Patrick Seyd has lived and taught in Sheffield since 1970. He is the co-author, with Paul Whiteley, of Labour's Grass Roots (OUP, 1992) which sold over 2,000 copies. Paul Whiteley has previously taught at the University of Arizona and the University of Bristol. Jeremy Richardson is the editor of Pressure Groups (1993) which is a volume in Oxford Readings in Politics and Government,and co-author, with Sonia Mazey, of Lobbying in the European Community (OUP, 1993).

"A rigorous and pathbreaking study...."--The Economist

From reviews of Labour's Grass Roots:"The material from the author's specially mounted representative survey of activists is clearly and crisply presented in a fashion which all students of politics will find readily accessible...The book as a whole is thouht-provoking and germane to many of the debates currently being conducted within the Labour Party, and we should, indeed, look forward to a companion text on the Conservative Party."--Parliamentary Affairs

"Their material is unique and their methodology impeccable...The authors have shone a torch into one of the least-explored areas of British politics."--The Economist

"The whole report is well structured and clearly written...informative in providing new and relevant information in a descriptive way."--ESRC Data Archive Bulletin