The Loyalties of Voters

What determines the loyalties of voters? Do their loyalties change over time? The factors identified by social scientists range from a politician's last minute television appeal to the influence of the voter's family background. In The Loyalties of Voters, the authors examine these questions with an analysis based on three decades of electoral behavior. They develop a sophisticated lifetime learning model which shows how family loyalties absorbed as a child, adult socioeconomic interests, and enduring political values cumulatively shape voter judgment and behavior. Marshalling evidence from British elections from 1964 to the present, Rose and McAllister clearly and concisely show the influence (or lack of influence) of each potentially formative factor. A fascinating examination of past and future voter behavior, The Loyalties of Voters provides stimulating perspectives for scholars in political science and political sociology. "Goes well beyond providing a clear, well-written, and comprehensive discussion of the turbulence of recent British politics...an insightful study of the factors that shape voting choices. . . a pleasure to read and ponder, for students of British politics and of voting behavior more generally. The thesis is developed, chapter by chapter, paralleling the model. Each chapter builds on the previous one, adding, qualifying, and explicating the model more fully. Reading this is not unlike finding a present within a present within a present." --Contemporary Sociology "Rose and McAllister continue their pioneering work on vote choice. This book is a must read for all students of political parties and elections, as well as for those who specialize in British politics." --Alan S. Zuckerman, Brown University "Provides a useful insight into the evolution of political attitudes. It is to be recommended for anybody with an interest in electoral behavior in the United States." --Conservative Newsline "A worthy successor to a noble line....Rose and McAllister have constructed a powerful and coherent argument accounting both for micro-political choice and macro-political trends in contemporary Britain. They also have marshalled an impressive array of evidence in support of their interpretation." --British Politics Group Newsletter "This book documents the complexity of British electoral politics that faces British parties and voters with an impressive array of empirical analyses. . . . A valuable contribution." --Political Science Quarterly "This particular effort offers an intriguing mixture of parsimonious and useful theoretical thinking with a rich exploration of a voluminous data-set. . . .The breadth and depth of analysis are presented succinctly, intelligently and, in general, persuasively." --Political Science "Rose and McAllister's latest book is an ambitious, constructive and praiseworthy contribution to British electoral sociology. . . .The book is very clearly written, and analyses are thoroughly executed. . . .In many ways, this is an exemplary study of current state of the art in the analysis of British electoral behavior. The authors are judicious in their treatment of their data, comprehensive in their use of existing literature, and clear in their analyses and conclusions." --Sociology