Quinn, Thomas and Allen, Nicholas and Bartle, John (2026) The Red–Green Electoral Threat to the Labour Party. The Political Quarterly. DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923x.70061
Quinn, Thomas and Allen, Nicholas and Bartle, John (2026) The Red–Green Electoral Threat to the Labour Party. The Political Quarterly. DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923x.70061
Quinn, Thomas and Allen, Nicholas and Bartle, John (2026) The Red–Green Electoral Threat to the Labour Party. The Political Quarterly. DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923x.70061
Abstract
For the first time, Labour faces credible electoral threats from minor parties to its left. The Greens and the newly formed Your Party offer left-wing and Muslim voters disillusioned with Labour viable electoral alternatives and parliamentary representation. This article considers how great the threat is to Labour. It uses a model of how minor parties emerge under the first-past-the-post electoral system to show that Labour faces challenges in some of its safest seats. The Greens pose a threat in English cities while Your Party and Muslim independents are competitive in constituencies with sizeable Muslim populations. Nevertheless, a major collapse for Labour would happen only if these parties and their potential voters were prepared to split the left-wing vote in more marginal constituencies, potentially handing power to the right at the next election. The minor parties and independents might need to coordinate to maximise their respective performances, possibly through an electoral pact.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Labour Party; Green Party of England and Wales; Your Party; 2024 UK general election; first-past-the-post electoral system; two-party system |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences > Government, Department of |
| SWORD Depositor: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
| Depositing User: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Jun 2026 14:16 |
| Last Modified: | 10 Jun 2026 14:16 |
| URI: | http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/43390 |
Available files
Filename: Political Quarterly - 2026 - Quinn - The Red Green Electoral Threat to the Labour Party.pdf
Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0