ScholarLens Back to search
2016•Parliamentary AffairsRequires access

A Successful Defence: the 2016 National Assembly for Wales Election

Roger Scully, Jac Larner

Open publisher page 6 citations

Abstract

The fifth election to the Welsh Assembly was held in May 2016. This article first outlines the political background to the election, before going on to assess the content and conduct of the election campaign. The results are then examined in detail: these show that while Labour’s vote share fell considerably, it comfortably retained its position as the largest party in the Assembly. None of Labour’s traditional rivals made significant ground, while United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) replaced the Liberal Democrats as the fourth party in the Assembly. Welsh Election Study data is then used to model the main factors shaping patterns of party support in the election. Modelling of vote choice in Wales in 2016 points to the continuing importance relevance of factors associated with ‘valence politics’ models, in particular leadership. Finally, the conclusion assesses the implications of the election for the future of party politics in Wales.

About this research paper

What this paper is about

The fifth election to the Welsh Assembly was held in May 2016. This article first outlines the political background to the election, before going on to assess the content and conduct of the election campaign. The results are then examined in detail: these show that while Labour’s vote share fell considerably, it comfortably retained its position as the largest party in the Assembly. None of Labour’s traditional rivals made significant ground, while United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) replaced the Liberal Democrats as the fourth party in the Assembly. Welsh Election Study data is then used to model the main factors shaping patterns of party support in the election. Modelling of vote choice in Wales in 2016 points to the continuing importance relevance of factors associated with ‘valence politics’ models, in particular leadership. Finally, the conclusion assesses the implications of the election for the future of party politics in Wales.

Why it matters

OpenAlex reports 6 citations for this work. Citation counts describe recorded attention and do not establish research quality.

Key contribution

A contribution statement is not available in the OpenAlex record.

Method / approach

Method details are not available in the OpenAlex metadata.

Main findings

Findings are not separately available in the OpenAlex metadata.

Limitations

Limitations are not available in the OpenAlex metadata.

Applications

Application details are not available in the OpenAlex metadata.

Available abstract

The fifth election to the Welsh Assembly was held in May 2016. This article first outlines the political background to the election, before going on to assess the content and conduct of the election campaign. The results are then examined in detail: these show that while Labour’s vote share fell considerably, it comfortably retained its position as the largest party in the Assembly. None of Labour’s traditional rivals made significant ground, while United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) replaced the Liberal Democrats as the fourth party in the Assembly. Welsh Election Study data is then used to model the main factors shaping patterns of party support in the election. Modelling of vote choice in Wales in 2016 points to the continuing importance relevance of factors associated with ‘valence politics’ models, in particular leadership. Finally, the conclusion assesses the implications of the election for the future of party politics in Wales.

Key concepts: Welsh, General election, Primary election, Politics, Fell, National election, Political science, Independence (probability theory)

Related papers

Related paper 1Related paper 2Related paper 3
Back to paper searchBrowse research topicsOriginal source
A Successful Defence: the 2016 National Assembly for Wales Election — Research Paper | ScholarLens