From Membership to Management? The Future of Political Parties as Democratic Organisations

This article draws on academic research to offer an overview of recent developments in political parties, but also seeks to pin-point the challenges they face and suggest ways of meeting them. The recent history of political parties in affluent Western democracies like the UK is characterised by two key trends: On the one hand, public support for mainstream political parties has declined. At the same time, they have come to take on a more central, almost formal role, in the political system. These trends have not been wholly negativemembers have as much or more say in candidate selection than ever-and alternative channels of representation and accountability have emerged. Nevertheless declining public engagement with political parties has tended to weaken the voice of disadvantaged groups and lessened the space for democratic deliberation and policy formation. The days of the mass membership political parties have probably gone for ever, but the introduction of primaries, the use of new democratic procedures, and the establishment of a system of public funding that supports parties in accordance with levels of paying membership, could all encourage greater public engagement in political parties.