Trade Union Campaigning in the British General Election, 2001

UKDA study number:4692

Principal Investigator

Ludlam, S.G.P.
University of Sheffield. Department of Politics

Sponsor

Economic and Social Research Council

Distributed by

UK Data Archive, University of Essex, Colchester.

October 2003

Bibliographic Citation

All works which use or refer to these materials should acknowledge these sources by means of bibliographic citation. To ensure that such source attributions are captured for bibliographic indexes, citations must appear in footnotes or in the reference section of publications. The bibliographic citation for this data collection is:

Ludlam, S.G.P., Trade Union Campaigning in the British General Election, 2001 [computer file]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive [distributor], October 2003. SN: 4692, http://dx.doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-4692-1

Acknowledgement

Any publication, whether printed, electronic or broadcast, based wholly or in part on these materials, should acknowledge the original data creators, depositors or copyright holders, the funders of the Data Collections (if different) and the UK Data Archive, and to acknowledge Crown Copyright where appropriate.
Any publication, whether printed, electronic or broadcast, based wholly or in part on these materials should carry a statement that the original data creators, depositors or copyright holders, the funders of the Data Collections (if different) and the UK Data Archive bear no responsibility for their further analysis or interpretation.

Copyright:
University of Sheffield

Disclaimer

Although all efforts are made to ensure the quality of the materials, neither the original data creators, depositors or copyright holders, the funders of the Data Collections, nor the UK Data Archive bear any responsibility for the accuracy or comprehensiveness of these materials.

All rights reserved. No part of these materials may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the UK Data Archive.

UK Data Archive
University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park
Colchester
Essex C04 3SQ
United Kingdom
www.data-archive.ac.uk

4692 . Trade Union Campaigning in the British General Election, 2001

Depositor:

Ludlam, S.G.P. , University of Sheffield. Department of Politics

Principal Investigator:

Ludlam, S.G.P. , University of Sheffield. Department of Politics

Sponsor:

Economic and Social Research Council
Grant Number: R000223495

Other Acknowledgements:

Dr Andrew J. Taylor, University of Sheffield
Dr Paul Allender, University of Sheffield
Janet Allaker, University of Sheffield
Beverley Bishop
Natascha Engel, National Trade Union and Labour Party Liaison Organisation
Jennifer Gunn, National Trade Union and Labour Party Liaison Organisation

Abstract:

The aims of the study were: to conduct a multi-level investigation of the campaigning activities of British trade unions at the 2001 General Election; to analyse the impact that the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (2000) and that changes in the union-Labour Party link have had on union campaigning activity; and to create a baseline study for analysis of trade union campaigning in future general and other elections in the UK.
To fulfil these aims, a number of objectives were pursued including:

investigating the campaign activities of Trades Union Congress, the 13 unions with more than 150,000 members, the Trade Union Labour Party Liaison Organisation, and any unions registering as 'recognised third parties' under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act;

deploying the distinction between persuasive and mobilising campaigning, and the list of seven basic constituency campaign activities, elaborated by Denver and Hands in their studies of constituency campaigning in 1992 and 1997 (held at the UK Data Archive (UKDA) as SN 3587 'Constituency Campaigning in the 1992 Election', and SN 3922 'Constituency Campaigning in the 1997 Election');

distinguishing between different objectives of union campaigning (e.g. policy lobbying, increasing member/voter support for Labour) and different methods of campaigning (e.g. advertising, internal campaign material distribution, allocating staff to constituency campaigns).

The study was carried out using a variety of mixed methods, by collecting campaign materials, conducting qualitative interviews with national, regional and constituency officers, conducting a quantitative postal survey of trade union constituency co-ordinators, and using election data from the 2001 Election.

Main Topics:

This study is in two parts:
Firstly, results of a postal survey of Trade Union Constituency Co-ordinators recognised by the National Trade Union and Labour Party Liaison Organisation in the British General Election of 2001. The quantitative dataset contains 86 cases (51% response rate) and 113 variables covering the background and status of the co-ordinators, their experience and training, preparation for and evaluation of trade union participation in the election campaign on behalf of the Labour Party. Likert-type scales were used to measure respondents' attitudes on a number of issues.
Secondly, the anonymised transcripts of 53 recorded, semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted with national, regional and constituency-level trade union (and some Labour Party) officers before and after the 2001 British General Election. Of the 53 interviews, 45 were conducted face-to-face, and the remaining 8 by telephone. The interview transcripts cover the purposes and methods of trade union campaigning. A further 24 interviews were conducted off-the-record.

Coverage:

Time Period Covered: June 2000 - June 2001
Dates of Fieldwork: 8 March 2001 to 8 November 2001: Semi-structured qualitative interviews
July 2001 to August 2001: Postal survey
Country: Great Britain
Spatial Units: Parliamentary Constituencies
Observation Units: Individuals
Kind of Data: Textual data; Numeric data; Individual (micro) level

Universe Sampled:

Location of Units of Observation: National
Population: Postal survey: Trade Union Constituency Co-ordinators recognised by the National Trade Union and Labour Party Liaison Organisation in the British General Election of 2001.
Interviews: the subject organisations include 15 national trade union organisations including some not affiliated to the Labour Party; regional officials responsible for the Labour campaign; and Trade Union Constituency Co-ordinators appointed by the National Trade Union and Labour Party Liaison Organisation.

Methodology:

Time Dimensions: Postal survey: Cross-sectional (one time) study; Semi-structured qualitative interviews: Repeated cross-sectional study
Sampling Procedures: 100% sample: Postal survey; Purposive selection/case studies: Semi-structured qualitative interviews
Number of Units: (A) 169 (target) 86 (obtained) Postal survey; (B) 53 (obtained) Semi-structured qualitative interviews
Method of Data Collection: Face-to-face interview; Telephone interview; Postal survey
Weighting: No weighting used

Language(s) of Written Materials:

Study Description: English

Access:

Access Conditions: The depositor has specified that registration is required and standard conditions of use apply. The depositor may be informed about usage. See terms and conditions for further information.

In addition, ESDS is required to request permission from the depositor prior to supplying the data.
Availability: ESDS Qualidata, UK Data Archive
Contact: Help desk: qualidata@esds.ac.uk

Date of First Release:

16 October 2003

Copyright:

University of Sheffield

File last updated:

4 January 2012