Public Service Deprivation and Political Discontent

• In Event: Democracy and Populism

Abstract

Governments play a crucial role in providing essential public services. Yet, our understanding of how public services shape political attitudes and behaviors in established democracies is limited. Given that public services are often the primary means through which citizens interact with the state, public service deprivation has the potential to create grievances that reduce trust in political institutions while increasing the appeal of populist parties and policy solutions. We examine this empirically in the British context, focusing on one the core aspects of public service provision in the UK -- the publicly-funded National Health Service (NHS), which is free to the public at the point of care. We argue that localized cuts in public services causes increased support for the radical right. A staggered difference-in-difference design using matched government administrative panel data on public service performance with fine-grained geo-spatial panel data on public preferences and voting intention provides support for our argument. Our findings illustrate the corrosive effects of public service deprivation, revealing decreased public trust and satisfaction with political institutions and increased support for radical right-wing populist parties.

Authors

• Zachary Dickson, London School of Economics

• Sara Hobolt, London School of Economics

• Catherine E. De Vries, Bocconi University

• Simone Cremaschi, Bocconi University