Abstract
This paper highlights the geographical contributions made to academic debate about democracy, representation and the role of the political party. It argues that while geographers have made important arguments in relation to the structure and operation of representative democracy, there is scope for paying greater attention to the internal spatial dynamics of the political party. A successful political party requires a balance between the national party machine and its local membership base. This paper draws on research to explore the way in which the British Labour Party sought to renew its local membership base by adopting community organising techniques and establishing a new arms-length organisation, Movement for Change (M4C), between 2010 and 2015. It uses this research material to highlight the importance of the internal balance of power within any political party, and the need for a multi-scalar approach to understanding the successful operation of any political party.
Highlights
In the after-shock of Donald Trump winning the American Election, coming so soon after the British people voted to leave the European Union (EU) in June 2016, political commentators and academics are asking themselves big questions about the operation of representative democracy
The architects of community organising in the party saw it as a way to boost both representative democracy and direct participation. They developed a five-fold rationale for this approach that suggested community organising would: (1) help the party to change its internal culture, to become more relational, and thereby better able to attract and retain members; (2) help the party to become a vehicle for the pursuit of social justice in the locality through running local campaigns that would attract more interest and increase legitimacy; (3) provide the means to develop new leadership in the party, identify talent and teach civic and political skills through local campaigns; (4) feed local experiences into national and local policy making, and ensure that the party became closer to the interests of the people in relation to their programme for government; and (5) increase their effectiveness in winning elections
This paper has highlighted the ways in which the institutions and activities associated with representative democracy are geographically mediated; citizens are represented on the basis of place; their opportunities to influence the polity are further differentiated by the geographical balance of power within any polity; local society, traditions and culture shape the prospects for different parties albeit that local activism can make a difference to electoral success; and the internal division of power within any party will shape the role of the local membership and their ability to mobilise to turnout the vote
Summary
In the after-shock of Donald Trump winning the American Election, coming so soon after the British people voted to leave the European Union (EU) in June 2016, political commentators and academics are asking themselves big questions about the operation of representative democracy. The architects of community organising in the party saw it as a way to boost both representative democracy and direct participation They developed a five-fold rationale for this approach that suggested community organising would: (1) help the party to change its internal culture, to become more relational, and thereby better able to attract and retain members; (2) help the party to become a vehicle for the pursuit of social justice in the locality through running local campaigns that would attract more interest and increase legitimacy; (3) provide the means to develop new leadership in the party, identify talent and teach civic and political skills through local campaigns; (4) feed local experiences into national and local policy making, and ensure that the party became closer to the interests of the people in relation to their programme for government; and (5) increase their effectiveness in winning elections. We report on the work that was done by M4C in Cardiff and Southampton and we use the five-point agenda outlined above to evaluate the activity before rounding off with some broader conclusions
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