London Mayoral Election Study, 2000

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The survey formed part of the Leverhulme Foundation's 'Nation and Regions' research programme. A major piece of constitutional reform of the 1997-2001 parliament was the establishment of newly devolved assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The 1997 Labour election manifesto also committed the government to a directly elected mayor and assembly for London. This was intended to be the forerunner of similar arrangements in other English regions. After narrowly winning the referendum, the first elections to the new institutions were held, using proportional representation, in May 2000. The survey was designed to answer several questions about the elections: how were the new institutions perceived? What were the major factors associated with turnout and vote choice - national level considerations and party identity, London issues, support for the new institutions, the personalities of the candidates, or London identity? How well were the new electoral systems understood, and did this affect turnout? A survey conducted by University College London on the re-run of the 2000 London Mayoral election is held at the UK Data Archive (UKDA) under SN 4419. A later survey by the same centre, covering the 2004 London Mayoral election (along with the London Assembly and London Region European Parliament elections held at the same time) is held under SN 5277.Main Topics:The questionnaire covers vote and party identity, a range of policy and institutional issues, London identity, and classificatory items