Abstract
This paper offers a retrospective analysis of the trade union block vote, a key internal institution in the decision-making bodies of the British Labour Party. The block vote is normally presented as an institution that facilitated oligarchic control of the Labour Party, a claim largely accepted in this paper. Much less attention has been given to its efficiency in safeguarding the supply of trade union resources to the party by linking financial donations to voting power. To understand both the efficient and distributional consequences of the block vote, a political exchange approach to the study of party organizations is adopted.
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