Women Candidates and Party Practice in the UK: Evidence from the 2009 European Elections

摘要

Existing comparative research suggests that women candidates have better opportunities for electoral success when standing in (i) second-order elections and (ii) proportional representation elections—the 2009 European Elections provide an example of both criteria. This paper examines the 2009 results to build upon earlier work on the 1999 and 2004 elections by considering (i) regional patterns across parties, with reference to any strategies to improve women's representation, (ii) incumbency effects and (iii) effects of changes in seat shares across parties.