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Parties, movements and the 2014 Scottish independence referendum: explaining the post-referendum party membership surges

Parties, movements and the 2014 Scottish independence referendum: explaining the post-referendum party membership surges
Parties, movements and the 2014 Scottish independence referendum: explaining the post-referendum party membership surges

Some political parties have experienced a resurgence in membership. This article seeks to explain membership surges in the Scottish National Party and Scottish Greens following the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence and an unusually movement-like campaign. Using data from a 2016–17 survey of the parties’ memberships, we examine why large numbers joined these pro-independence parties following defeat in the referendum. We demonstrate that the new members had experienced a sense of belonging to a Yes movement during the campaign but were not intensely active; and reasons for joining the parties look more conventional than movement-based. We argue that the referendum created a unique platform for the parties to advertise their objectives on the constitution and other policy areas and thus attract new recruits, few of whom were seeking to maintain the participatory activities that flourished during the referendum. The minority that are active movement-oriented joiners look the least likely to be satisfied by party membership.

movements, party membership, referendums, Scottish Greens, SNP
1354-0688
1184-1197
Bennie, Lynn
64fd5a12-457e-4239-b0e3-448d3f329a48
Mitchell, James
0c4ca906-da8c-4d12-b288-0b72a194fc2e
Johns, Robert
02861bc9-b704-49b1-bbc7-cf1c1e9b7a35
Bennie, Lynn
64fd5a12-457e-4239-b0e3-448d3f329a48
Mitchell, James
0c4ca906-da8c-4d12-b288-0b72a194fc2e
Johns, Robert
02861bc9-b704-49b1-bbc7-cf1c1e9b7a35

Bennie, Lynn, Mitchell, James and Johns, Robert (2020) Parties, movements and the 2014 Scottish independence referendum: explaining the post-referendum party membership surges. Party Politics, 27 (6), 1184-1197. (doi:10.1177/1354068820939799).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Some political parties have experienced a resurgence in membership. This article seeks to explain membership surges in the Scottish National Party and Scottish Greens following the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence and an unusually movement-like campaign. Using data from a 2016–17 survey of the parties’ memberships, we examine why large numbers joined these pro-independence parties following defeat in the referendum. We demonstrate that the new members had experienced a sense of belonging to a Yes movement during the campaign but were not intensely active; and reasons for joining the parties look more conventional than movement-based. We argue that the referendum created a unique platform for the parties to advertise their objectives on the constitution and other policy areas and thus attract new recruits, few of whom were seeking to maintain the participatory activities that flourished during the referendum. The minority that are active movement-oriented joiners look the least likely to be satisfied by party membership.

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e-pub ahead of print date: 22 July 2020
Additional Information: Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2020.
Keywords: movements, party membership, referendums, Scottish Greens, SNP

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 489667
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/489667
ISSN: 1354-0688
PURE UUID: b08fb4d3-0b8d-4832-85c1-c42d9cc4b925
ORCID for Robert Johns: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4543-7463

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Date deposited: 30 Apr 2024 16:45
Last modified: 01 May 2024 02:10

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Contributors

Author: Lynn Bennie
Author: James Mitchell
Author: Robert Johns ORCID iD

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