British Election Study

The British Election Study is the longest running social science survey in the UK, and was founded in 1964 at Nuffield College by Sir David Butler. We are host - through the Nuffield Elections Unit - to BES Co-Directors Jane Green and Geoff Evans, BES postdoctoral researcher Rose De Geus, and BES Research Associate at Oxford, Dan Snow.

Together we research British electoral behaviour using the BES and help in the running of the study, together with Edward Fieldhouse, Jon Mellon and postdoctoral researcher Jack Bailey (University of Manchester) and Christopher Prosser (Royal Holloway, London). 

We have co-lead the BES project since 2013, conducting research into the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, the 2015 general election, the 2016 EU referendum, and the 2017 and 2019 general elections. 

Our book, ‘Electoral Shocks: Understanding the Volatile Voter in a Turbulent World’ was published by Oxford University Press in 2019. We are now working on a new book, ‘Electoral Realignment: How Brexit Re-Shaped British Elections’, which is under contract with Oxford University Press.