Change and the Illusion of Change

Abstract

We have seen that in the period since the early 1980s the Labour Party underwent many fundamental changes to its organisation. The roles of the National Executive Committee and annual conference, both traditionally at the heart of Labour’s democracy, altered significantly, and a new system for agreeing policy was established. The way in which the party selected candidates for public office, and the party leader, were the subject of extended debate and some highly contentious reforms. Although local constituency parties in themselves were not the subject of major restructuring, other changes had a considerable impact on both their culture and their formal functions. Finally, a system of quotas led to a transformation of women’s representation at every level of the party.