Managing democracy in Corbyn’s Labour Party: faction-fighting or movement-building?

Abstract

During the early years of Jeremy Corbyn’s tenure as Labour leader, promises of wide sweeping party reform, in particular members-led democratisation, were central to fortifying his support within the extra-parliamentary party. However, by the time Corbyn’s leadership came to a close, very few reforms had been achieved. This article argues that whilst the Corbyn leadership was initially drawn towards a more grassroots vision of rank-and-file democracy, this came into tension with the demands facing the leadership in the context of intense intra-party factionalism. In a Brexit-dominated political landscape, both the normative and actual constraints facing internal party democracy meant that major party reforms were increasingly sidelined. Going forward, this has renewed important questions surrounding if, and how, a more direct vision of democracy is possible within a deeply institutionalised centre-left party.