Elections, leaflets and whist drives: constituency party members in Britain between the wars

Abstract

This chapter focuses on a survey of local party archives in five British counties-Devon, Durham, Leicestershire, Midlothian-Peebles and Monmouthshire. It broadens the agenda by focusing on the three major parties in five separate counties. Political organisations are formed to perform a specific function; that is, to elect representatives to positions of political power. The selection of parliamentary and municipal election candidates was perhaps the most important function of a local political organisation. In all three parties, the divisional associations retained a considerable degree of autonomy over this process. Research focused on local and divisional political organisation can reveal much about the experiences and activities of party activists in Britain between the wars. An array of methods was devised, although Conservative, Liberal and Labour members all showed a particular penchant for the whist drive. In particular, the tireless effort exerted by party activists deserves due recognition, particularly given the voluntary nature of a political organisation.