The first part of the book has sought to explain the separate stages in the selection process in British parties, analysing the role of the key players, and describing the procedural rules and dominant ethos which govern political recruitment. We may now turn to explaining the outcome, particularly the familiar and long-standing social bias evident in most legislatures. The aims of this chapter are threefold: first, to outline briefly the major trends in the social background of the political elite, particularly changes in their occupational class, education, gender, and race; secondly, to set out the conceptual basis of the ‘supply and demand’ model, mentioned earlier, including how it can be operationalised; and thirdly, to examine whether supply or demand factors provide the most plausible explanation of the social bias. For the moment we reserve the question of whether the social bias matters – whether it has any consequences for the legislative behaviour, political attitudes, or policy priorities of members of parliament – until the last chapters.

Trends in the social bias of parliament

Observers of political elites have commonly noted that MPs tend to be drawn from the better educated and more affluent sectors of society, with few women or racial minorities. It is often claimed that as a result parliament remains ‘unrepresentative’, even if members are returned in accordance with the principles of fair and democratic elections. What does this claim mean?