Devolution and Party Organization in the UK: Statewide Parties and Statewide-Regional Branch Relations over Candidate Selection in Scotland and Wales

Abstract

An analysis of the implications of devolution for party organization has to confront the core issue of candidate selection. As Schattschneider famously remarked, ‘the nominating process has become the crucial process of the party’ (quoted in Gallagher, 1988a: 3). A focus on its complexities will cast considerable light on the nature of statewide-regional branch party relations, as well as the extent of variation in organizational practices between regional branch units. Consequently, in assessing the implications of political devolution in the UK for organization in the major statewide parties, this chapter focuses on their approaches to candidate selection.¹