Who are Britain's Party Members and what do they think?

This week, the Party Members Project - run by Queen Mary University of London and the University of Sussex - has released its latest report on Britain's party members, which has been co-authored by Professor Tim Bale, Professor Paul Webb and Dr Stavroula Chrona.

As part of a long-running series of surveys of the members of the country's political parties, conducted just after the 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2024 general elections, the Party Members Project explores who Britain’s party members are, their ideologies, identities, role in campaigning and their views on leadership.

While party membership in Britain has fallen from the heights it reached in the 1950s, the authors argue that it remains "absolutely vital to the health of our representative democracy" and the surge of new members into the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn and, more recently, into the Greens and Reform UK, demonstrates that "people still do want to join parties". 

If you're interested in British politics, electoral fragmentation and five-party politics, this is essential reading and a treasure trove of useful and colourfully-displayed data, broken down by party.

You can read the full report on the Party Members Project website.