2. Political parties

Question 1

What is the difference between the right wing and left wing?

Answer 1

• Right wing - Supporting the status quo for little to no change. They stress the importance of order, stability, hierarchy and private property
• Left wing - Desiring change, reform and alteration to the way that society operates, including socialists, who are critical of the capitalist or free-market economy

Question 2

What are the functions that a political party performs within a democratic system?

Answer 2

• Representation
• Participation
• Recruiting office holders
• Formulating policy
• Educative
• Providing government

Question 3

How do political parties perform representation?

Answer 3

• Parties represent the views of people with a certain set of beliefs
• Those who have a broadly right-wing outlook have historically been drawn to the Conservative Party; those with a left-wing frame of mind have tended to gravitate towards Labour

Question 4

How do political parties perform participation?

Answer 4

To win power or influence, parties encourage people to participate in politics - to vote, join a party and to support it through funding to get its message across

Question 5

How do political parties recruit office holders?

Answer 5

• Party membership leads to recruitment as candidates for public office and thus participation in the UK’s representative democracy
• Candidates can learn political skills as campaigners and organisers
• Parties also have the right to reject or ‘deselect’ candidates who fail to live up to their expectation
• Before the 2015 general election, Conservative activists in Thirsk and Milton and South Suffolk didn’t allow the sitting MPs to stand again as candidates

Question 6

How do political parties formulate policy in a democratic system?

Answer 6

• Parties make policies that support the ideas for which they stand for
• At a general election they put these proposals before the electorate in a manifesto
• E.g. At the 2015 general election the NHS was a key battleground. The Conservatives promised to give people access to their GP 7 days a week, while Labour pledged that patients would be given an appointment within 48 hours

Question 7

What is the function ‘educative’ that political parties perform?

Answer 7

• Communicating and explaining their ideas to the public
• (Although they do this to win popular support, so are likely to distort opponents’ policies in their own interests)

Question 8

How are political parties provided government?

Answer 8

The winning party at a general election has the opportunity to form a government and that party then controls the business of Parliament

Question 9

How are UK political parties funded?

Answer 9

• Most receive income in the form of membership subscriptions
• Donations
• Labour received a lot of funds from trade unions
• Conservatives are bankrolled by wealthy business interests
• Short money - Special state provision to support the activities of the opposition in Parliament

Question 10

Why has party funding been controversial for the 3 main UK political parties?

Answer 10

• Because of the suspicion that powerful interests offer financial support in return for political influence
• The larger parties have been accused of offering political honours, such as places in the HoLs, to their most generous benefactors, a practice that seems to run counter to principles of democracy and openness
• The Conservatives has historically been seen as the party of big business, Labour has traditionally been funded by the trade unions, which played a major role in founding the party and shaping its policies
• The Libdems often criticise their opponents for being bankrolled by the wealthy

Question 11

When was the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act passed and why?

Answer 11

Blair’s government passed it in 2000 in an attempt to overcome the perception that party funding had become an undemocratic feature of the UK political system

Question 12

What was the results of the 2000 Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act?

Answer 12

• An independent electoral commission was set up to supervise party spending on election campaigns
• The amount that a party could spend was capped at £30000 in a constituency
• Donations of more than £5000 (nationally) or £1000 (to a constituency party) had to be declared, and parties had to public details of donations at regular intervals
• Donations from individuals not on the UK electoral roll were banned

Question 13

What have been potential reforms for political party funding?

Answer 13

1. 2007 report by Sir Hayden Phillips proposed moving towards a system where parties are funded from taxpayers’ money
2. Suggestion to Impose limits on individual donations to parties, supported by Labour and Libdems at the 2015 election
3. Conservative government’s 2016 Trade Union Act obliged new trade-union members to choose whether to ‘opt-in’ to making payments towards the political levy

Question 14

What were the consequences of each potential reform for political funding?

Answer 14

• 2007 Report - Pressure to make public spending cuts under the coalition government meant that this was not the time to place an additional burden on the taxpayer
• 2015 election - Debate was complicated by issues of party-political advantages as the Conservatives, who stood to lose most from such a move, wanted to place corresponding restrictions on Labour’s trade-union backers
• Conservative government’s 2016 Trade Union Act - Was expected to lead to a significant drop in the funding received by the Labour Party from the unions

Question 15

What are the arguments ‘FOR’ state funding of parties?

