New figures shared by The Independent show that since losing the general election in May, the Labour party has gained more members than the Conservatives have in total.
Almost 184,000 people have become Labour party members since 5 May – that’s a lot, considering the Conservative party membership figure is 150,000.
FYI, this latter figure comes from the House of Commons Library August 2015, as the Conservatives didn’t provide The Independent with more recent stats.
Jeremy Corbyn, who was voted shadow leader by a 60% majority, now heads up a party with a total membership of 370,600. Again, this is a pretty mega number, as the record membership high (back in the Tony Blair, ’97 days) was 400,000).
Speaking on BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show, Corbyn’s deputy Tom Watson spoke positively about the surge of new members: ‘I hope they can come with us on the journey to the election in 2020. Let’s get these new members involved in campaigning, helping relay our roots in communities, being involved in a digital revolution in the party that allows members to feel that they’re more included in the decisions we make.’
When it comes to pricing, both parties offer reduced membership fees for young people, who don’t necessarily want to shell out a load of cash so they can receive a monthly e-newsletter and vote on stuff every now and then.
Labour offers a standard membership deal of £3.88 a month, for actual grown-ups, but reduces it to £1 per month for students and young people up to the age of 26.
The Conservative party has a £5-a-year deal for under-23s (it’s usual annual membership price is £25.)
Whatever the tactics, for Labour, something’s clearly working. We wonder what will happen in the next election? Shame there’s 1,671 days before we find out.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.