Putting Voters in their Place Geography and Elections in Great Britain
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Biographical note
Ron Johnston is Professor of Geography at the University of Bristol. One of the best known human geographers in the world, he has published many books and papers on political geography, urban geography and the history and philosophy of human geography, including Geography and Geographers (6th edition, with J Sidaway) and From Votes to Seats: The Operation of the UK Electoral System since 1945 (with C. Pattie, D. Dorling and D. Rossiter). Charles Pattie is Professor of Geography at the University of Sheffield. He has published widely on electoral geography, the politics of devolution, and on political participation. He is author of From Votes to Seats: The Operation of the Uk Electoral System since 1945 (with C. Pattie, D. Dorling and D. Rossiter) and Citizenship in Britain (with P Seyd and P Whiteley).Why do people living in different areas vote in different ways? Why does this change over time? How do people talk about politics with friends and neighbours, and with what effect? Does the geography of well-being influence the geography of party support? Do parties try to talk to all voters at election time, or are they interested only in the views of a small number of voters living in a small number of seats? Is electoral participation in decline, and how does the geography of the vote affect this? How can a party win a majority of seats in Parliament without a majority of votes in the country? Putting Voters in their Place explores these questions by placing the analysis of electoral behaviour into its geographical context. Using information from the latest elections, including the 2005 General Election, the book shows how both voters and parties are affected by, and seek to influence, both national and local forces. Trends are set in the context of the latest research and
scholarship on electoral behaviour. The book also reports on new research findings.