Election campaigning, organisational transformation and the professionalisation of the British Labour Party

This paper deals with the relationship between election campaign innovation and organisational change within parties. Using the case of the British Labour Party, the paper considers how far campaign changes of the past few years entail the organisational transformation of the party. Broadly speaking, it seems reasonable to conclude that the professionalisation of Labour's election campaign personnel has had significant implications both for policy and for the autonomy of the party leadership. These developments indicate a partial, but nonetheless significant, transformation of Labour's organisation.