Political Communications

DOMINIC WRING is Senior Lecturer in Communication and Media Studies at Loughborough University, UK. He is author of The Politics of Marketing the Labour Party (2005) and Associate Editor for Europe of the Journal of Political Marketing. JANE GREEN is Hallsworth Research Fellow in Politics at the University of Manchester, UK. ROGER MORTIMORE is Senior Political Analyst at Ipsos MORI. He is co-author of the Explaining Labour's Landslip (with Robert Worcester and Paul Baines, 2005) and Review Editor of the International Journal of Public Opinion Research

'This is the best volume in the Political Communications series which started with the 1979 general election. It stands out for its rich empirical material on all aspects of the 2005 election and the consistently high level of analysis. Splendid.' - Dennis Kavanagh, Professor of Politics, University of Liverpool, UK 'This is an important text that makes a distinctive contribution to analysis of the 2005 general election and upholds the high standards of comment and scholarship establishd by it six predecessors.' - Michael Cole, Political Studies Review

• Introduction: General Election Campaign Communication in Perspective; D.Wring PART I: PARTIES Labour's Political Strategy; P.Gould Conservative Party Strategy; G.Barwell Liberal Democrat Strategy: A New High Watermark for the Liberal Democrats; C.Rennard The Labour Campaign; G.Cook The Conservative Campaign; D.Canzini The Charles Kennedy Campaign; J.Rowley PART II: CAMPAIGNING Political Communication: Party Advertising in the General Election; J.van Heerde Constituency Campaigning: Ever More Centralization?; J.Fisher, D.Denver, E.Fieldhouse, D.Cutts & A.Russell The Internet and the UK Election; J.Downey & S.Davidson PART III: POLLING The Public and the Polls; R.Mortimore & S.Atkinson Poll Methodology, Weighting and Adjustment Systems; A.Cooper Internet versus Conventional Polls in the General Election; P.Kellner Challenges Facing the Pollsters Next Time; N.Sparrow PART IV: VOTERS Looking Through the Other End of the Microscope: How the Public Experienced the General Election Campaign; R.Worcester, R.Mortimore & P.Baines Viewer and Voters: Attitudes to Television Coverage of the General Election; V.Hyland Hearts or Minds? Leader Evaluations by Men and Women in the 2005 British General Election; K.Winters & R.Campbell PART V: BROADCASTING Reconnecting with the Viewers: Sky News' Election Coverage; A.Boulton Politics as Appearance and Reality Show: The Hermeneutics of Suspicion; M.Billig PRESS The 'Take a Break' Campaign? National Print Media Reporting of the Election; D.Deacon, D.Wring & P.Golding Amateurs or Adversaries? Local Journalists' Coverage of the UK Non-General Election; B.Franklin & S.Cushion PART VI: CONCLUSION 2005: A Non-General Election?; J.Green