What is the effect of electoral uncertainty on mandate fulfilment and responsiveness? This paper studies political parties’ policy congruence in terms of the relationship between their parliamentary voting behaviour, their pre-electoral manifesto (mandate) and public opinion as expressed in newspaper coverage (responsiveness). The expectation is that congruence in terms of mandate or responsiveness depends on electoral uncertainty, as measured by the party’s performance in recent opinion polls. Parties that are uncertain about their chances for re-election are expected to be more responsive and less attentive to their mandate. The paper focuses on recent elections in Ireland and the UK, two diverse cases with respect to the electoral system used as well as the extent to which policy plays an important role in the relationship between voters and politicians.
