Radical or Compliant? Young Party Members in Britain

Past studies of young people and politics suggest that parties have been reluctant to offer young members a meaningful voice within party organisations. These studies often portray youth sections as fiercely independent of their parent parties and young members more generally as proponents of radical policy ideas and strategies. This paper explores these assumptions by analysing available data-sets on party members (Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and SNP). The data allow us to examine reasons young party members join the respective parties, the ways in which young members contribute to party organisations, and their views on policies, strategies and leaders. Does the evidence support the radical youth thesis? The findings inform an analysis of the role of young members in Britain’s parties, exploring the implications for party recruitment and the place of youth wings within party structures