Labour party
Snap election a win-win for Theresa May: she’ll crush Labour and make Brexit a little easier
How could Theresa May resist breaking her word? Tim Bale says a new cohort of Conservative MPs will boost her majority and enable her to return from Brussels with a softer Brexit. The Labour party, meanwhile, will be annihilated, and the Lib Dems can hope for at most 15% of the vote. Centrists may take […]
New Labour and after: the toxic consequences of cynical party management
The New Labour years saw sweeping cultural change designed to replace the traditional internal Labour party democracy with a new organisational culture. Its effects are still felt today. Emmanuelle Avril explains how the struggles in today’s Labour have their roots in Blair’s brand of party management and Labour’s continuing (dys)function as an organisation. Ed Miliband campaigns in the West Midlands in 2015. Photo: […]
The trouble with Jeremy Corbyn: five tests the Labour leader is failing
Much of the Parliamentary Labour Party want to replace Jeremy Corbyn, and his popularity among the general public is low. Yet he was resoundingly re-elected by party members last autumn. Patrick Diamond assesses the Labour leader’s performance as an opposition leader according to five criteria, and concludes the risk of a Labour schism between ‘principles’ and […]
Losing Momentum? The power struggles that are hobbling the Corbyn movement
The Momentum movement faces two crucial problems, says Robin Pettitt. It explicitly allies itself with the Corbynite wing of the party. Yet it has also become a battleground for three groups: Bennites, a wave of new members, and the so-called ‘Trots’ or ‘entryists’. Meanwhile, the movement has been torn between a traditional branch-based structure and a […]
Book Review | Culture, Economy and Politics: The Case of New Labour by David Hesmondhalgh et al
In Culture, Economy and Politics: The Case of New Labour, David Hesmondhalgh, Kate Oakley, David Lee and Melissa Nisbett focus on the emergence of cultural policy as a key concern under the Labour party between 1997 and 2010. Drawing upon interviews with key figures, this is a valuable, even-handed book that is recommended reading for […]
Brexit, Corbyn, Article 50: in 2017, we need to take back our parliamentary democracy
Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn’s election and Article 50: 2016 saw three profound shocks to the integrity of Britain’s parliamentary system, writes Robert Saunders. Together, they amount to a quiet revolution – potentially the most significant recasting of how Britain is governed since the coming of universal suffrage. Understanding how this has happened, why it matters and what […]
Pick of 2016: the best of Democratic Audit
2016 was an extraordinary year. With Donald Trump’s presidency less than three weeks away, Article 50 due to be invoked in March, local and mayoral elections in the UK and ground-shifting votes in Europe, 2017 promises more seismic change. Here’s a selection of some of Democratic Audit’s most thought-provoking pieces from 2016. Similar Posts
Book review: Alastair Campbell’s Diaries: Vol 5 – ‘thrilling, insightful’
In the fifth volume of his published diaries, Outside, Inside, 2003-2005, Alastair Campbell steps down as Tony Blair’s Director of Communications in 2003 but is drawn back into politics amid the continued chaos of the Iraq war, the breakdown of the Blair-Brown relationship and the impending election campaign. With the pace of a thriller, this book offers fascinating […]
The Labour party, Momentum and the problem with intra-party democracy
The Momentum movement and the rise in Labour membership are, Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters argue, proof that the party is returning to its roots and embracing ordinary people’s concerns. But political scientists tend to be sceptical about intra-party democracy, because party members are usually more radical than the average voter. Fabio Wolkenstein says claims that Labour has […]
Book review: Blue Labour: Forging a New Politics, ed. Ian Geary and Adrian Pabst
Jeremy Corbyn has been re-elected leader of the Labour party. Yet the ‘Blue Labour’ strain – a tendency grouped around the social thought of Maurice Glasman that emerged within the party after the financial crash – is far from over . J.A. Smith reviews Ian Geary and Adrian Pabst‘s edited volume, Blue Labour: Forging a New Politics, […]
Democratic Audit's core funding is provided by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Additional funding is provided by the London School of Economics.