Exeter Constituency Labour Party

General information

Exeter Constituency Labour Party (CLP) was founded shortly after the end of the First World War and achieved its first electoral success in 1929 with the election of a City Councillor in Exwick. Labour has contested every general election in Exeter since 1923 but, prior to the election of Ben Bradshaw in 1997 had only taken the parliamentary seat on one occasion – in 1966 when Gwyneth Dunwoody defeated the sitting Conservative MP.

Exeter Labour Party is organised into branches which correspond to electoral wards or groups of wards. The branch is the basic unit of Labour Party organisation and all branches hold regular meetings which are open to all members in the branch area. Each branch sends delegates to the Exeter CLP General Committee (GC) which is the governing body of Exeter Labour Party and meets once a month. The GC also includes delegates from organisations affiliated to Exeter Labour Party such as the Co-operative Party, the Whipton and Pinhoe Labour Club and a number of local trades union branches. Meetings of the GC are open to all members, although only delegates from branches and affiliated organisations can vote.