From convergence to Corbyn: Explaining support for the UK’s radical left

Abstract

Against many predictions, the 2017 UK General Election saw the Labour Party increasing its representation under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn shifted the Labour Party away from its past convergence, becoming more radically left-wing in its policies. Following this unexpected success of Labour in 2017, this article examines the individual-level motivations of voters to see how far support for this radically-shifting party is explained by populist attitudes amongst voters, or by policy-proximity (spatial) considerations of these voters — analysing the latter based on economic, cultural (personal rights and values), and migration policy dimensions. Looking at how Labour evaluations changed between the 2015 and 2017 elections, from BES panel data, the article finds that levels of populism amongst voters do not explain support for Labour. The article also finds policy-proximity to offer a limited explanation of support for Labour, but also finds unexpectedly high support for this party from spatially-distant voters.