Political party membership in the UK 2022
In 2022 the Labour Party was estimated to have approximately 432,000 members, by far the most of any political party in the United Kingdom. The following three largest parties in terms of members were the Conservatives at 172,000, the Scottish National Party at 104,000, and the Liberal Democrats at 74,000. Smaller parties such as the Green Party had 54,000 members, and the Welsh Independence party; Plaid Cymru had 10,000 members. Labour Party also has largest number of followers on key social media sites.
A 2024 general elections looms
The next UK general election must take place by January 2025, with a Spring or Autumn 2024 election date likely. As of early 2024, the Labour Party is polling much higher than the Conservative party in a potential general election, and has enjoyed a large lead since late 2022. The collapse in support for the Conservative party corresponds with to their poor political performance that year, which saw the resignation of two Prime Ministers, Boris Johnson, and Liz Truss, the latter of which resigned after less than 50 days in the role. Although Truss' replacement, Rishi Sunak managed to restore a degree of stability to the UK government, his rating as Prime Minister has gradually sunk, along with the Conservatives prospects of reelection.
Labour locked out of power since 2010
While the Labour Party is in a good position to win the next election, it has also not been in power since 2010 and has struggled to oust successive Tory governments. Although polls suggested they might win in 2015, the result was actually a convincing win for the Conservatives. This was followed by the Brexit referendum in 2016, leading to a period of political chaos in the UK. A snap 2017 general election saw Labour increase their vote share enough to deny the Conservatives an overall majority but not win themselves. In the 2019 general election, Labour suffered its worst result since the 1930s, winning just 203 seats , 59 fewer than in 2017, and as a share of the vote, a drop of 7.8 percent.
