A CHANGING POLITICAL AGENDA? THE STRUCTURE OF POLITICAL ATTITUDES IN BRITAIN, 1974-87

The 1970s and 1980s have been a period of flux in Western partysystems, with two apparent indicators being the success of rightwingparties and the growth of New Politics issues within electorates.Two theories have been utilized to explain these changes. Thefirst is that they are caused by shifts in popular opinion,which are reflected in elite behavior, while the second arguesthat they are the result of political elites acting indepndentlyof mass opinion. In this paper, we test these two theories usingBritain between 1974 and 1987 as a case study. Using comparablequestions from four national surveys, we find that mass politicalattitudes have changed very little over the period, althoughthere is more change evident on economic than on noneconomicissues. No support is forthcoming for the propositions thatthe British electorate is becoming more conservative or thatNew Politics issues are becoming more important. Overall, itappears that the British party political elite has moved furtherapart than has the electorate. In short, political change inBritain in the 1970s and 1980s is more elite-influenced thanmass-influenced.