Answer 15

• Parties play an important role in representative democracy, so deserve public funding
• Public funding would remove the great disparity in resources available to different-sized parties
• If the state matched donations by party members, it might encourage participation by the public and recruitment to parties
• It would curb the possibly corrupt influence of private backers on party policy

Question 16

What are the arguments ‘AGAINST’ state funding of parties?

Answer 16

• Increased state funding could lead to calls for greater state regulation, possibly reducing parties’ independence
• It is hard to decide how much support a party should have to qualify for funding
• Public funding could isolate parties from the wishes of the voters
• Taxpayers would resent compulsory contributions to parties of which they disapprove

Question 17

What are the subsections of the Conservative Party’s view over time

Answer 17

• Traditional Conservatism
• One-Nation Conservatism
• Thatcherism and the New Right

Question 18

What was the origin of traditional conservatism?

Answer 18

• Late 17th century, an aristocratic grouping
• By the 1830s, under the leadership of Sir Robert Peel, it was evolving into a party dedicated to the defence of property and traditional authority against the threat of revolution
• Peel stressed the importance of gradual reform in order to protect, or conserve, established institutions
• Party was remarkably successful in the late-19th and 20th centuries, broadening its support by appealing to the middle classes as well as the land-owning aristocracy

Question 19

What developed from Traditional Conservatism?

Answer 19

One-Nation conservatism

Question 20

What was one-nation conservatism?

Answer 20

• Paternalistic approach adopted by Conservatives under the leadership of Benjamin Disraeli in the 19th century
• Was continued by David Cameron and Theresa May in the 21st century - revolving around the idea that the rich have an obligation to help the poor

Question 21

What was the change in the ideological form of conservatism after ‘one-nation’?

Answer 21

Thatcherism and New Right

Question 22

What is New Right?

Answer 22

An approach that combined:

• The thinking of Neo-Conservatives who wanted the state to take a more authoritarian approach to morality and law and order; and
• The thinking of Neo-liberals who endorsed the free market and the rolling back of the state in people’s lives and businesses

Question 23

What was the ideology of Thatcherism’s idea(s)?

Answer 23

• Sought to reduce state intervention in the economy
• Restoring order to society in the face of rising challenges from militant trade unions and other groups on the left
• Its radical agenda rejected the instinct of One Nation Conservatives to seek compromise
• Aimed to ‘roll back the state’ and encourage individuals to take more responsibility for themselves

Question 24

What key themes did Thatcherism compromise?

Answer 24

• Control of public spending combined with tax cuts to provide incentives for business leaders and to stimulate economic growth
• Privatisation of industries and services taken into state ownership, to promote improvement and wider consumer choice through competition
• Legal limits on the power of trade unions, to deter industrial action
• A tough approach to law and order, with increased police and judicial powers

Question 25

Who took over from Thatcher in 1990?

Answer 25

John Major (1990-97)

Question 26

How successful was John Majors 1990-97 premiership?

Answer 26

• To some extent represented the continuation of Thatcherism but he projected a less confrontational image
• His premiership was troubled by growing divisions over Europe after a narrow general election victory in April 1992
• He sought without success to reconcile two competing party factions with differing views (Hard-line Eurosceptics and a smaller pro-European group)
• These divisions, together with a series of scandals and a growing sense of exhaustion on the part of the government, contributed to a devastating general election defeat in May 1997

Question 27

Who were the three prime ministers between 1997 and 2005?

Answer 27

• William Hague (1997-2001)
• Iain Duncan Smith (2001-2003)
• Michael Howard (2003-2005)

Question 28

How successful were Hague, Duncan Smith, and Howard as PM between 1997-2005?

Answer 28

• All failed to unseat a triumphant Tony Blair who successfully held the centre ground of British politics to win two more electoral victories for Labour in 2001 and 2005
• They failed to distance themselves sufficiently from Thatcherism, which the public identified with a now discredited past
• All three seemed unable to move the party beyond an association with traditional issues e.g. Europe, immigration and law and order
• With an ageing membership and outdated policies, the party failed to appeal to an increasingly diverse society

Question 29

How was the election of David Cameron in 2005 a big achievement for the Conservative Party?

Answer 29

• Was a serious attempt to ‘detoxify’ the Conservative brand
• Brought the fresh thinking of a new generation
• He learned from the way in which Blair had reinvented the Labour Party to win support beyond its traditional core vote
• He showed an interest in the environment, which was assuming greater importance as a political issue e.g. posing with husky dogs on a visit to a melting glacier in Norway
• Demonstrated that he valued public services e.g. NHS, on which the majority of the population relied
• Formed a coalition government with Lib dems in 2010 and managed to work with his coalition partners for a full five years, before winning a slim victory and forming a purely Conservative gov in 2015

Question 30

What made Cameron and Thatcher different to the 3 PMs before them?

