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Political party affiliation in the United Kingdom

Summary

Membership and supporter status within political parties in the United Kingdom typically contain restrictions including:

  • Age restrictions
  • Citizenship restrictions
  • A commitment to the party's principles
  • Limiting holding membership of other political parties
  • Limiting standing against officially endorsed candidates
  • Membership of specifically prohibited political parties
  • Personal conduct expectations and party rule compliance

Practically, involvement in a political party without membership may limit an individual's involvement. Parties that offer a lower level of affiliation, such as supporter status tend to have looser constraints.

History edit

Membership of political parties has been in decline in the UK since the 1950s, falling by over 65% from 1983 (4 per cent of the electorate) to 2005 (1.3 per cent).[1] In 2022, 1.5% of the British electorate were members of the Conservative Party, Labour Party, or the Liberal Democrats.[2] Typically party affiliation allows an individual to support only a single party. However, notable exceptions to this are: the Co-operative Party which permits its members to also have membership of the Labour Party and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP); and the Women's Equality Party which allows its members to also have membership of any other political party.

According to the UK Parliament website sourced from a report by Olympic Britain,[3] during the 1950s there were 2.8 million members of the Conservative Party and 1 million Labour Party members. In the years after 1945 until the early 1990s, supporters of the Socialist and Cooperative parties and trade unions linked with the Labour Party increased the overall Labour Party movement by 5 to 6 million, from which point they began to fall and currently number about 3.5 million.

Despite being founded in 1900, the Labour Party didn't begin keeping track of its membership until 1928. On the other hand, the Conservative Party rarely releases their total membership statistics, additionally, there are no clear membership statistics for the Conservative party before 1945, although it is estimated that between WW1 and WW2, membership levels were around 1.5 million, however, exact numbers are unknown.

Current membership edit

Some political parties in the UK disclose their membership, some do not, there is no legal or electoral obligation to give figures let alone accurate figures. Some parties are active in and contest seats throughout the entire United Kingdom, whereas others are only active and contest seats in a particular country or countries in the UK.

Party Total current membership Full members (if applicable) Registered supporters (if applicable) Date Regions served Comments
Labour 366,604[4] N/A N/A March 2024 UK In the 2020 leadership election 490,731 people voted, of which 401,564 (81.8%) were full members, 76,161 (15.5%) had affiliated membership and 13,006 (2.6%) were registered supporters. The registered supporter class was abolished in 2021.[5]
Conservatives 172,437[6] N/A N/A July 2022 UK The Conservative Party's membership was revealed at the start of the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.
Liberal Democrats 90,000+[7] 90,000+[7] 17,102
(as of September 2019)[8] 		29 April 2023 UK Membership increased sharply after the confirmation on 18 April 2017 of the 8 June 2017 general election.[9]

Membership again increased sharply in the period before and after the two elections of May 2019, for the UK Councils and the European Parliament.

Scottish National Party (SNP) 73,936[10] N/A N/A June 2023 Scotland There was a huge surge in membership after the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, prior to which the SNP had just over 25,000 members.[11] Membership peaked at over 125,000 in August 2018.[12]

Membership numbers then fell by tens of thousands in the final years of Nicola Sturgeon's leadership.[13]

Green Party of England and Wales 53,126[14] N/A N/A 31 December 2022 England and Wales On 31 December 2015, the Green Party of England and Wales announced its membership as 63,219, its highest known membership to date.[15]
Women's Equality Party 30,000[16] N/A N/A September 2020 UK
Co-operative Party 13,194 members plus subscribing co-operative societies.[17] N/A N/A 2022 UK Though the Co-operative Party stands joint candidates with the Labour Party, their membership bases are independent (members have the option of joining both parties).
Plaid Cymru c.10,000[18] c.10,000 N/A 30 August 2022 Wales
Scottish Greens 7,646[19] N/A N/A 24 April 2023 Scotland
Alba Party 7,500[20] N/A N/A 13 May 2023 Scotland
Reform UK N/A N/A 115,000[21] May 2019 UK Reform UK, previously known as The Brexit Party, claims to have over 100,000 registered supporters, these are not party members as the party has no membership structure.
UK Independence Party (UKIP) 3,888[22] N/A N/A 31 December 2020 UK
Workers Party of Britain (WPB) 2,962[23] N/A N/A 28 November 2023 UK
Social Democratic Party (SDP) 2,000[24] N/A N/A January 2021 UK
Communist Party of Britain (CPB) 1,739[25] N/A N/A 31 December 2022 UK

Enforcement edit

There are few high-profile cases of membership criteria enforcement and as such tend to happen under exceptional circumstances.

