Local parties are vital in identifying potential talent within their ranks. The recent reforms leading to “one person one vote” changed this system but it does claim to be fairer as it includes all those who have a vested interest in the party and who have a right to vote on such matters rather than leaving it to just a handful of MP’s representing the party in Parliament.Īt a local and regional level, parties also ‘introduce’ selected candidates to politics. The system in the Labour Party is rather more convoluted with the involvement of the unions and party members etc. While the Liberal Democrats and Labour used the traditional method of voting for a new leader – by a simple vote among MP’s – the Tories have for the 2001 leadership contest introduced a vote for its 330,000 party members to give the system a greater air of democracy. A potential party leader should be charismatic, good at public speaking, have the powers of persuasion, the energy for public campaigning and above all the respect of his/her party. Only if the party analysts and researchers have got their information correct, and their findings show that people would be willing to do this, would there be a chance that this would become an electoral issue.Ī political party must also select its leader with the death, retirement etc of its incumbent leader. Everybody wants a cleaner environment but no individual wants to see his/her income decreased to assist in the financing of it. All political analysts decided that this was an honest statement but political folly as no-one was going to vote in a party – however laudable its policies – if they meant that their own income tax would increase, even if they did support a policy of more money going into state education.Īny imposed “Green Tax” to fund a clean-up of the environment would also certainly meet with the same response. In 1997, the Liberal Democrats lead by Paddy Ashdown, stated in the run-up to the election, that they, if elected, would put 1p on income tax to fund education. If the support for one is an electoral liability (even if it is a sound prospective policy) then it is likely that such support will not be forthcoming. A government is likely to listen to any of the values or the interest/pressure groups if there is a political reason to do so.
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