Answer 30

• They both maintained that they stood on the side of ordinary people, rather than just the interests of a well-off elite
• Where Thatcher had presented the Conservatives as the party of thrusting individualism, Cameron emphasised the bonds between people, arguing the case for co-operation between the state and the voluntary sector in building the ‘Big Society’
• New approach seemed like an updated version of ‘One Nation Conservatism’

Question 31

What were the important respects/ policies in which Cameron and his party remained close to the ideas of Thatcherism?

Answer 31

• Economic policy
• Welfare policy
• Law and Order
• Foreign policy

Question 32

How was ‘economic policy’ a important respect/policy in which Cameron and his party remained close to the ideas of Thatcherism?

Answer 32

• Camerons priority was to reduce the budget deficit inherited from the previous Labour government
• Cameron and his Chancellor, George Osborne, accused their predecessors of irresponsible over-spending, which they blamed for the financial crisis of 2008
• Their response in office was to insist on a programme of public spending cuts, dubbed ‘austerity’, to maintain the confidence of the financial markets and prevent Britain’s borrowing costs from rising

Question 33

How was ‘welfare policy’ a important respect/policy in which Cameron and his party remained close to the ideas of Thatcherism?

Answer 33

• The coalition’s policies were intended to cut costs and encourage those receiving benefits to be more self-reliant
• The ‘Universal credit’ system is intended to simplify the welfare system and encourage low-income people to take up employment
• The coalition implemented a radical overhaul of the NHS, allowing the private sector to compete with state hospitals

Question 34

How was ‘law and order’ a important respect/policy in which Cameron and his party remained close to the ideas of Thatcherism?

Answer 34

• In opposition Cameron seemed to take a more liberal attitude towards law and order, calling for more understanding of young offenders in a speech dubbed ‘hug a hoodie’ by the media
• In office he tried to follow a balance approach to crime
• He supported tough sentencing for certain crimes but promoted a ‘rehabilitation revolution’ to reduce the problem of reoffending by people leaving prison unprepared for life on the outside
• Cameron’s policies on law and order resembled Tony Blair’s insistence that government must be ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime

Question 35

How was ‘foreign policy’ a important respect/policy in which Cameron and his party remained close to the ideas of Thatcherism?

Answer 35

• He had links with the US, support for airstrikes against Islamic terror groups in Syria and Iraq, and a pragmatic Euro-scepticism
• Cameron tried to fight his corner in the EU. He renegotiated the terms of British membership before holding a referendum resulted in a majority vote to leave the EU
• Theresa May adopted a similarly tough approach to getting the best available deal from the remaining members of the EU in the ‘Brexit’ negotiations

Question 36

What are the subsections of the Labour Party’s view and how they’ve developed?

Answer 36

• Old Labour (social democracy)
• New Labour (Third Way)

Question 37

What is the origin of the Labour Party and the view of ‘Old Labour’?

Answer 37

• Founded 1900 by a group of socialist societies and trade unions
• It was known until 1906 as the Labour Representation Committee, revealing its original purpose - to get more working class MPs into parliament, where they could push for improved working and living conditions for the working class
• The first Labour government took office in 1924 under PM Ramsay MacDonald but it was a short-lived administration that did not command a parliamentary majority
• The time there was a majority Labour government wasn’t until 1945, headed by Clement Attlee, able to make important changes

Question 38

What is the view on the origin of social democracy under Labour?

Answer 38

• Post-war labour governments between 1945 and 1979 described themselves as socialist but in practice they were social democratic: they did not try to abolish capitalism, but aimed to manage it so that it did not exploit the workforce
• Social democrats emphasised the importance of welfare policy in redistributing wealth and creating a fairer society
• E.g. The creation of comprehensive schools, intended to promote greater equality of opportunity

Question 39

What is Old Labour (social democracy)?

Answer 39

Key Labour principles embodying nationalisation, redistribution of wealth from rich to poor and the provision of continually improving welfare and state services - an approach which largely rejected the more free market approach associated with Thatcherism or New Labour

Question 40

What were the failures of the last ‘Old Labour’ PM between 1979-1983 and their impact?

