Political party affiliation in the United Kingdom facts for kids

Being a member of a political party in the United Kingdom means you officially support a group that shares your ideas about how the country should be run. When you join, there are usually some rules you need to follow. For example, parties often have age limits, and you might need to agree with their main beliefs. They usually don't want you to be a member of another political party at the same time, or to run for election against their chosen candidates. Sometimes, parties also have rules about how their members should behave. If you support a party but don't officially join, you might not be able to get involved in as many activities. Some parties offer a "supporter" status, which has fewer rules than full membership.

History of Party Membership

The number of people joining political parties in the UK has been going down since the 1950s. For example, in 1983, about 4 out of every 100 voters were party members. By 2005, this had dropped to just over 1 out of 100. In 2022, only about 1.5% of British voters were members of the three biggest parties: the Conservatives, Labour, or the Liberal Democrats.

Usually, you can only be a member of one political party at a time. However, there are a few special cases. The Co-operative Party lets its members also join the Labour Party or the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). The Women's Equality Party is even more flexible, allowing its members to be part of any other political party too.

Back in the 1950s, the Conservative Party had around 2.8 million members, and the Labour Party had about 1 million. After 1945, and up until the early 1990s, the Labour Party's wider movement, which included supporters from socialist groups, cooperative parties, and trade unions, grew to between 5 and 6 million people. Since then, those numbers have fallen to about 3.5 million.

The Labour Party started keeping track of its members in 1928, even though it was founded in 1900. The Conservative Party doesn't often share its total membership numbers, and there aren't clear records for them before 1945. It's thought that between World War I and World War II, they had about 1.5 million members, but the exact figures are unknown.

Current Party Membership

Some political parties in the UK share how many members they have, while others don't. There's no law that says they have to release these numbers, or even that the numbers have to be perfectly accurate. Some parties are active across the whole United Kingdom, while others only work in specific countries within the UK, like Scotland or Wales.

Labour Party Membership

In the 2020 election for the Labour Party leader, nearly half a million people voted. Most of these were full members. Some were "affiliated members" (meaning they were part of a group linked to Labour), and a small number were "registered supporters." The registered supporter option was removed in 2021.

Conservative Party Membership

The Conservative Party's membership numbers were shared at the start of their leadership election in July 2022.

Liberal Democrats Membership

The number of Liberal Democrat members grew quickly after the general election was announced in April 2017. It also increased sharply around the local and European Parliament elections in May 2019.

Scottish National Party Membership

The Scottish National Party (SNP) saw a huge increase in members after the 2014 vote on Scottish independence. Before that vote, they had just over 25,000 members. Their membership reached its highest point in August 2018, with over 125,000 members. However, the numbers have fallen by many thousands in recent years.

Reform UK Membership

The number of members for Reform UK doubled in just eight days after Nigel Farage announced he would return to lead the party.

Green Party of England and Wales Membership

On December 31, 2015, the Green Party of England and Wales announced its highest known membership to date, with 63,219 members.

Co-operative Party Membership

Even though the Co-operative Party often runs candidates together with the Labour Party, their memberships are separate. Members of the Co-operative Party can choose to join both parties if they wish.

Rules for Joining a Party

Each political party has its own rules about who can become a member. These rules often focus on whether you agree with the party's goals and if you are a member of any other political parties.

See also

• List of political parties in the United Kingdom
• List of elected British politicians who have changed party affiliation
• Politics of the United Kingdom