LABOUR PARTY COMMITTEE ELECTIONS AND THE LABOUR LEADERSHIP, 1945–1976

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article explores the relations between elections to the post of Labour Party leader and elections to the Labour Party's National Executive Committee and Parliamentary Committee. The leadership elections of 1955, 1963 and 1976 are analyzed in the light of the candidates' committee election records, and brief reference is made to the 1935 leadership contest. The records of all committee election candidates during the period 1945–75 are categorized, and the most important ones are discussed in the context of the Party leadership.Some tentative hypotheses and conclusions are reached about the possibility of predicting leadership election results and the future performance of a Party leader on the basis of earlier committee election records. Reference is made to the political and historical background of the elections. A number of questions are formulated for possible exploration by political historians and biographers.