Answer 40

• PM James Callaghan at the 1979 general election heralded a division between moderate social democrats and more left-wing elements
• Labour lost the 1983 election on a hard-line socialist programme calling for further nationalisation, increased taxation and spending, and the abolition of Britain’s nuclear defences which the left viewed as a capitalist organisation
• Following this catastrophic defeat and the election of a new leader, Neil Kinnock, the slow work of rebuilding began

Question 41

What is New Labour (Third Way)?

Answer 41

From ‘Old Labour’ theres a shift in emphasis from a heavy focus on the working class to a wider class base, and a less robust alliance with the trade unions

Question 42

What happened in the early stages of the change of Labour from ‘Old’ to ‘New Labour’?

Answer 42

• In an attempt to broaden its support, the Labour Party began to move away from its hard left position of the early 1980s
• This involved a gradual recognition that, as the old industrial base of the country disappeared and people became more affluent, policies that appealed solely to the traditional working class would not be enough to win a general election
• It took two more defeats, in 1987 and 1992, and the election of a forceful new leader, Tony Blair, to complete this process

Question 43

What did the Labour Party do after the appointment of Tony Blair to change their government for the better?

Answer 43

• They dropped unpopular policy proposals, crucially revising Clause 4 of its constitution in 1995 so that it was no longer committed to nationalisation
• The role played by the trade unions in the party was downgraded, and the party leadership developed links with the business community
• Party was rebranded as ‘New Labour’
• Strong emphasis was placed on managing the media to project a more modern image, and great efforts were made to ensure that Labour demonstrated unity and discipline

Question 44

What did key progressive thinker Anthony Giddens do for the Labour party when it was rebranded as ‘New Labour’?

Answer 44

Aimed to find a ‘third way’ between old-style socialism and free-market capitalism

Question 45

What is the timeline of Labour Party leaders between 1983 and 2020?

Answer 45

• Michael Foot (1980-83)
• Neil Kinnock (1983-92)
• John Smith (1992-94)
• Tony Blair (1994-2007)
• Gordon Brown (2007-10)
• Ed Miliband (2010-15)
• Jeremy Corbyn (2015-2020)

Question 46

What was the controversy around the creation of New Labour?

Answer 46

• Many traditional socialists rejected these modernising efforts as a betrayal of their heritage
• They felt that Blair was too much at home with business leaders and too enthusiastic for the values of the market
• Blair’s building of close links with the US government, culminating in the 2003 Iraq war, further damaged his credentials as a progressive figure
• In contrast, Blair’s supporters argued that New Labour was a necessary adaptation to a changing society and that, in the words of Deputy PM John Prescott, it embodied ‘traditional values in a modern setting

Question 47

What were the key features of New Labour in power?

Answer 47

• Emphasis on wealth creation rather than redistribution
• People need to be aware of their responsibilities to the community as well as their rights
• Responsibility in handling the national finances
• Enlisting the public sector to deliver public services
• Influence of liberal ideology on Labour thinking

Question 48

How was ‘Emphasis on wealth creation rather than redistribution’ a key feature of New Labour in power?

Answer 48

• The governments sought to reduce poverty but didn’t make the elimination of inequality a priority
• E.g. They introduced a national minimum wage but at a less generous level (£3.60 phr for adults) than the trade unions wanted
• Blair in particular regarded individual aspiration to a better standard of life, achieved through a person’s efforts, as entirely neutral

Question 49

How was ‘People need to be aware of their responsibilities to the community as well as their rights’ a key feature of New Labour in power?

Answer 49

• Blair sought to impose conditions on the receipt of welfare benefits, and brought in legal measures to deal with anti-social behaviour known as ASBOs (Anti-Social Behaviour Orders)
• These could be imposed by a magistrate, banning an individual from particular activities or entering a specific area
• Blair declared that a Labour government must be ‘tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime’ - willing to punish criminal behaviour, while continuing to tackle poor social conditions

Question 50

How was ‘Responsibility in handling the national finances’ a key feature of New Labour in power?

Answer 50

• The New Labour governments aimed to differentiate themselves from earlier social democratic administrations, by conserving resources before investing more in key public services
• A major turning point was the increase in National Insurance contributions in 2002, which led to the largest ever rise in spending on the NHS

Question 51

How was ‘Enlisting the public sector to deliver public services’ a key feature of New Labour in power?