2015 Labour leadership election edit

During the 2015 Labour party leadership election it emerged that 260 former candidates from the Green Party, Left Unity and the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition had attempted to become registered supporters, but were subsequently blocked from voting.[26] Shortly before this, it was revealed that Conservative MP and former junior minister Tim Loughton had been caught applying to become a registered Labour supporter, subsequently claiming that his intention was to "blow the gaff on what a complete farce the whole thing is".[27] Veteran Labour MP Barry Sheerman also joined calls for the election to be "paused" over the fears of infiltration by other parties.[28] The Labour Party told representatives of the four candidates at a meeting on 11 August that 1,200 members and supporters of other parties had been excluded and a further 800 were under investigation.[29] Harriet Harman at the time admitted that as many as 100,000 people may be blocked from voting.[30]

The number of those rejected eventually reached 56,000,[31] around 9.1 per cent of the 610,753 considered eligible to vote at the start of the contest.[32] According to the party, 45,000 of those were rejected for not being on the electoral register.[33]

Labour also confirmed that it would cancel supporters' votes after they had been cast, if it was found that they were members of other parties.[34] A number of high-profile individuals have been blocked from voting, including Marcus Chown,[35] Jeremy Hardy, Douglas Henshall,[36] Ken Loach,[35] Francesca Martinez,[36] Mark Serwotka,[37] Pete Sinclair,[38] Mark Steel,[39] Luke Wright[40] and Toby Young.

Andrew MacKinlay, a former Labour MP, further alleged that Labour was attempting to rig its own leadership election against Corbyn;[41] a view shared by Jeremy Hardy.[42] Such allegations became known to the media – and particularly Corbyn supporters – as the "Labour Purge", with #LabourPurge trending on Twitter.[43][44] Claims of such a "purge" of Corbyn supporters were rejected by Harman who insisted that the exclusion processes were impartial to candidates.[45] Scottish newspaper The National printed a page-long satirical cartoon speculating further vote-rigging by Labour's leadership.[46]

Brexit edit

Political realignments in the Brexit process led to Ann Widdecombe being expelled from the Conservatives after she defected to the Brexit Party in the 2019 European elections to run for MEP.[47] Michael Heseltine has the whip removed after expressing his intention to vote Liberal Democrat.[48] Conservative policy appears to make such expulsions discretionary.[49] despite threats from Conservative Campaign Headquarters.[50]

Tony Blair's support from pro-remain parties led to questions why he had not been expelled from the Labour Party.[51] Alastair Campbell was expelled from the Labour Party after saying he voted for the Liberal Democrats in the 2019 European election.[52] Many Labour members came out in support of Campbell using the hashtag #expelmetoo reporting they had similar voted for the Liberal Democrats or other remain parties.[53]

Criteria for membership edit

Party Membership restrictions
Conservatives "open to all who share its objects and values and who undertake to be bound by this Constitution"

"Membership of the Conservative Party is not compatible with Membership of or association with any other registered political party"[54]

Labour "are not members of political parties or organisations ... declared ... ineligible for affiliation to the party."

"[Must not stand in] opposition to a Labour candidate"
"[Must not support] a political organisation ... who stands against an official Labour candidate"[55]

Liberal Democrats "Open to all persons who agree with its fundamental values and objectives without discrimination as to age, ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation."

"Membership may be revoked [due to] standing against the candidate of the Party"
"Membership may be refused [due to] membership of another political party in Great Britain"[56]

DUP
SNP "I endorse the aims of the Party"

"A member may not contest or be a member of any organisation [deemed to be a Political Party] contesting elections in opposition to the Party"[57]

Sinn Féin "only residents of Ireland are eligible for membership"[58]
Plaid Cymru "I endorse the aims of the Party and agree to abide by its constitution. I am not a member of any other political party active in Wales"[59]
Co-operative Party "must also be a member of a recognised co-operative"
"...agree to accept the rules and to promote the policy and values of the Co-operative Party. ...not a member of any political Party other than the Labour Party or the Social Democratic and Labour Party."[60]
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)
Alliance Party
Green Party of England and Wales "I/we accept the party’s aims and do not belong to any other political party."[61]
Scottish Greens "I accept and will further the aims of the Scottish Green Party, and am not a member of any other political party except a sister Green party"[62]
Green Party in Northern Ireland "not a member of any other political party."[63]
UUP
TUV Support for the principles of Unionism, Independence from the Republic of Ireland and Family values[64]
UKIP "open to any natural person who shares the objectives and core beliefs of the Party"

