When Labour fought the general election in May it had around 200,000 full members. It now has more than 380,000, close to the 400,000 reached in 1997 and an increase of around 90,000 since Jeremy Corbyn became leader.
But what is rarely noted is that these are net figures: the number who have joined minus the number who have left. Two months after Corbyn’s election, MPs are struck by those exiting as well as those entering. Peep Show actor Robert Webb, who endorsed Yvette Cooper in the Labour leadership election, revealed yesterday that he had left the party – and he is far from the only one. One senior MP estimated that for every 75 members who joined, around 25 left. The majority of those departing are likely, as in Webb’s case, to have voted fo non-Corbyn candidates.
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