Political Communication in Britain The Leader's Debates, the Campaign and the Media in the 2010 General Election

The 2010 General Election represented a pathbreaking contest in Political Communication. The TV debates changed forever the feel of the campaign. This book brings together key commentators, analysts and polling experts to present readers with a unique and valuable insight into the development of political communication in British Politics.

Introduction; D.Wring PART I: DEBATES What Took So Long? The late arrival of TV election debates in the UK; R.Bailey The Election Debates from Sky News' Perspective; A.Boulton & T. D. C. Roberts Media Coverage of the Prime Ministerial Debates; S.Coleman, F.Steibel & J.G.Blumler The polls, the media and voters: the leader debates; A.Hawkins & C.Laws PART II: POLLING Were they Wrong about the LibDems All Along?; S.Atkinson & R.Mortimore Polling Voting Intentions; P.Kellner, J.Twyman & A.Wells PART III: VOTERS The Campaign as Experienced by the Voters in the Battleground Seats; R.Mortimore, H.Cleary & T.Mludzinski Public Confidence in Elections; J.Watson PART IV: PARTIES The Conservative Campaign; A.Wilson The Labour Campaign; N.Cook The Liberal Democrat Campaign; Lord C.Rennard PART V: CAMPAIGNING This election will be won by people not posters'… Posters and the 2010 General Election; C.Burgess Constituency Campaigning in 2010; J.Fisher, D.Cutts & E.Fieldhouse Below the Radar? Online campaigning at the Local Level; R.Southern & S.Ward PART VI: MEDIA Playing by the Rules: the 2009 MPs Expenses Scandal; J.Hudson The Transformation of Campaign Reporting: the 2010 UK General Election, revolution or evolution?; I.Gaber Reporting the 2010 General Election: Old Media, New Media - Old Politics, New Politics; D.Deacon & D.Wring Genre and the mediation of election politics; K. Richardson, K. Parry & J. Corner Conclusion; R.Mortimore & S.Atkinson

RIC BAILEY Chief Political Advisor, BBC ADAM BOULTON Sky Presenter of the second Prime Ministerial Debate JAY G BLUMLER Emeritus Professor of Public Communication, University of Leeds, UK CHRIS BURGESS Postgraduate Research Student, University of Nottingham, UK STEPHEN COLEMAN Professor of Political Communication and Director of Research, Institute of Communication Studies, University of Leeds, UK NICK COOK Labour Party HELEN COOMBS Deputy Head of Political Research, Ipsos MORI JOHN CORNER Researcher on the AHRC-funded project, 'Media Genre and Political Culture', University of Liverpool, UK DAVID CUTTS Research Fellow, University of Manchester, UK DAVID DEACON Professor of Communication and Media Analysis Loughborough University, UK EDWARD FIELDHOUSE Director of the Institute for Social Change, University of Manchester, UK JUSTIN FISHER Professor of Political Science, Brunel University, London, UK IVOR GABER Professor of Political Campaigning, City University, London, UK PETER GOLDING Northumbria University, UK ANDREW HAWKINS Chairman, ComRes PETER KELLNER Chair, YouGov TOMASZ MLUDZINSKI Research Executive, Ipsos MORI KATY PARRY Researcher on the AHRC-funded project, 'Media Genre and Political Culture', University of Liverpool, UK LORD CHRIS RENNARD Liberal Democrat Party KAY RICHARDSON Researcher on the AHRC-funded project, 'Media Genre and Political Culture', University of Liverpool, UK TOM D. C. ROBERTS Macquarie University, Australia ROSALYND SOUTHERN PhD Student, University of Manchester, UK JAMES STANYER Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication Studies, Loughborough University, UK FABRO STEIBEL Research and Teaching Assistant, Institute of Communication Studies, University of Leeds, UK JOE TWYMAN Director of Political Research, YouGov JENNIFER VAN HEERDE-HUDSON Lecturer in Research Methods, University College London, UK STEPHEN WARD Reader in Politics, University of Salford, UK JENNY WATSON Chair, Electoral Commission ALEX WILSON, Conservative Party