Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This book contends that the changing structure of voter preferences in recent decades has provided liberal parties with the potential to gain considerable electoral support by combining economically free-market and culturally cosmopolitan policy positions. This positioning not only fits well with the ideological values held by a growing number of voters but would effectively distinguish the liberal family from its major competitors. However, while many liberal parties (termed ‘social liberals’) occupy such ‘market cosmopolitan’ positions, this has not resulted in an increase in their popular support. Rather, market cosmopolitan voters support more ideologically distant alternatives, despite such behaviour running counter to the expectation that voters will favour parties that share their positioning. The spatial voting analyses employed in the book indicate that this apparent defiance of a spatial logic of voting can be put down to two key factors. Firstly, social liberals’ attempts to win support tend to be hampered by poor ‘valence’ images, relating to these parties’ perceived lack of governing competence and ideological clarity. Secondly, market cosmopolitan voters themselves have developed strong affective ties to other parties and ideological identities, ties which have endured as a result of these voters’ favourable socio-economic circumstances. While these factors have tended to undermine liberal parties’ chances of making significant electoral gains, however, the book concludes by noting that the potential remains for social liberals to systematically increase their vote shares through demographic change and the eventual weakening of market cosmopolitans’ pre-existing party and ideological loyalties.</jats:p>