Corbynism Across Local Parties: An Asymmetric Level of Support

Over the last decade there has been a marked increase in populism in many countries. Not only have new populist parties emerged, but mainstream parties have chosen populist leaders. A key question is how these populists gain the leadership of their party? Often it seems that these leaders only rely on the membership and ignore other key stakeholders in the party. However, it seems that support for populists is not uniform, as seen in the Labour Party membership. This paper will explore the hypothesis that within left-wing parties the main challenge for populist leaders is managing the different entrenched interests within the party. Since 2015 Jeremy Corbyn has taken the leadership of the Labour Party on a populist manifesto. However, despite his support across the membership of the Labour Party, it has not always been evenly distributed across Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs). Some CLPs have been overwhelmingly pro-Corbyn, others have been sceptical of him, and others have seen power struggles for control of the machinery of the local party. Furthermore, there seems to be a connection between the type of CLP and attitudes towards Corbyn. Rural CLPs where Labour struggles to do well seem to be more supportive of Corbyn; urban CLPs where Labour is practically guaranteed election success, such as Liverpool seem to have the most intense fights, and marginal CLPs tend to be the most sceptical of him. Given that parties, especially on the left, are typically oligarchic constructions where leaders have to manage dissent, the fact that support for Corbyn is unevenly distributed is interesting from a party perspective. This paper will explore why support for Corbyn within CLPs remains unevenly distributed. It will explore the structural effects of some of his reforms and how they have benefitted certain areas that support him, which may have the effect of not only reinforcing support for his plan but also rewarding loyal areas. It will also explore where factional fights are the strongest and how pro-Corbyn groups have tried to seize the structures of power in the Constituency and Branch in largely populated areas as a method of challenging dissent to Corbyn. It will conclude that Corbyn’s control of the party is not uniformly distributed. It is based on interviews with party members from all three types of CLPs and analysis of CLP nominations in the 2015, 2016, and 2019 leadership elections, using the case studies of Cambridge and Coventry for the suburban/marginal CLP, Liverpool, York, and Leicester for the urban CLP, and South Cambridgeshire, East Cambridgeshire, and Fenland for the rural CLP. It will use these interviews to show the differences of opinion both amongst supporters and opponents of Corbyn within each type of CLP as well as the differing levels of support within each type of CLP. The paper will also examine the ramifications of Labour’s 2019 electoral defeat and the subsequent leadership contest in the wake of Jeremy Corbyn’s resignation.