"[Membership shall be revoked if a member] joins another political party ... or any organisation membership of which the NEC has declared to be incompatible"
"[Membership shall be revoked if a member]has set up or has aided and abetted the setting up of another political party"
"[Membership shall be revoked if a member]stands against a UKIP candidate in any election"[65]
"I am not and have never been a member of Hope Not Hate, Antifa, Communist League, Left Unity, Extinction Rebellion or Just Stop Oil."[66]

Communist Party of Britain "Apply to join the Communist Party by paying an initial online registration fee (£6).

Once you have registered an online application you will be contacted by a representative of your local Party branch for a membership interview. New members are only admitted to the Party on acceptance by their local CP organisation. If your application to join the Communist Party is refused, you will be refunded your online registration fee, with £1 retained to cover administration costs.

Please note if you apply to join and withdraw your application, your application fee is not refundable."
"You must be aged 16 or above to join the Communist Party."

See also edit

Notes and references edit

  1. ^ John Marshall: Membership of UK political parties; House of Commons, SN/SG/5125; 2009, page 6. www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snsg-05125.pdf Retrieved 5 January 2012
  2. ^ Burton, Matthew; Tunnicliffe, Richard (31 August 2022). "Membership of political parties in Great Britain". UK Parliament. House of Commons Library. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  3. ^ Thompson, Gavin. "Partied Out". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  4. ^ Helm, Toby (30 March 2024). "Labour membership falls by 23,000 over Gaza and green policies". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  5. ^ Burton, Matthew; Tunnicliffe, Richard (30 August 2022). "Membership of political parties in Great Britain" (PDF). House of Commons Library. UK Parliament. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  6. ^ Wheeler, Brian (5 September 2022). "Tory membership figure revealed". BBC News. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  7. ^ a b Burton, Matthew; Tunnicliffe, Richard (29 April 2023). "Liberal Democrats website". UK Parliament House of Commons Library. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Registered supporters 2019". Liberal Democrats.
  9. ^ "Lib Dem Membership tops 100,000 after snap election call". BBC News. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  10. ^ Gordon, Tom (24 August 2023). "SNP goes £800,000 into the red as membership slumps". The Herald. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Scottish referendum: 'Yes' parties see surge in members". BBC News. 22 September 2014.
  12. ^ "UK political party membership figures: August 2018". House of Commons Library. 3 September 2018.
  13. ^ Meighan, Craig (16 March 2023). "SNP reveals huge membership losses as 30,000 people leave party". STV News. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  14. ^ "statement of accounts, Green Party". Electoral Commission. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023. As at 31 December 2022 the party had 53,126 members
  15. ^ "The Green Party of England and Wales – Report and Financial Statements – Year ended 31 December 2015". The Green Party of England and Wales. p. 5. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  16. ^ Brooks, Libby (17 September 2020). "Women's Equality party runs consultation on self-identification for trans people". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  17. ^ "BOARD REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2022". Co-operative Party.
  18. ^ Burton, Matthew; Tunnicliffe, Richard (30 August 2022). "Membership of political parties in Great Britain" (PDF). UK Parliament House of Commons Library. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  19. ^ Conor Matchett [@conor_matchett] (24 April 2023). "Scottish Greens state their membership stands at 7,646" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 April 2023 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ Robertson, Adam (13 May 2023). "Alba Party says they have more members than Scottish Tories or LibDems". The National. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  21. ^ Farage, Nigel (15 May 2019). "The Brexit Party now has over 100,000 registered supporters". Nigel Farage Official. Twitter.
  22. ^ "United Kingdom Independence Party Limited (a company limited by guarantee) report and accounts 31 December 2020". The Electoral Commission. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  23. ^ https://workerspartybritain.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Annual-Report-for-2023.pdf
  24. ^ Liddle, Rod (24 January 2021). "My SDP has definitely caught the public mood. Now all we need is some votes". The Times. Archived from the original on 7 July 2021.
  25. ^ https://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/Api/Accounts/Documents/24416
  26. ^ Patrick Wintour and Frances Perraudin (7 August 2015). "Labour leadership election: 260 members of rival parties ask to vote". The Guardian.