Answer 51

• E.g. Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts were awarded to private firms to build new schools and hospitals

Question 52

How was ‘Influence of liberal ideology on Labour thinking’ a key feature of New Labour in power?

Answer 52

• Showed in devolution - the transfer of central government functions to new representative bodies in Scotland, Wales and NI - and the passage of the Human Rights Act
• However, New Labour governments proved willing to curb civil liberties in their campaign against crime and terrorism, extending the time that suspects could be detained before being charged, widening police powers and proposing the introduction of identity cards

Question 53

What were the policy changes in 2008-9 due to the financial crisis and recession?

Answer 53

• Shift in policy by the Brown government
• The Treasury pumped money into the banking system in an attempt to boost economic activity
• The government nationalised , or part-nationalised the most vulnerable banks in order to restore confidence
• Brown broke an earlier promise not to raise income tax levels by creating a new 50% band, to be paid by those who earned more than £150,000 a year - a sign that Labour wanted the better-off to assume some responsibility for dealing with the perilous economic situation
• Brown proposed to maintain public spending, arguing that district cuts, recommended by Conservatives, would starve the economy of resources and prolong the downturn

Question 54

What was the view on the policy changes Brown made in 2008-9 because of the financial crisis?

Answer 54

• Claims that New Labour ideology had been abandoned
• However, these were emergence measures at a time of heightened concern for the future of the financial system, and were quite unlike the ideologically driven commitment to public ownership of the ‘Old Labour’ period

Question 55

During the period of 2010 to 2015 under the leadership of Ed Miliband’s what were his actions on New Labour?

Answer 55

• Maintained some elements of New Labour policies, while shifting slightly to the left
• The new leader called for the restoration of the 50% top rate of income tax, which the coalition had reduced to 45%, and for a temporary energy price freeze
• However, it is important not to exaggerate the extent to which Miliband broke with the party’s recent past
• Miliband and his Shadow Chancellor concentrated their attack on the most controversial aspects of the ‘austerity’ programme, such as the unpopular ‘bedroom tax, rather than rejecting the coalition’s whole economic strategy
• Miliband tried to combine New Labour’s support for business with the defence of the party’s core working-class constituency by drawing a distinction between what he called ‘predatory’ and ‘responsible’ capitalism
• In calling for a crackdown on tax avoidance, and more spending on the NHS, he was only echoing the coalition parties
• At the 2015 election Miliband pledged to reduce the deficit every year of the next parliament
• He insisted that Labour’s spending plans would be paid for without additional borrowing

Question 56

What was the downfall of Labour in 2015 what did it lead to?

Answer 56

• Miliband was dubbed ‘Red Ed’ and many media commentators ascribed his defeat in the May 2015 election to his perceived hostility to the private sector and willingness to return to ‘tax and spend’ policies
• However by 2015 there was pressure for Labour to adopt a much more radical approach
• Some party members attributed the landslide victory of the SNP in Scotland, where Labour was left with just one Westminster seat, to the party being insufficiently left wing

Question 57

What was the controversy around Jeremy Corbyn’s appointment to leadership in 2015?

Answer 57

• He was a staunchly socialist backbencher
• He was preferred by the party membership and by a large margin to either of the most experienced candidates
• Corbyn’s left wing agenda meant that he struggled to create a united shadow cabinet, and opponents in the parliamentary party forced a second leadership contest in the autumn of 2016, which he won
• There’d never been such a divide between the party’s MPs, who favoured a more cautious, centrist approach, and its rank-and-file membership, who warmed to Corbyn’s unconventional, anti-establishment style

Question 58

What were Labour’s economic policies in the Corbyn era?

Answer 58

• He took Miliband-Balls idea of increase investment in the economy further, calling for large-scale funding of industry and infrastructure, organised by a National Investment Bank
• An important aim was to reduce regional inequalities
• Called for the re-nationalisation of railways (New Labour gov refused to adopt)
• Demanded that companies publish pay audits with the aim of countering discrimination in the workplace
• Favoured restoration of the 50% top rate of income tax like Miliband
• He was more clear-cut in his opposition to austerity, characterising it as a ‘political choice’ that harmed the most vulnerable members of society, rather than an ‘economic necessity’

Question 59

What were Labour’s welfare policies in the Corbyn era?

Answer 59

• Strongly opposed benefit cuts. He regarded the poor as the victims of capitalism, who are entitled to public support
• Opposed the use of the private sector to deliver public services
• Argued for a wholly state-run NHS
• In order to promote lifelong education and training, he called for a ‘national education service’ and opposed student tuition fees

Question 60

What were Labour’s law and order policies in the Corbyn era?

