The electoral geography of immigrant groups in Britain

Ian McAllister*, Donfey T. Studlar

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    11 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Recent interpretations of British politics have moved from the social and political homogeneity thesis to acknowledgment of Britain as a multinational and multiethnic state. An 'ethnic marginals' argument even contends that immigrant groups have played a crucial role in the outcome of recent general elections. This paper tests the electoral impact of different immigrant groups by matching the results of the 1981 Census by parliamentary constituency to the results of the 1983 general election. Immigrant groups collectively and individually are found to have almost no net effect on party voting patterns, but a substantial impact, largerly negative, on turnout. This evidence does not support the ethnic marginals argument. Although Britain is a multi-ethnic society, political cleavages not yet based on ethnic lines.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)139-150
    Number of pages12
    JournalElectoral Studies
    Volume3
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Aug 1984

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