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The Shadow Cabinet in Westminster Systems: Modeling Opposition Agenda Setting in the House of Commons, 1832–1915

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  • Eggers, Andrew C.
  • Spirling, Arthur

Abstract

This article considers the emergence of an informal institution vital to the functioning of Westminster polities: that the Shadow Cabinet is a ‘government in waiting’. It compares the evidence for two theoretical accounts of its timing: a ‘procedural’ theory wherein the Shadow Cabinet is a solution to internal organizational issues in the House of Commons prior to widespread working-class voting, and a ‘competition’ theory that predicts that suffrage extension acts as a key stimulus for Shadow Cabinet organization. Gathering a dataset of almost a million utterances in parliament between the First and Fourth Reform Acts, the study provides a novel method of identifying Shadow Cabinet members using the surges in term use from their speeches. It finds that the ‘competition’ hypothesis is the most plausible version of events, and that the opposition responded to the new ‘party-orientated electorate’ by strategically reorganizing in a way that mimicked the cabinet’s structure.

Suggested Citation

  • Eggers, Andrew C. & Spirling, Arthur, 2018. "The Shadow Cabinet in Westminster Systems: Modeling Opposition Agenda Setting in the House of Commons, 1832–1915," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(2), pages 343-367, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:bjposi:v:48:y:2018:i:02:p:343-367_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Toke Aidt & Felix Grey & Alexandru Savu, 2021. "The Meaningful Votes: Voting on Brexit in the British House of Commons," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 186(3), pages 587-617, March.
    2. Aidt, T. S & Grey, F. & Savu, A., 2019. "The Three Meaningful Votes: Voting on Brexit in the British House of Commons," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1979, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    3. Antonio Saravia & Clara Mengolini & Robi Ragan, 2021. "Socialist Indoctrination in School Textbooks: The Case of “Colección Bicentenario” in Venezuela," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 36(Spring 20), pages 79-104.

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