The New Sub-National Politics of the British Labour Party

Abstract

The response of national, state-level political parties to the challenges of competing for power at the devolved, regional levels is a neglected research topic. This article seeks to remedy this neglect by analyzing how the British Labour Party has responded to these challenges at the subnational level following UK devolution. British Labour remains formally a unitary party despite governmental devolution. Nonetheless, the national party leadership has allowed the Scottish and Welsh Parties considerable freedom, in practice, to select candidates, conduct regional-level elections and implement some distinctive policies. Meanwhile, the Scottish and Welsh Labour Parties have shifted significantly from being traditional, centralized parties with a single hierarchical organization towards more pluralist, less hierarchical organizations.