Joining the Labour Party in 2009 felt a lot like signing up to a glorified market research agency. Rather than feeling like I was a part of a movement that gave me a voice, it instead resembled doing unpaid work for an increasingly detached political elite. So it’s no surprise that political activity within the Labour Party has often been viewed through the prism of careerism. If you’re giving up your time, money, and effort for a cause but your voice isn’t being heard, the rational reason to continue on is a belief that you can climb the ladder, one day become a member of that “detached political elite” and finally be heard.

But that political culture attracts only a very specific personality. Someone who will sit through hours of boring meetings, trudge through rain to knock doors, and spend weekend evenings writing up minutes despite being ignored by the organization for which they sacrifice. Until their career ambitions are realized, they’re aware of their status as mere foot-soldiers in the party machine.

This is an unappealing prospect for most people. When Jeremy Corbyn ran for the Labour leadership in 2015, he did so promising to give more of a voice to party members, particularly in policymaking. Finally, people who had put in so much time, money, and energy felt like they had a leader who might give them some say over the party’s direction. The fact that this is a much more appealing arrangement can be seen in the dramatic increase in Labour membership since 2015.