ABSTRACT
British political parties have different organisational origins which are still reflected in their current structures. The organisational differences between the Conservative and Labour parties, for example, have frequently been explained by the fact that the Conservatives were a party in Parliament before they acquired a mass membership, whereas the Labour Party was formed by extra-parliamentary organisations. As a consequence, Labour has traditionally been more concerned with grass-roots opinion – a ‘bottom-up’ party – while the Conservatives have been more elitist – a ‘top-down’ party. In the past this explanation had much to commend it, but it requires re-examination because in the period since the 1997 general election both parties have made significant organisational changes and, over a longer time-span, the composition of the parties has changed. Similarly, while the old Liberal Party might have shared an organisational heritage with the Conservatives, the current Liberal Democratic party is very different and merits separate consideration.
