‘We Can’t Afford to be a Branch Office’: The Territorial Dynamics of the British Labour Party, 2015–2019

Abstract

Despite having delivered devolution, the British Labour Party has faced significant challenges in adapting to, and competing effectively in, a multi-level political space. This article explores this dynamic in the context of a pivotal period of change (2015–2019), in which the party was led by Jeremy Corbyn, a political outsider, and when British politics was riven by Brexit. In this article we highlight the operation of a key strategic duality underlying the territorial politics pursued by both Scottish and Welsh Labour parties: an endemic and unresolved desire to seek greater autonomy from the UK party, on the one hand: and the preference to retain or gain influence at the centre of British politics, on the other. How these goals were pursued, and tensions between them managed by the territorial parties and their leaders, are central to an understanding of how the party handled the challenges created by devolution more broadly.

Whither the Centre? Tracing Centralisation and Fragmentation in UK Politics

“…UK politics still largely operates under a majoritarian system with a strong notion of parliamentary sovereignty which centralises considerable power in the PM who handpicks the executive. The devolution of powers to Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish legislatures presented a clear challenge to this model, prompting claims of 'bi-constitutionalism' and the emergence of alternative visions of sovereignty (Flinders 2010;Richards & Smith 2015;Brown Swan & Kenny 2024). However, the repoliticisation of devolution post-2016 has indicated that processes which cement the power of a narrow Westminster elite persist, epitomised by the UK government's deployment of a Section 35 Order to block Scottish legislation in 2023 (Baldini et al 2022).…”