Tag: Labour Party
The internal democracy dilemma: Balancing MP and member preferences in leadership selection
The resignations and leadership challenges in the wake of the Brexit vote have reignited debates around intra-party democracy. Tom Quinn offers an overview of the selection processes in the four main UK-wide parties and outlines both the challenge and importance of balancing MP and membership approval. Similar PostsHow democratic are the UK’s political parties and party […]
Jeremy Corbyn cannot fulfil his constitutional role as Leader of the Opposition
The UK’s system of parliamentary government requires both a functioning government and a functioning opposition. Since the attempted “coup” against his leadership, Jeremy Corbyn seems to be unable to provide the latter. So, as Peter Harris argues here, he should resign so as to ensure that the UK’s political system can function once more. Similar […]
Open Letter to Jeremy Corbyn: Grassroots movements have a place, but they are not the key task of parliamentary opposition
As Labour gears up for another leadership contest, Anne Power makes an appeal to Jeremy Corbyn to stand down as leader of the opposition. She writes that although she respects him as a good local MP, his divisiveness in the PLP and weak performance during the Brexit campaign indicate he is unsuited to leading the […]
Labour’s century-old problem: Leadership performance
Party leadership requires rhetorical performance – but the Labour party has broader issues with leadership: it doesn’t understand it, writes John Gaffney. Those challenging Corbyn must therefore grapple with questions of what leadership entails, what the relationship(s) between leader and the parliamentary party, the electorate, and the media should be – not least because the […]
Parliamentary arrangements after a Labour split might be easily solved, but bigger questions will be more difficult
In the post-referendum turmoil facing the Labour Party, there are increasing questions about whether the party might split. Despite shadow cabinet resignations and a Parliamentary Labour Party vote of no confidence, Jeremy Corbyn seems determined to hang on, and to force a contest if necessary. If that proceeds, a split looks very likely. But what […]
Could Corbyn win an election by mobilising non-voters? Not if he doesn’t win over Conservative supporters too
Less than a year after the election, average polls suggest that Labour continue to poll at about the same level or worse than the 2015 result. Anthony McDonnell writes that this is worrying for the Left, as previous trends indicate their poll numbers usually rise significantly relative to the Conservatives’ within months of the Tories […]
Minority views? Labour members had been longing for someone like Corbyn before he was even on the ballot paper
Recent media reports suggest Labour MPs may be gearing up to move against Jeremy Corbyn. This is supposed to happen before a change in rules could see the number of nominations needed for any would-be candidate to enter a leadership contest reduced. Yet Corbyn was not elected by mistake, explain Tim Bale, Paul Webb and Monica Poletti. A large number of […]
The concept of class is absent from political debate, even as inequality in Britain reaches new heights
In a recent statement, Labour’s Chuka Umunna seemed to suggest the BAME population form one homogeneous political group in the UK. Sean Swan argues this view is not only inaccurate but it perpetuates the perceived significance of ethnicity and diverts attention from more rational political cleavages. He writes that if Labour is to compete effectively […]
How democratic are the UK’s political parties and party system?
As part of the 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, Sean Kippin, Patrick Dunleavy and the DA team examine how democratic the UK’s party system and political parties are. Parties often attract criticism from those outside their ranks, but they have multiple, complex roles to play in any liberal democratic society. The UK’s system has many […]
Do ethnic minority candidates mobilise ethnic minority voters? Mostly not.
All major political parties in the UK have made efforts to increase the number of ethnic minority candidates that stand under their label for election, with Labour’s Sadiq Khan aiming to be become the first Muslim Mayor of London after May of this year. Here, Nicole Martin argues that the idea that ethnic minority candidates […]
Democratic Audit's core funding is provided by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Additional funding is provided by the London School of Economics.