  27. ^ Perraudin, Frances (5 August 2015). "Tory caught signing up as Labour supporter wanted to expose vote 'farce'". theguardian.com. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  28. ^ Carole Walker (10 August 2015). "Labour contest should be 'paused', MP Barry Sheerman says". BBC News. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  29. ^ Mason, Rowena (11 August 2015). "Labour leadership contest: campaign teams summoned over ballot concerns". The Guardian.
  30. ^ Nickerson, James (25 August 2015). "Labour leadership race: Acting leader Harriet Harman admits up to 100,000 members could be purged from vote". City A.M.
  31. ^ Blanchard, Jack (26 August 2015). "Labour Party rejects 56k bids to vote in leadership contest to calm fears of Tory infiltration". Daily Mirror.
  32. ^ "Over 600,000 people will be able to vote in the Labour leadership contest". LabourList. 12 August 2015.
  33. ^ "Number of voters in leadership contest revised down to 550,000". LabourList. 25 August 2015.
  34. ^ "Labour is going to cancel some supporters' leadership votes after they've been cast". The Independent. London.
  35. ^ a b "The Labour Purge Is Underway, And They've Banned Me From Voting Corbyn (IMAGE)". Scriptonite Daily. Archived from the original on 11 June 2017.
  36. ^ a b Glaze, Ben (20 August 2015). "Genuine Labour supporters barred from voting for leader due to 'robust' checks". Daily Mirror.
  37. ^ "Labour leadership: Mark Serwotka of PCS union has vote rejected". BBC News. 26 August 2015.
  38. ^ "Labour supporters claim leadership vote 'purge'". Channel 4 News. 20 August 2015.
  39. ^ Aubrey Allegretti (13 August 2015). "Mark Steel's Ban From Vote in Labour Leadership Election Prompts Raging 'Entryism' Debate". Huffington Post.
  40. ^ "Labour leadership race: Now Labour is blocking genuine party members from leadership vote". cityam.com. 20 August 2015.
  41. ^ Riley-Smith, Ben (21 August 2015). "'Labour purge' is deliberate attempt by party to stop Jeremy Corbyn winning, former MP claims". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  42. ^ "Jeremy Hardy: 'Labour trying to rig leadership election'". BBC News. 21 August 2015.
  43. ^ Riley-Smith, Ben (21 August 2015). "'Labour purge' is deliberate attempt by party to stop Jeremy Corbyn winning, former MP claims". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  44. ^ "#LabourPurge: Supporter's fury as they are stopped from voting for next Labour leader". Metro. 20 August 2015.
  45. ^ Sebastian Payne (25 August 2015). "Harriet Harman: we are not purging Corbyn supporters". The Spectator.
  46. ^ "Not Waving But Purging". thenational.scot. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015.
  47. ^ Hunt, Darren (24 April 2019). "Ann Widdecombe reveals she has been EXPELLED from Tories after defection to Brexit Party". Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  48. ^ BBC (20 May 2019). "European elections 2019: Heseltine loses Tory whip over Lib Dem vote". Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  49. ^ Peretz, George (1 May 2019). "Are Conservative members who endorse the Brexit Party at risk of expulsion?". Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  50. ^ Pearson, Allison (1 May 2019). "Why I will be voting for the Brexit Party". Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  51. ^ May, Josh (30 April 2017). "John Prescott questions why Tony Blair has not been expelled from Labour". Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  52. ^ Mason, Rowena (28 May 2019). "Labour expels Alastair Campbell from party". Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  53. ^ Tobin, Olivia (29 May 2019). "#expelmetoo: Furious members who voted against Labour in European elections dare party to kick them out after Alastair Campbell's expulsion". Evening Standard. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  54. ^ "Constitution of the Conservative Party (Page 10)" (PDF). Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  55. ^ "Labour Party Rule Book (Page 9)" (PDF). Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  56. ^ "The Constitutions of the Liberal Democrats" (PDF). www.libdems.org.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  57. ^ "CONSTITUTION OF THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY" (PDF). www.snp.org. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  58. ^ "Join Sinn Féin". www.sinnfein.ie. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  59. ^ "Join Plaid Cymru -The Party of Wales today". partyofwales.org. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  60. ^ "The Rule Book – Co-operative Party". The Co-operative Party. 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  61. ^ "Membership". www.greenparty.org.uk. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  62. ^ "Join the Scottish Green Party" (PDF). www.scottishgreens.org.uk. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  63. ^ "Membership Form". www.greenpartyni.org. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  64. ^ "Application for membership" (PDF). www.tuv.org.uk. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  65. ^ "The Constitution". www.ukip.org. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  66. ^ "Join Online". join.ukip.org. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2024.

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