Abstract
What little research exists on why party members quit has tended to find that exit is driven primarily by political and ideological concerns. This research note builds on this, framing this finding theoretically and arguing that such theory should allow for the role of negative triggers – events that cause people to quit. We focus on the example of changes of leadership. Using data from four Party Members Project surveys, we find that British party members seem to leave parties mainly for political and ideological reasons, and because of disillusionment or disagreement with their leaders. This disillusionment, in turn, is often based on perceived ideological differences. We illustrate this with tweets by Labour members cancelling (or considering cancelling) their membership in the immediate wake of the election of Keir Starmer as party leader in April 2020.
Highlights
Research on party membership has focused almost exclusively on why people join political parties rather than on why they leave them (Van Haute, 2015)
Party Members Project (PMP), we argue that changes of leader can reorient members’ motivations
We have demonstrated how this finding fits into a parsimonious theoretical understanding of party member exit, and brought new evidence to bear on the question from multiple angles
Summary
Research on party membership has focused almost exclusively on why people join political parties rather than on why they leave them (Van Haute, 2015). This research note aims to further our understanding of the latter, drawing on existing research and theory. It extends these contributions by pointing to the potential importance of triggers, highlighting one key example: changes of leadership. Party Members Project (PMP), we argue that changes of leader can reorient members’ motivations. We apply data from three PMP surveys to shed light on why party members quit. Consistent with existing, smallerscale studies, we show that exit is motivated primarily by ideological disagreement (Bale et al, 2019, chapter 8 explores this further). Recent examples of tweets posted on the day of Keir Starmer’s election to the leadership of the Labour Party by members claiming they were quitting – or questioning their continued membership
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