The disruption of the British party system: A guide to the next general election by Richard Rose COMING 9 JUNE

Manchester University Press
Paperack
9 June 2026

The 2024 general election has disrupted the traditional view that Britain has a two-party system. Six parties with differing appeals– Labour, the Conservatives, Reform, Liberal Democrats, Greens and Nationalists– now compete for votes, MPs and control of government. Last July Labour won a landslide majority with the lowest share of the vote in British electoral history and the Conservatives lost with the lowest vote in their history. The support that Labour is now losing in the polls is not swinging to the Tories but to so-called “third” parties such as Reform and the Greens. This book will show how the increasing detachment of voters from the two governing parties is placing party leaders under stress as “third” parties are collectively winning the most support. This leaves open whether the next election will produce a majority government or a new system of minority or coalition government. -- .