TY - BOOK ID - 80817938 TI - Performance politics and the British voter PY - 2009 SN - 9780511596872 9780521874441 9780521697286 9780511595639 0511595638 9780511596476 0511596472 0511596871 0511593708 9780511593703 0521874440 052169728X 9780511592775 0511592779 9786612316647 6612316640 1107198178 1282316648 0511596073 9781107198173 9781282316645 9780511596070 PB - Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, DB - UniCat KW - Elections KW - Political parties KW - Public opinion KW - Voting KW - #SBIB:324H42 KW - #SBIB:328H214 KW - Parties, Political KW - Party systems, Political KW - Political party systems KW - Political science KW - Divided government KW - Intra-party disagreements (Political parties) KW - Political conventions KW - Politieke structuren: verkiezingen KW - Instellingen en beleid: Verenigd Koninkrijk KW - Great Britain KW - Politics and government KW - Public opinion. KW - Social Sciences KW - Political Science UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:80817938 AB - What matters most to voters when they choose their leaders? This book suggests that performance politics is at the heart of contemporary democracy, with voters forming judgments about how well competing parties and leaders perform on important issues. Given the high stakes and uncertainty involved, voters rely heavily on partisan cues and party leader images as guides to electoral choice. However, the authors argue that the issue agenda of British politics has changed markedly in recent years. A cluster of concerns about crime, immigration and terrorism now mix with perennial economic and public service issues. Since voters and parties often share the same positions on these issues, political competition focuses on who can do the best job. This book shows that a model emphasizing flexible partisan attachments, party leader images and judgments of party competence on key issues can explain electoral choice in contemporary Britain. ER -