British politics has experienced unprecedented change in recent years. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition that emerged from the 2010 general election represented a marked departure from the single-party majorities Britain is accustomed to. And in the wake of the global economic crisis, the country now faces a new era of austerity. Cuts in public spending, together with the coalition's plans for a radical overhaul of public services, are likely to have profound political and social implications. For over 25 years, Developments in British Politics volumes have established an unrivalled reputation for accessible state-of-the-art coverage incorporating the latest research. Developments in British Politics 9 continues that tradition but with an entirely new set of specially commissioned chapters in which expert authors provide systematic and wide-ranging analysis of key trends, issues and debates.

Author Biography

RICHARD HEFFERNAN Reader in Government, The Open University, UK. PHILIP COWLEY Professor of Parliamentary Government, University of Nottingham, UK. COLIN HAY Professor of Political Analysis, University of Sheffield, UK.