British Election Study celebrates 60th anniversary

The British Election Study – of which DPIR Professors Jane Green and Geoffrey Evans are Co-Directors – is celebrating its 60th Anniversary next month.

The British Election Study (BES) is managed by a partnership between the University of Oxford’s Nuffield College and the University of Manchester and is one of the longest running election studies worldwide and the longest running social science survey in the UK. 

It has made a major contribution to the understanding of political attitudes and behaviour over nearly sixty years. Surveys have taken place immediately after every general election since 1964.

The BES will be marking the occasion with an Anniversary Lecture and Drinks Reception at the British Academy in London at 6pm on Monday 9 September, to be hosted by Anushka Asthana, Deputy Political Editor, ITV News.

The lecture will be given by Professor Edward Fieldhouse (University of Manchester) and is titled ‘Realignment? Election 24 and the shadow of Brexit. Lessons from 60 years of the British Election Study’.

Drawing on all 60 years of BES data, the lecture will analyse the Brexit realignment in that context and provide new insights into the 2024 general election.

Professor Green said: 

The 2024 general election was record-breaking; the most fragmented, disproportionate and – almost certainly – the most volatile. Understanding exceptional elections is only possible if you can analyse them in the context of over-time comparison, and this is what the British Election Study, over 60 years, makes possible. 

It has been a privilege to help lead the British Election Study for over ten years now, and it will be great to celebrate that time, and all the contributions of the BES, at the anniversary event on September 9th. It is sure to be a fascinating lecture and really celebratory occasion.”

Entry to the event is free but those wishing to attend need to book via the online booking form for the Anniversary Lecture and Drinks Reception.