as local ‘grass-roots’ feeling to their local legislators or at national
party meetings (conventions, conferences, assemblies, etc.). In prin-
ciple in Britain, Labour and Liberal Democrat Party national meet-
ings of activists ‘make’ party policy, whilst the Conservative Party
equivalent only advises the parliamentary leader. In practice all three
are dominated by the parliamentary leadership and can be ignored by
it when this is thought to be politically necessary. In the United
States the only real (but very important) function of the national
party conventions is the selection of presidential candidates.
In Britain, party professionals play only a small political role. On a
local level they are almost exclusively concerned with keeping the
party machine going (and paying their own salaries). On a national
level, headquarters professionals differ in that they are officially
responsible to the (parliamentary) party leader in the Conservative
Party, but to the mass party executive in Labour and the Liberal
Democrat parties. In the United States there are few significant party
employees with each politician employing ‘ad hoc’ groups of image
consultants, pollsters, public relations specialists (‘spin doctors’) and
the like.
In practice, in virtually all liberal democracies, nationally elected
politicians firmly control the national party machinery. In Britain,
the parliamentary party (i.e. its members in the House of Commons)
constitutes the core of the party and, for the government party in
particular, is an important centre for duplex flows of information.
Information is exchanged between MPs and government members,
interest group representatives, party activists and ordinary ‘con-
stituents’. Government backbench MPs seek to increase their chances
of re-election by popularising the government’s message to the
electorate and by alerting government ‘Whips’ to potential and actual
problems. In the United States, incumbent Congressmen and women
are at an enormous advantage in having sizeable professional staffs,
free postage and travel facilities, and the opportunity to do individual
constituents favours and build up good will.
In US parties, and in more conservative parties in Europe, there are
often few party activists to contest control of the party machinery
with elected officials and those who have, or hope to, benefit from
their patronage. European socialist, Christian democratic and, to
some extent, liberal parties may have larger numbers of activists,
some of whom may be ideologically committed ‘militants’ with192 DEMOCRACY