Are Independent Councillors Really Conservatives in Disguise?
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Date
2013-10-09Abstract
A feature of English local political folk-lore is the belief among national political parties, that Independent councillors are Conservatives in disguise. Yet, little evidence is given to support this idea because little is known about these councillors’ beliefs and assumptions or how they distinguish themselves from the party politics they eschew. In this paper we address the question: Are all Independent councillors really Conservatives? The paper answers the question by reporting the finings of research conducted among Independent and Conservative councillors in England to explore the complex, multi-dimensional and fluid world that is Independent politics.
Description
The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.
Citation : Copus, C., and M.Wingfield (2014) Are Independent Councillors Really Conservatives in Disguise? Local Government Studies, 40 (5), pp. 647-669
ISSN : 0300-3930
Research Group : Local Governance Research Unit
Research Institute : Local Governance Research Centre (LGRC)
Peer Reviewed : Yes