Poaching the personal vote: How shadowing behaviour shapes constituent impressions

ABSTRACT There are well-documented tensions between regional and constituency members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Much of this friction stems from regional MSPs competing over constituency casework through shadowing. Although these so-called dual-mandate MSPs clearly see value in pursuing a personal vote, little is known about whether these efforts affect the perceptions of constituents. This article presents a survey of Scottish respondents to show that dual-mandate MSPs are better known and enjoy higher levels of approval than regional members who did not contest a constituency seat in the last election. We find dual-mandate MSPs enjoy similar levels of regard as constituency MSPs. Moreover, these advantages accrue even among constituents who do not share their MSP's partisan affiliation. We conclude by considering the normative impact of shadowing, which may generate unanticipated representational consequences for citizens difficult to remedy in a unicameral legislature.