Search

This paper considers the impact of Europe on the internal cohesion of the major British political parties, through its capacity to affect their issue profiles. It recounts the irruption of the European issue onto the agenda of British politics at various times in the recent history of the country, noting how this is reflected in the manifesto statements of the major parties. More particularly, it focuses on the impact of Europe on the attitudinal cohesion of the parties, making use of cluster analysis of survey data of parliamentarians in order to show how the parties - and especially the Conservatives - seem to have absorbed this issue and thus staved off the threat of internal fragmentation. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]