An Anti-Labour Caucus: The Case of the Northumberland Voters’ Association

Abstract

W. P. Grant has drawn attention to the lack of empirical study of local parties in British local government. He also draws a distinction between ‘genuine’ local parties and ‘concealed Conservative’ parties, and concentrates his attention on the former. He defines ‘concealed Conservative parties’ as those which are not prepared to fight an electoral contest against a Conservative candidate, and includes under this heading ‘Citizen’ and ‘Progressive’ parties. The framework for analysis which his article develops is confined to the ‘genuine’ local parties on this definition, which, while convenient, is not as reliable as first appears. English and Scottish local government contain several examples of what might better be described as ‘anti-Labour caucuses’ in the form of groups or alliances which have been prepared to fight against Conservative candidates when these have opposed them. J. H. R. Robbins, in a brief account of the Doncaster Progressives, has pointed out the limitations of Grant’s definition where such groups face opposition from renegade or ward-backed Conservatives. There are several such groups which need to be separately categorised; surprisingly they have received even less academic study than the ‘genuine’ local parties, although they hold or have held power in many county boroughs, county councils and Scottish cities.