Politicians unleashed? Political communication on Twitter and in parliament in Western Europe

Abstract Twitter is a prominent communication tool for politicians with two potential uses: as “substitute” channel to circumvent constraints from other political arenas, or an “amplifier” that reinforces party messages. Using novel dataset containing tweets and parliamentary speeches by members of parliament (MPs) in seven countries, we estimate politicians’ positions intra-party dissent on European integration. We find MPs’ sentiment about Europe valid measure their party's position, while also uncovering disagreements. Our results suggest most MPs amplify the partisan message, but who participate less debate tend have larger differences Twitter. Social media thus can free grip.