Cover 9781849547550

Shortlisted for the Practical Politics Book of the Year at The Paddy Power Political Book Awards 2015

Have you ever wondered...

… what emotions really influence where your cross goes on the ballot paper?

… whether people are claiming to vote when they haven’t?

… which party’s supporters are the kinkiest in bed?

In the run-up to the most hotly contested and unpredictable election in a generation, this exhilarating read injects some life back into the world of British electoral politics. Sex, Lies & the Ballot Box sheds light on some of our more unusual voting trends, ranging from why people lie about voting to how being attractive can get you elected.

Each of the fifty accessible and concise chapters, written by leading political experts, seeks to examine the broader issues surrounding voting and elections in Britain. It is not just about sexual secrets and skewed surveys: it illustrates the importance of women and ethnic minorities; explains why parties knock on your door (and why they don’t); and shows how partisanship colours your views of everything, even pets.

This fascinating volume covers everything you need to know (and the things you never thought you needed to know) about the bedroom habits, political untruths and voting nuances behind the upcoming election.

Foreword by Daniel Finkelstein

 

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Reviews

No political home’s Christmas tree should be without a copy neatly wrapped and waiting beneath it.

Progress

Independent: Politics Books of 2014
Finally, the one book you need before the election. This is a wonderfully eclectic collection of academic research translated into normal English. I can pay no higher tribute to it than to say that someone I know supported votes at 16 until he read the short chapter on the subject. This book may not change your life but it may change your mind.

The Independent

This book is such an utterly brilliant idea it is ridiculous that no one has thought of it before. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

John Rentoul

Smart, funny and illuminating in ways you could never dream of.

Emily Maitlis

[A] wonderful book of political well-I-nevers.

The Independent

For years I’ve toyed with writing a Freakonomics-style book that translates what political academics know… Philip Cowley and Robert Ford have beaten me to it… Worse, they and the many authors of Sex, Lies and the Ballot Box have done a good job of it. The book’s 51 chapters are very wide-ranging, and full of great nuggets of information.

Peter Cuthbertson, Conservative Home

The political book that everybody’s talking about.

Mike Smithson, politicalbetting.com

Sex, Lies and The Ballot Box is a revelation, a paperback with an eye-catching title and essays by 51 political scientists. Each essay is no more than 1,000 words, tells a story relevant to today’s political uncertainties and is in plain English. In an age of evidence-free political punditry, this book is a superb antidote and is eminently quotable.

The Times

Sex, Lies & the Ballot Box is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking.

The Independent on Sunday

Sex, Lies & The Ballot Box is a terrific book. Academic writing about politics is often virtually incomprehensible . but Philip Cowley and Robert Ford, the editors, have persuaded dozens of leading academics to present their findings clearly and concisely, in short essays. Anyone interested in voting and elections would find it enlightening. If I could make it compulsory reading for people who follow my blog, I would (although we're a liberal organisation, and so making anything compulsory would not be very Guardian.)

Guardian Blog

This knits academic research with accessible and thought-provoking questions. If you love elections you’ll be hooked.

Mail on Sunday

‘I can pay no higher tribute to it than to say that someone I know supported votes at 16 until he read the short chapter on the subject. This book may not change your life but it may change your mind.’

The Independent

‘A must for every political anorak.’

Keith Simpson

Freakonomics for political junkies. The perfect book for anyone with even a passing interest in politics.

Daily Express

If you want to know why people lie about voting, when racism stopped being normal, and whether attractive candidates get more votes then this is most definitely the book for you.

Lib Dem Voice

It is possible to gain a firmer grasp of the manifold peculiarities that pervade UK elections. I can recommend no better way of doing so than to read Sex, Lies & The Ballot Box.

 
Democratic Audit UK
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  • eBook
  • ISBN: 9781849548250
  • 28 October 2014
  • £10.99

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