The Parliamentary Conservative Party : the leadership elections of William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith
The aim of this research is to investigate the post1997 Parliamentary Conservative Party, with 
particular attention placed upon the Conservative Party leadership election of 1997 and 2001. 
The thesis uses these two leadership elections as a lens which can be utilised to focus upon and 
analyse the ideological disputations of contemporary British Conservatism. This is done by 
identifying the voting behaviour of Conservative parliamentarians in the two leadership elections 
and then by putting forwards a systemic explanation of the candidates’ support. Three sets of 
variables are tested. First, the thesis analyses socio-economic variables (i.e. the occupational and 
educational background of conservative parliamentarians). Second, the research considers the 
candidates’ support in relation to electoral and political variables (i.e. electoral vulnerability, 
political insider / outsider status, age and experience). Finally the research will evaluate the 
candidates’ support with regard to the ideological disposition of the candidates and their 
supporters. This requires an extensive exploration of the attitudes of Conservative 
parliamentarians with regard to the dominant ideological divides within contemporary post- 
Thatcherite Conservatism – economic policy (wet / dry), European policy (europhile / 
eurosceptic), and social, sexual and moral attitudes (social liberalism / social conservatism). By 
analysing the patterns of voting in relation to social background, political attributes and 
ideological disposition the thesis locates and interprets the differing motivational influences on 
voting behaviour. 
The thesis argues the ideological disposition of the candidates and their supporters was the 
crucial factor in both the leadership elections. The final round of the 1997 leadership election 
was a straight ideological battle between the europhile and eurosceptic wings of the 
parliamentary Conservative Party. This benefited the eurosceptic William Hague at the expense 
of the europhile Kenneth Clarke. In 2001 both Clarke and Portillo attracted support from across 
the ideological spectrum of the parliamentary party, suggesting that a section of the 
parliamentary party had moved away from ideologically driven voting behaviour. However, Iain 
Duncan Smith reaching the final ballot was due to the support of an ideologically cohesive group 
of traditional Thatcherite MPs and indicative of the continued significance of ideology on the 
direction of the Conservative party.
Party Leadership Selection in Parliamentary Democracies
Author(s): So, Florence | Advisor(s): Bawn, Kathleen | Abstract: My doctoral dissertation begins with this puzzle: why do large, moderate parties sometimes select leaders who seem to help improve their parties' electoral performances, but other times choose unpopular leaders with more extreme policy positions, in expense of votes? I argue that leadership selection is dependent on both the electoral institution that a party finds itself in and the intra-party dynamics that constrain the party. Due to a high degree of seat-vote elasticity that is characteristic of majoritarian systems, replacing unpopular leaders is a feasible strategy for opposition parties in these systems to increase their seat shares. In contrast, in proportional systems, due to low seat-vote elasticity, on average opposition parties that replace their leaders suffer from vote loss. My model of party leadership selection shows that since party members can provide valuable election campaign effort, they can coerce those who select the party leader (the selectorate) into choosing their preferred leader. When selectorate members are moderate, extreme leaders may emerge if non-selectorate members credibly threaten to withhold campaign effort. The more that the extreme non-selectorate members value issue advocacy over the party's electoral welfare, the more extreme the chosen party leader is. Two original datasets on 12 parliamentary democracies of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), one comprised of the dates of party leadership tenure, and the other on leadership election results, highlight my research question's empirical relevance. These data reveal that on average, new opposition party leaders in single-member district (SMD) systems increase their parties' vote share, but the reverse occurs in multi-member district (MMD) systems. Through field research in the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, I interviewed 72 members of parliament (MPs), 7 former party leaders and party leadership candidates, and 18 senior party officers. These interviews serve to support my model's predictions. My dissertation offers an explanation for why parties sometimes seem to injure themselves in the electoral arena by choosing unpopular leaders. It underscores the importance of electoral systems in understanding the dynamics of intra-party politics and the feasibility of different electoral strategies. In addition, intra-party policy conflict influences election outcomes. Moreover, it highlights how, paradoxically, large parties that prioritize their parties' electoral welfare sometimes sacrifice voter representation in order to mobilize party activists.
Selecting women candidates: obstacles to the feminisation of the House of Commons
Abstract. Despite concern by the major British political parties to increase the number of women at Westminster, progress has been slow, yielding only just over 5 per cent of women MPs. This article presents the results of an investigation of party selection procedures designed to determine whether selection practices were themselves the explanation for the poor showing of women. The study consisted of interviews with party officials and a survey of the candidates in the 1987 General Election. It was found that selection procedures were in a process of change which included efforts by central leaderships to promote women's candidacies. But local selectorates were not always cooperative. Although women did not appear to be selected in the proportions in which they were coming forward, no evidence of direct discrimination against aspirant women candidates was found. But indirect discrimination may have taken place. Both the way in which the role of a candidate is defined and the qualities selectorates seek produce ideal candidate profiles which may penalise many women. The article concludes that if women are to be better represented at Westminster, parties must go beyond procedural change and the introduction of positive action to a reconsideration of the criteria for choosing candidates.