Labour Party and Electoral Reform

The issue of electoral reform has divided the Labour Party since its inception, but only for a brief period in the early 20th century has the Party been committed to reforming first-past-the-post (FPTP). Now, having suffered four successive general election defeats, the Labour Party will have to reconsider its electoral strategy if it is, once again, to become a party of government. For some, a commitment to electoral reform is an indispensable step to widen support, transform the Party, and unlock British Politics. For others, the present system still offers the best hope of majority Labour governments, avoiding deals with the Party’s rivals and the watering down of Labour’s social democratic agenda. This book explores the Labour Party’s approaches towards reforming the Westminster electoral system, and more widely, its perception of electoral pacts and coalition government. The opening chapters chart the debate from the inception of the Party up to the electoral and political impact of Thatcherism. From there, the book takes a closer look at significant recent events, including the Plant Report, the Jenkins Commission, the end of New Labour, the Alternative Vote Referendum, and closing with the Labour leadership containing the matter at Party Conference, 2021. Importantly, it offers an assessment of the pressures and environment in which Labour politicians have operated. Extensive elite-level interviews and new archival research offers the reader a comprehensive and definitive account of this debate.

Jasper Miles has produced the definitive historical account of the debate about electoral reform within the British Labour party. Readable and full of insight, this book is an essential guide to how constitutional and electoral reform has been perceived by Labour and the Left in UK politics., Jasper Miles has written a thorough, balanced and splendidly researched study of the Labour Party’s approach to electoral reform, charting the dilemmas the party has faced from its formation to the present day. He shows how the party came to embrace a constitutionally conservative approach, favouring a system that offers the prospect of the party winning office on its own and being able to enact a radical policy of social reform, but a system that more often than not has relegated the party to second place. The breadth and accessibility of the study make for an excellent read. This is an essential text for anyone interested in understanding the fortunes and dilemma of the Labour Party in British politics.

Jasper Miles is a Lecturer in Politics at the University of Lincoln. He specializes in British Politics and has written on the Labour Party’s history and political thought, including Peter Shore: Labour’s Forgotten Patriot and James Callaghan: An Underrated Prime Minister?