Professor Charles Pattie

My main research focuses on elections, voting and political behaviour. There are three main strands of work within this:

1. Contextual effects and voting. Most electoral research implicitly treats voters as isolated individuals. But we all live in complex social networks and environments, which can influence our political views and decisions. Work in this strand looks at the influence of context on voter's behaviour and attitudes. How are voters influenced by what goes on around them? We have looked at (for instance) the effect of: local political contexts; local economic contexts; and the views and opinions of voters' friends and relations.

2. Election campaigning. Election campaigns are fought not only nationally but also locally, in individual constituencies and electoral districts. Our research has shown that these local battles do matter and can affect the overall outcome of an election. Parties increasingly target their efforts on key seats and on key voters within those seats, looking to mobilise supporters rather than persuade the otherwise unconvinced.

3. Electoral systems. Elections are not simply 'about' amassing more votes. The operation of the electoral system can have a material effect on the actual outcome. We look in particular at two aspects of electoral systems: i) the extent to which the electoral system is systematically biased in favour of some parties and against others; and ii) the politics of electoral redistricting - the process by which constituency and electoral district boundaries are periodically redrawn to adapt to population change.