Abstract:It is well known the membership of British Conservative Party in the 1950s dwarfed that of other parties, but despite this there has been very little examination of the party's grassroots in this crucial period. What literature there is comes predominantly from the top‐down focus of national politics and revolves around four disputed images. Firstly, high‐levels of membership are associated with commendable engagement with formal politics. Secondly, local associations are presented as inconsequential but auton… Show more
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