'We can't afford to be a branch office'
Despite having delivered devolution, the British Labour Party has faced significant challenges in adapting to, and competing effectively in, a multi-level political space. This article explores this dynamic in the context of a pivotal period of change (2015-2019), in which the party was led by Jerem...
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| Published in: | Parliamentary affairs 2024-01, Vol.77 (1), p.109–128-109–128 |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Despite having delivered devolution, the British Labour Party has faced significant challenges in adapting to, and competing effectively in, a multi-level political space. This article explores this dynamic in the context of a pivotal period of change (2015-2019), in which the party was led by Jeremy Corbyn, a political outsider, and when British politics was riven by Brexit. In this article we highlight the operation of a key strategic duality underlying the territorial politics pursued by both Scottish and Welsh Labour parties: an endemic and unresolved desire to seek greater autonomy from the UK party, on the one hand: and the preference to retain or gain influence at the centre of British politics, on the other. How these goals were pursued, and tensions between them managed by the territorial parties and their leaders, are central to an understanding of how the party handled the challenges created by devolution more broadly. |
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| ISSN: | 0031-2290 1460-2482 |