ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses voting behaviour in general up to 2017 but the crucial ‘Brexit’ election of 2019 deserves a chapter of its own. Voters have to be citizens of the United Kingdom (UK), the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland; British citizens who have lived abroad for up to 20 years may vote. Traditionally, the British electoral system has been perceived as simple ‘first past the post’ (FPTP). Voters choose from party lists in multi-member constituencies with the percentages gained by each party determining their share of the available seats. This is the system used for the elections to the European Parliament. The FPTP system as practised in the UK tends to encourage parties which seek to maximise their appeal by offering a wide spectrum of ideas to win the ‘centre ground’. Voters cast their votes to a large extent on the basis of how they have been brought up and the way they have come to earn their living.
