A changing political agenda? the structure of political attitudes in Britain, 1974-87

The 1970s and 1980s have been a period of flux in Western party systems, with two apparent indicators being the success of rightwing parties and the growth of New Politics issues within electorates. Two theories have been utilized to explain these changes. The first is that they are caused by shifts in popular opinion, which are reflected in elite behavior, while the second argues that they are the result of political elites acting indepndently of mass opinion. In this paper, we test these two theories using Britain between 1974 and 1987 as a case study. Using comparable questions from four national surveys, we find that mass political attitudes have changed very little over the period, although there is more change evident on economic than on noneconomic issues. No support is forthcoming for the propositions that the British electorate is becoming more conservative or that New Politics issues are becoming more important. Overall, it appears that the British party political elite has moved further apart than has the electorate. In short, political change in Britain in the 1970s and 1980s is more elite-influenced than mass-influenced.