How Should Established Parties Respond to the Rise of Identity Politics in Their Electoral Base?

Abstract

This chapter assesses how established parties should respond to the rise of their identity politics base. The author argues that identity politics has both a long history and new salience in distinctly modern forms and that it is important to clarify the differences. He notes that identity politics centred around nationalism and religion are long established in democracies but established parties such as Labour and the Conservatives have generally succeeded in accommodating themselves with such forms of identity politics, because they are coalitions rather than tribes. Kettle then explores the post-industrial volatility of the electorate and analyses four main sources of modern identity politics: nationalism, gender, religion and race. He reviews the potentially transformative importance of social media as a reflection/generator of new forms of identity politics, particularly around sexual identity. He argues that the destructive impact of identity politics on US Democrats is not yet easily transferable to the UK, though the potential is there.