Co-production and co-consumption: Perspectives on immigration through a discourse analysis of voters' blogs in the 2010 General Election

Abstract

The issue of immigration proved to be a crucially important flashpoint for all three parties in the 2010 British General Election. In this paper, we focus on a citizen-centred perspective on the 2010 British General Election by analysing the views of the electorate on this pivotal issue in the as blogosphere. Using thematic and discursive analysis, we examine how voters articulate their opinions and concerns on immigration in the blogosphere and how these discursive practices can be studied to enrich political market research. The findings show that a complex issue such as immigration is a dynamic expression of, and between, multiple, competing, contradictory discourses, and interests. As such, the blogosphere provides an invaluable tool for in-depth political market research because it can contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the co-production and co-consumption of current affairs.