The Almanac of British Politics

The Almanac of British Politics is a reference work which aims to provide a detailed look at the politics of the United Kingdom (UK) through an approach of profiling the social, economic and historical characteristics of each parliamentary constituency (district) and of their individual representative Member of Parliament (MP).

The Almanac is broken down alphabetically by constituency, with additional material offering regional surveys of the previous election, statistical data about the seats such as those with the highest working-class population or the fewest number of students, the youngest and oldest and longest serving MPs.

It is particularly concerned to offer a guide to the likely political characteristics of the new seats created by the regular boundary changes or redistricting of constituencies (such as in 1983, 1997, 2005 in Scotland only, and forthcoming in the UK general election which must take place in late 2009 or 2010)

The idea of the Almanac was initiated by Robert Waller, a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford University, in 1983, acknowledging its debt to The Almanac of American Politics, co-authored by Michael Barone and others since 1972 (also still in regular publication). Since the fifth edition (1996) Waller has been joined by a co-author responsible for profiles of MP by Byron Criddle, Reader in politics at Aberdeen University. Each edition is rewritten to reflect changing election results and prospects.

The 8th and latest edition of the Almanac, published in 2007 is 1,081 pages long. Despite its bulk, the book is known also as a guide to the nature of the United Kingdom in a broader sense than the merely political, and also for Byron Criddle’s sometimes controversial and acerbic pen-portraits of politicians. According to the cover blurb of the 7th edition (2002), the broadcaster Jeremy Paxman described it as ‘a fountain of arcana and attitude’.

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