Answer 60

• Corbin was opposed to the more hard-line policies of the New Labour era, such as increased powers to combat terrorism and the introduction of identity cards
• This became a less controversial policy area within the Labour Party: both Blairities and Corbynites found common ground in opposing government cuts to police numbers, which they described as jeopardising public safety

Question 61

What were Labour’s foreign policies in the Corbyn era?

Answer 61

• Corbin consistently voted against the use of force, and favoured the withdrawal of the UK from NATO’s military structure and the abolition of the Trident nuclear weapons system, again placing him at odds with New Labour
• He and his then Shadow Foreign Secretary, Hilary Benn, took opposing positions in the 2015 Commons vote on military intervention against ‘Islamic State’ terrorism
• He followed the mainstream of his party in supporting continued British Membership of the EU, emphasising its positive role in protecting workers’ rights, but more enthusiastic Labour pro-Europeans felt altho he campaigned in a lukewarm manner in the 2016 referendum

Question 62

What is the origin of the Liberal Democrat Party?

Answer 62

• Founded in 1988 but is descended from a much older political grouping
• In the mid-nineteenth century they joined with a variety of middle and working class supporters of political and social change to form the Liberal Party

Question 63

Who were ‘Classical liberals’?

Answer 63

• Early liberals who believed that individual freedom would best be achieved with the state playing a minimal role
• In the 19th century this expressed itself in support for free trade, the widening of the franchise, the extension of civil liberties to people who didn’t belong to the established Anglican Church, and widening of educational opportunity

Question 64

What were ‘New liberal’ governments ideas and what did they adopt?

Answer 64

• Of the Edwardian era (1906-14) adopted a range of social reforms, including old age pensions and National Insurance, in a bid to discourage working people from supporting the newly founded Labour Party
• This was the beginning of modern liberalism
• Freedom could no longer be defined merely as being ‘left alone’ but required an active state to support people and enable them to reach their potential

Question 65

Who are modern liberals?

Answer 65

Liberals who believe that, under free-market capitalism, many individuals were not truly free, and that the state must help them in a more active way

Question 66

What was the popularity of the Liberal Party around 1908-45?

Answer 66

• In the decades after the First World War the Liberal Party declined rapidly, a victim of rivalry between H.H. Asquith PM (1908-16) and David Lloyd George (PM 1916-22)
• The Liberals attempted to appeal to both middle- and working-class voters, but suffered from an inability to define their identity clearly in an age of growing polarisation on class lines between the Conservatives and Labour
• In the post-1945 consensus era, Liberal Party representation fell to single figures

Question 67

What was the progression of the Liberal Party between the early 1960s and late 1980s

Answer 67

• They experienced short-lived revivals in the early 1960s and again in the early 1970s
• It was unable to make a breakthrough under the ‘first past the post’ electoral system, which favoured its larger rivals, whose support was concentrated in certain areas
• However in 1981 the liberals received a boost from a division in the Labour Party that led a group of right-wing MPs to create the Social Democratic Party (SDP)
• The SDP formed an electoral pact with the liberals, fighting the 1983 and 1987 general elections as the Alliance
• In 1988 the two parties merged to form the Liberal Democratic Party

Question 68

How has the Lib Dem party once formed progressed from 1988 to 2005?

Answer 68

• Their share of the vote grew modestly and in the 1997 election - aided by popular disillusionment with the Conservatives, tactical voting and careful targeting of seats - this translated into a parliamentary total of 46
• By 2005 this had risen to 62 seats - an impressive achievement although not enough to make the Liberal Democrats a credible independent challenger for power

Question 69

Who were the Political party leaders of the Lib Dem party from 1988 to 2017?

Answer 69

• Paddy Ashdown (1988-99)
• Charles Kennedy (1999-2006)
• Menzies Campbell (2006-7)
• Nick Clegg (2007-15)
• Tim Farron (2015-17)

Question 70

Where did the idea of a Coalition for the Lib Dem party come from?

Answer 70

• Nick Clegg became party leader in 2007 and his approach was to position the party so that it could conceivably work with one of the two larger parties in coalition
• Following the May 2010 general election this became a reality for the first time since 1945
• The political arithmetic dictated a coalition with the Conservatives, with the Lib dems now in possession of 57 seats

Question 71

What was Clegg’s idea around the lib dems party being apart of a coalition?

