Labour Party membership dips below 400,000 for first time in almost a decade

Membership of the Labour Party dipped below 400,000 for the first time since 2015, according to recently published documents.

According to the party’s annual accounts, Labour lost 37,000 members during 2023, with a total membership of 370,450 at the end of last year.

The figure is significantly down from its peak of 564,443 in 2017.

While the party maintains the largest membership of any UK political party, the dip marks the first time Labour’s membership dropped below 400,000 since 2015, the year Jeremy Corbyn became party leader. That year, the party reported a total membership of 388,262, up from 193,754 in 2014.

A spokesperson for the left-wing campaign group Momentum said that the party’s membership was down “due to the leadership failing to offer the transformative, popular policies needed to rebuild Britain after 14 years of Tory austerity”.

The spokesperson told LabourList: “Repeated attacks on pluralism and party democracy in order to weaken the left and threaten independent-minded voices within the party has come at a cost.

“Starmer may see this as smart politics, but the party must promote an active engaged mass membership to retain political relevance for the long term.”

READ MORE: Labour outspent Conservatives by more than £18m in 2023 ahead of election

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “With Keir Starmer’s leadership, the Labour Party has changed, returning politics to public service and a laser focus on rebuilding our country.

“Our historic general election win was only possible because of this and the hard work and enthusiasm of our party members who shared Labour’s positive message across the country in the campaign.

“Since the general election, thousands of people have joined Labour as new party members, as Keir Starmer’s Labour government delivers transformative change for the country.”

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