Parties, as with other membership organisations, have a structure which gives roles to people within the organisation so that decisions can be taken about how the organisation works and its future direction and also to provide a framework within which members can be involved.
Parties, however, are different in that:-
– They need means to campaign and win elections.
– They constantly have to look at and update their policies, partly to take account of changing events.
– As well as the party in the country there is the Parliamentary Party which consists of the elected MPs and there has to be a relationship between the two arms of the party.
– There has to be a special role for the party Leader who has a high public profile and can be a potential Prime Minister or, in Coalition, a Deputy Prime Minister.
– Labour has a particular relationship with the Trade Unions. Those that are affiliated to the Labour Party, such as Unison or Unite, have roles within the party organisation.
