ABSTRACT
This article examines how the issue of sleaze affected the electoral performance of the Conservative Party. First, the next section sets out the context of sleaze as an issue leading up to and during the 1997 campaign. Second, focusing on two key aspects of sleaze - money (a combination of points 1 and 2 in the Dunleavy/Weir list) and sex (point 7) - we identify 24 Tory candidates whose election prospects could be said to have been affected by sleaze. I We test whether in fact this was the case, utilizing data on the characteristics of the constituencies produced by Colin RaIlings and Michael Thrasher. Then we make use ofBBC-NOP exit poll data to assess the indirect effects of sleaze on Conservative support more generally.