Answer 71

• Clegg had envisioned the Lib dems as moderating the policies of their coalition partner - a less confrontational style of politics that proved difficult to achieve
• The party was persuaded that because of the gravity of the financial crisis, it needed to demonstrate its credentials as a responsible party of government by going along with the programme of cuts advocated by the Conservatives
• In truth, the smaller party was in bind. Had it refused to enter the coalition, it would have been accused of running away at a time of national emergency, but by taking part in government, it incurred the unpopularity of association with a number of policies contrary to its centre-left heritage
• Although Clegg secured a referendum on electoral reform in May 2011, the rejection of the Alternative Vote option, for which the Lib dems campaigned , effectively buried the cause for a generation
• The party’s preferred system was the Single Transferable Vote, but the leadership felt that the Alternative Vote was the maximum they could hope to achieve in the circumstances - a sign of their limited bargaining power within the coalition partnership
• The ensuing disillusionment of party activists contributed to the Lib dems heavy losses in the 2015 general election, which saw them reduced to a rump of eight seats

Question 72

What have been Lib dems economic policies?

Answer 72

• 2015 general election the Lib dems emphasised their continued commitment to eliminating the budget deficit. However, it must be done in a way that was fair to the poor
• Progressively raising the basic income-tax threshold so that more low-income people were relieved of paying tax (the conservatives signed up)
• They promised to ‘borrow less than labour, cut less than the Tories’
• They stressed their environmental credentials more than their rivals, with commitment to renewable energy and the expansion of the Green investment Bank had helped to establish, to attract funding for projects e.g. offshore wind farms

Question 73

What have been Lib dems economic policies?

Answer 73

• In Coalition they shared the conservative objective of controlling spending on benefits, while uprating pensions and extending free childcare to enable parents to return to work
• They differentiated themselves by pledging to curb benefits paid to better-off pensioners, in order to afford more support for the low-paid
• On the NHS they pledged increased funding from 2015

Question 74

What have been Lib dems ‘law and order’ policies?

Answer 74

• Aim to see that civil liberties are not eroded as a consequence of giving the authorities more powers to fight crime
• In coalition they opposed the Conservatives’ plans for the so-called ‘Snoopers’ Charter’, the Communications Data Bill, the purpose of which was to allow the monitoring of Internet use
• In their emphasis on the rehabilitation of prisoners, and the use of community service as an alternative to short-term prison sentences, they are close to the position taken by moderate Conservatives and Labour

Question 75

What have been Lib dems foreign policies?

Answer 75

• They’ve consistently been the most enthusiastic of all the UK parties for British membership of the EU
• They were reluctant to accept the result of the Brexit referendum
• This contrasted with the views of both Theresa May and Jeremy Corbin who, although they had backed the ‘Remain’ cause, stated that they would respect the popular verdict

Question 76

What is the importance of other minor parties in the UK?

Answer 76

• Smaller parties e.g. UKIP and Green Party have driven their importance from campaigning to promote a particular issue or group of related issues
• They don’t expect to win enough seats to form a government but instead their aim is to force larger parties to accept their agenda fully or partially

Question 77

What is the origin of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP)?

Answer 77

• Began as a fringe nationalist party in 1991, and by the 21st century was associated with one man - Nigel Farage - and one issue of opposition to Britains membership of the EU
• It owed its slowly growing national profile to a sense of dissatisfaction with the way in which the three main parties seemed constantly to accommodate themselves to the quickening pace of European integration

Question 78

What are the key ideas of UKIP?

Answer 78

• Radical right-wing populist party, who’s supporters tend to be older, more traditional people who feel left behind in a rapidly changing world
• Often people with lower levels of education and job security, anxious about what they see as challenges to their way of life
• Immigration has been a major concern for them and saw the arrival of a large number of Eastern Europeans in 2004 as a threat to ‘British jobs’ and to the native British way of life

Question 79

Who was UKIP’s most prominent figure and what did they do to take action on party ideas?

Answer 79

• Nigel Farage (party leader 2006-9 and 2010-16)
• Was a charismatic individual whose chummy, outspoken persona was one to which many ordinary people could relate
• By not conforming to the image of mainstream ‘liberal establishment’ figures such as Cameron, Clegg and Miliband, he appealed to voters who felt disillusioned with the three main parties

Question 80

What were UKIP’s key policies?

