ABSTRACT
Parties need to retain as well as recruit members but until now there has been very little academic work done on why people quit. Our research shows that the decision to leave one’s party is driven predominantly by political and ideological disagreements rather than by life events, poor administration and communication or personal animosities. How much members agree with the direction their party is taking - and the leader who is taking it in that direction - matters more than, say, whether they are male or female, working class or middle class. How active they are, how effective they feel and how much being a member has lived up to their expectations, also matters, as does how long they’ve stuck with the party and how active they are in it. When seeking to minimize churn and boost renewals, parties should remember that the best systems in the world are unlikely to help much if they (and their leaders) say and do things that breach members’ trust.
