'I went with what i always do ...': a qualitative analysis of ‘Cleggmania’ and vote choice in the 2010 British General Election

Edzia Carvalho; Kristi Winters

doi:10.1093/pa/gst050

'I went with what i always do ...': a qualitative analysis of ‘Cleggmania’ and vote choice in the 2010 British General Election

Edzia Carvalho (Lead / Corresponding author), Kristi Winters

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

759 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

We use focus group transcripts from the innovative Qualitative Election Study of Britain dataset to provide insights into why ‘Cleggmania’ failed to translate into electoral success for the Liberal Democrats in 2010. Analyses conducted on participants’ vote choice stories indicate the effect of ‘Cleggmania’ was limited to strengthening the resolve of wavering Liberal Democrats. Long-time Labour and Conservative supporters who leaned Liberal Democrat before the election found their latent party identification made voting for a different party psychologically uncomfortable. Qualitative electoral research can advance our understanding of people’s voting calculus by analysing narratives for values, identity, utility maximizing, and constituency dynamics.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	423-446
Number of pages	24
Journal	Parliamentary Affairs
Volume	68
Issue number	2
Early online date	12 Feb 2014
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gst050
Publication status	Published - 1 Apr 2015

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Sociology and Political Science
Law

Access to Document

10.1093/pa/gst050

Author Accepted Manuscript
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Parliamentary Affairs following peer review. The version of record, Parliam Aff (2014) doi: 10.1093/pa/gst050 First published online: February 12, 2014, is available online at: http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/02/12/pa.gst050
Accepted author manuscript, 162 KB

http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/02/12/pa.gst050.full.pdf?keytype=ref&ijkey=Mv8UauRm7aclcSK

Cite this

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title = "'I went with what i always do ...': a qualitative analysis of {\textquoteleft}Cleggmania{\textquoteright} and vote choice in the 2010 British General Election",

abstract = "We use focus group transcripts from the innovative Qualitative Election Study of Britain dataset to provide insights into why {\textquoteleft}Cleggmania{\textquoteright} failed to translate into electoral success for the Liberal Democrats in 2010. Analyses conducted on participants{\textquoteright} vote choice stories indicate the effect of {\textquoteleft}Cleggmania{\textquoteright} was limited to strengthening the resolve of wavering Liberal Democrats. Long-time Labour and Conservative supporters who leaned Liberal Democrat before the election found their latent party identification made voting for a different party psychologically uncomfortable. Qualitative electoral research can advance our understanding of people{\textquoteright}s voting calculus by analysing narratives for values, identity, utility maximizing, and constituency dynamics.",

author = "Edzia Carvalho and Kristi Winters",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the British Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences (grant number SG090860). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2014 The Author.",

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'I went with what i always do ...': a qualitative analysis of ‘Cleggmania’ and vote choice in the 2010 British General Election

Abstract

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

The 2015 Qualitative Election Study of Britain

The grounded theory method: popular perceptions of party leaders during the 2010 British general election

The qualitative election study of Britain: qualitative research using focus groups

Elections, Public Opinion and Parties

Political Studies Association

Elections, Public Opinion and Parties

Carvalho, Edzia

Cite this

'I went with what i always do ...': a qualitative analysis of ‘Cleggmania’ and vote choice in the 2010 British General Election

Abstract

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Research output

The 2015 Qualitative Election Study of Britain

The grounded theory method: popular perceptions of party leaders during the 2010 British general election

The qualitative election study of Britain: qualitative research using focus groups

Activities

Elections, Public Opinion and Parties

Political Studies Association

Elections, Public Opinion and Parties

Profiles

Carvalho, Edzia

Cite this