On the Change in British Political Culture in Neo-Liberal Period

In the present study, the purpose was to show the change in British political culture during the neo-liberal period. In this study, which was conducted for this purpose, historical and descriptive research methods were used. The conceptual definition, elements, framework and qualities of political culture were first addressed in the study. Then, information was given about the dimensions of political culture and the types of political cultures with studies detected in the literature. Also, the history and constitutional order of the United Kingdom was briefly addressed, and the change in British political culture was examined in the neo-liberal period. In this context, the place of British political culture in political culture typologies, and the descriptive characteristics of the literature review were also discussed. Finally, the change in British political culture was also addressed through different parameters in neo-liberal period. It was also concluded at the end of the study that the prominent qualities of British political culture changed drastically in neo-liberal period. It was especially found that there was a significant decrease in the basic parameters of political participation, such as membership in political parties and the participation levels in elections. Also, in the United Kingdom, where the tendency of class voting changed, the gap between political parties blurred, and related to this, the connection between the electorate and the party weakened, and political alienation increased. It was also understood that the variability in voter preferences increased the inter-party voting transition. In the country where the dynamics and customary practices, which maintained the class-society structure, it was seen that old problems such as the Northern Ireland problem and the issue of financing elections were faced. Finally, it was also concluded that long-established cultural and urban values differentiated in the country where the “Traditional Opposition” of European integration was maintained.

Keywords

Political Science, United Kingdom, British political culture, Neo-liberalism, welfare state