U.K. Political Parties and the Internet

Abstract

This article reports the results of a study that examined the effects of U.K. political parties' use of the Internet on intraparty democracy and interparty competition. Using party official questionnaire data and content analysis of party Web sites, the study explored the extent to which parties are using the World Wide Web (WWW) and email to promote their members' views and examined whether the Internet provides minor parties with more equal access to the electorate compared with the traditional media. The findings indicate that parties do recognize the Internet's potential for increasing internal party debate; however, it is used primarily as a tool for downward information dissemination. In terms of interparty competition, minor parties are leveling the communications field in the quality of their WWW sites, although limited Internet use by the electorate prevents the medium from being exploited to its fullest extent.