Small kingdoms and crumbling organizations: Examining the variation in constituency party membership and resources

Abstract

The 'revisionist school' of party campaigning in Britain has successfully demonstrated the importance of party members (see, for example, Denver and Hands, 1997; Johnston and Pattie, 1995; and Seyd and Whiteley, 1992). We have, however, much less information about the size and resources of local constituency parties. This article reports data collected during the Committee on Standards in Public Life's investigations into party finance. The aim of the survey was to gain an impression of the resources and expenditure of local parties in a manner similar to the investigations undertaken during the Houghton Committee's investigations in the 1970s. The article then analyses predictors of local party strength.