[1] At the time of the book's publication, Boothroyd worked as a researcher with Parliamentary Monitoring Services.

The book was recommended by The School Librarian and Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, although the latter criticised it for not including bibliographical aids.

[1][2] Entries are organised alphabetically, and most descriptions of the political parties span a few paragraphs or pages.

[3][4] The book includes cross-references to enable the reader to easily locate political parties that have had changes over time.

[5] In the 2003 book The Times House of Commons Guide: 1929, 1931, 1935, Boothroyd is mentioned as the author of The History of British Political Parties and referred to as "an elections specialist".

[4] The book is used as a reference in the works Third Force Politics: Liberal Democrats at the Grassroots (2006) by Paul Whiteley, Patrick Seyd and Antony Billinghurst, published by Oxford University Press;[7] The Logic of Pre-Electoral Coalition Formation (2006) by Sona Nadenichek Golder, published by Ohio State University Press;[8] and in Posters, Propaganda, and Persuasion in Election Campaigns Around the World and Through History (2008) by Steven A.