Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Abstract: This paper seeks to unify and extend several lines of recent scholarship through a study of the 2001 British election. In doing so, it proposes and tests four hypotheses. First, preferences over British adoption of the Euro influence voting behavior, as predicted by the EU issue voting hypothesis. Second, economic voting is weaker among those who believe the national economy to be influenced more by Europe than by the British government. Third, abstention is higher among those who believe that the economy is influenced more by the EU than by the British government. Finally, those who see the EU having more influence over the British economy are more likely to vote on the basis of social policy. Analyses of data from the 2001 British Election Study find strong support for the first hypothesis, no support for the second, support for the third, and mixed evidence for the fourth. Taken together, these findings add to the evidence that economic integration influence domestic electoral politics in several important ways.