Party environments shape the way that we, as citizens, think about politics

The UK’s two-party system is in steep decline, with the number of voters opting to back either Labour or the Conservatives dwindling, and parties such as UKIP, the SNP, and the Greens threatening to alter Britain’s electoral architecture. But how do party environments shape the way we think about politics? April A. Johnson argues that when the public are ambivalent about the parties which dominate political debate, it can have unpredictable and often conflicting effects on political engagement more widely.