Second-Class Representatives? Mixed-Member Proportional Representation in Britain

This article compares the constituency roles of the members of the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales to their counterparts in two German federal states using postal survey data and interviews. Representatives elected in single-member constituencies spend more time than their list-elected counterparts on constituency service, believing it to be important to their re-election effort, while list-elected representatives focus more strongly on interest groups. Competition between constituency and list representatives in Britain has caused more problems than in Germany. The results suggest that rational-choice considerations motivate the behaviour of politicians, and that the mixed-member electoral system contributes to role differentiation.