New media and candidate independence: Conversations with parliamentary candidates in Japan and the United Kingdom

The paper contains analysis and excerpts from interviews held with parliamentary candidates from countries with two very different traditions of campaigning, the United Kingdom and Japan. As well as providing an in depth analysis of how candidates are using new media during election campaigns, the role of the national party in their campaign strategies and the lessons learned from using new media in the most recent elections in both countries, this study primarily focuses on how online platforms are being used to facilitate greater candidate independence from the national party through online campaigning. Interviews show that there is a clear difference in the way in which candidates from both countries use new media, but that this is also influenced by other factors especially the strength of the party they represent.