Modernising the Labour Party: Organisational Change since 1983

Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 8
List of Figures......Page 10
List of Tables......Page 11
Acknowledgements......Page 12
List of Abbreviations......Page 14
Introduction......Page 16
The background to Labour’s modernisation......Page 17
Structure of the book......Page 19
1 Aims and Methods......Page 22
Rational choice theory and the study of institutions......Page 23
The Downsian model and the study of the Labour Party......Page 27
Sociological explanations of the Labour Party......Page 33
Conclusion......Page 39
Political exchange and party organisation......Page 41
Intra-party incentive structures......Page 44
Party organisations as governance structures......Page 50
Preference heterogeneity among activists......Page 52
Elite autonomy and the policy-votes trade-off......Page 55
Campaign technologies......Page 57
Institutional change in vote-seeking parties......Page 59
Conclusion......Page 64
The development of political exchange in the Labour Party......Page 66
Federalism and block voting in the Labour Party......Page 68
The autonomy of the PLP and party-union tensions......Page 77
Coalitions for change......Page 85
Conclusion......Page 91
Policy-making in the Labour Party before 1983......Page 92
The PLP and policy-making after 1983......Page 97
Trade unions and the party conference in the 1990s......Page 100
Policy-making in the 1990s: the national policy forum......Page 103
Membership referendums......Page 115
Conclusion......Page 117
5 The Selection of Parliamentary Candidates......Page 118
Labour\'s local organisational structures......Page 119
Reform of parliamentary candidate selection......Page 121
One-member–one-vote......Page 127
Other changes to candidate selection......Page 132
Conclusion......Page 139
6 Electing the Party Leader......Page 142
Party leaders as agents......Page 143
Labour\'s electoral college, 1981–93......Page 144
PLP nomination rights and gate-keeping powers......Page 146
Selection in the electoral college......Page 148
The electoral college after 1993......Page 154
Leadership accountability and contest costs......Page 157
Conclusion......Page 163
Appendix 1 to Chapter 6: Electoral Colleges and Devolution......Page 164
Appendix 2 to Chapter 6: Electing the NEC and the NCC......Page 167
Funding......Page 170
Members and activists......Page 175
Conclusion......Page 178
Party resources and political communications......Page 179
Modernising Labour\'s political communications......Page 182
Communication technology and general election campaigns......Page 187
Conclusion......Page 191
Explaining organisational change in the Labour Party......Page 192
Unitarism and leadership dominance......Page 199
The future of the party-union link......Page 204
Conclusion......Page 212
Appendix: From Federalism to Unitarism in the Labour Party......Page 214
Notes......Page 217
References......Page 226
B......Page 237
C......Page 238
E......Page 239
G......Page 240
K......Page 241
L......Page 242
N......Page 243
O......Page 244
P......Page 245
S......Page 246
T......Page 247
Y......Page 248