The ecology party in England and Wales: Branch organisation and activity

Abstract

The 1979 general election represented a watershed event in the development of the British Ecology Party. The party's membership jumped from 500 to more than 5,000 in a matter of weeks and many new branches were established. As a consequence of this expansion, an existing division in the party between those who favoured a traditional model of party organisation and those who favoured an alternative model was exacerbated. This article reports the results of the findings of a survey of the party's local level of organisation conducted in 1981 and places those results in the context of the changes. Data are presented on branch formation, branch organisation, branch activity and the background characteristics of the branch contacts. Additionally, case studies are used to illustrate the two approaches to party organisation.