Brexit and party change: The Conservatives and Labour at Westminster
| Author | Richard Hayton |
| DOI | 10.1177/01925121211003787 |
| Published date | 01 June 2022 |
| Date | 01 June 2022 |
https://doi.org/10.1177/01925121211003787
International Political Science Review
2022, Vol. 43(3) 345 –358
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/01925121211003787
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Brexit and party change: The
Conservatives and Labour at
Westminster
Richard Hayton
School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds, UK
Abstract
This article analyses the extent of party change in response to the vote for Brexit in the Conservative Party
and the Labour Party. It focuses particularly on how both parties struggled to manage internal divisions and
ideological conflict, and how each sought to manage the issue in terms of party competition. It argues that
the Conservative Party victory at the 2019 UK general election was the result of an ultimately more effective
response to the electoral dynamics unleashed by Brexit, as the party adjusted its position to successfully
mobilise the coalition of Leave voters into party competition, while Labour struggled to do the same with
Remain voters. In short, it suggests that substantial party change, particularly by the Conservatives, effectively
averted major party system change and the realignment of British politics many analysts predicted. This case
study analysis consequently contributes to the wider theoretical literature on external system shocks and
party change.
Keywords
Brexit, party change, Conservative Party, Labour Party, party system, Westminster
Introduction
The vote for Brexit plunged both the Conservative Party and the Labour Party into turmoil. On the
morning of 24 June 2016, within hours of the result being declared, Prime Minister David Cameron
had announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party. The Labour leader, Jeremy
Corbyn, called for Article 50 to be triggered immediately, prompting a backlash from his own
party. Within days, more than two-thirds of his shadow cabinet had resigned, citing a lack of con-
fidence in his leadership and his handling of the EU issue. On 28 June Corbyn lost a vote of no
confidence by the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) 172 to 40, but refused to resign, choosing
instead to fight on. The two main parties at Westminster consequently both faced summer leader-
ship contests, as they sought to come to terms with the referendum result and map out their
response. However, as discussed below, in neither case did the leadership election resolve the
Corresponding author:
Richard Hayton, School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, LS2 9JT, UK.
Email: r.hayton@leeds.ac.uk
1003787IPS0010.1177/01925121211003787International Political Science ReviewHayton
research-article2021
Special Issue: The Brexit Effect
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