Politics

Liberal Democrats at the Grassroots

Whiteley, Paul , Professor of Government, University of Essex, and Co-Director of the British Election Study

Seyd, Patrick , Emeritus Professor of Politics and Director of the Institute for the Study of Political Parties, University of Sheffield

Billinghurst, Antony , Senior Research Officer, Department of Work and Pensions, Sheffield

Print publication date: 2006
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: September 2006
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-19-924282-5
doi:10.1093/0199242828.001.0001

Abstract: This book examines the recovery of the British Liberal Democrat Party, emphasizing the role of the grassroots party members in shaping this recovery. A number of factors have contributed to the party’s resurgence, including the performances of its main rivals, the Conservative and Labour parties, and the decline in partisan attachments throughout the entire electorate. However, evidence shows that the grassroots party has played the decisive role in bringing this about. The key players are the men and women who joined the party as members, and then actively worked on its behalf by campaigning or standing in local and national elections when the political climate was cold. A major focus of the book is to examine these people. The future electoral prospects for the party are also discussed, including the question of whether or not it can replace its rivals as the second, or even the first, party of British electoral politics.

Keywords: Liberal Democrat Party, grassroots party members, Conservative Party, Labour Party

Table of Contents

1. ‘Introduction and Overview‘