Answer 80

• ‘Taking back control from the EU’ - Membership of the EU damages the UK’s interests by subjecting us to the role of an unacceptable European bureaucracy. They wanted to take back control of policies on trade, fisheries and other areas where national sovereignty has been shared with the EU. Following the June 2016 referendum, Brexit should be negotiated as quickly as possible, with no backsliding on defending UK interests
• Restricting immigration - Main policy at the 2015 election.The need of a points-based system to ensure that migrants with necessary skills get priority. Should be a cap on numbers of migrants entering the country
• Support for grammar schools
• Scrap ‘green taxes’ which raise our energy bills
• Increase spending on NHS, but migrants and visitors to the UK must have private health insurance - indirectly link to suspicion of the EU and immigration

Question 81

What is the origin of the Green Party?

Answer 81

• Evolved from a party founded in 1973 as ‘PEOPLE’, later changing its name to the Ecology Party before assuming its present identity in 1985
• The Green Party won its first seat at Westminster 2010
• The party won more than a million votes across the UK in 2015, but failed to win any more seats

Question 82

What are the main ideas of the Green Party?

Answer 82

• Centre-left party that isn’t only concerned with environmental issues, but also with reducing social inequality

Question 83

What were the key polices of the Green Party?

Answer 83

• Environmental issues - Phase out fossil fuel based energy and nuclear power and implement renewable solutions, fracking is environmentally disastrous and should be stopped
• Reducing social inequality - The creeping privatisation of the NHS has to end, should abolish university tuition fees, should be a wealth tax to fund the creation of new jobs, minimum wage should be increased to a ‘living wage’ of £10 an hour by 2020

Question 84

What are party systems?

Answer 84

• The way in which the political parties in a political system are grouped and structured

Question 85

What are the most important models of party systems found in a liberal democracy?

Answer 85

• One party dominant system
• Two party system
• Two and a half party system
• Multi party systems

Question 86

What is a one party dominant system?

Answer 86

A number of parties, but only one has a realistic prospect of holding power

Question 87

What is a two party system?

Answer 87

Two parties compete for power at elections; other parties have no real chance of breaking their monopoly

Question 88

What is a two and a half party system?

Answer 88

Two large parties are the main players, but are challenged by the growth of a smaller third party

Question 89

What is a multi party system?

Answer 89

A number of parties contend to form a government; coalitions become the norm

Question 90

What is an example in history of the two-party system in the UK?

Answer 90

• 1945-74 when Labour and the Conservatives won, on average, a combined 91% of the votes and almost 98% of the seats at Westminster

Question 91

How can it be argued that the two party system in the UK between 1970 and 2010 has been under strain?

Answer 91

• There was a period of minority Labour government followed by two long periods of single party dominance: the Conservatives from 1979 to 1997 and Labour from 1997 to 2010
• The Liberals made modest gains, especially after forming an alliance with the Social Democrats in 1981, then merging with them to form the Liberal Democrats in 1988
• Between 1979 and 2010, the two main parties’ combined average share of the vote fell to 73%
• Nonetheless the two-party system survived, largely as a result of the distorting effect of the first-past-the-post voting system, which limits smaller parties’ ability to win seats
• The two largest parties shared an average of 91% of the seats, and they continued to monopolise government without the participation of the UK’s third party

Question 92

What is an example of the ‘two and a half party’ system in the UK?

Answer 92

• Coalition government (2010-15)
• The Lib Dems secured 23% of the vote in 2010 and enough seats to play a part in government, though only as the partner of a larger party in a coalition
• Almost 35% of voters supported parties other than the conservatives and Labour in this election
• However, this proved a short-lived development. The 2015 general election heralded a return to ‘business as usual’ at Westminster
• The Lib dems were devastated at the polls, losing all but eight of their seats
• The most startling aspect of the 2015 contest was the landslide victory of the SNP in Scotland, where they took all but three of the 59 seats
• However, the SNP is a regional party, which is not a contender for power at Westminster, even if it is able to influence the outcome of some votes in the HofCs. Essentially Westminster remains dominated by the two largest parties
• As long as the first past the post system remains in place, this is unlikely to change

Question 93

What has been the impact on the use of the Additional Member System (AMS) in the UK?

Answer 93

• Used for elections to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly has produced very different outcomes from the trends observed at Westminster
• A proportional system, it tends to increase the representation of smaller parties

Question 94

How has multi-party systems implicated itself for governments?

Answer 94

• SNP formed a minority government from 2007 to 2011 and again after the 2016 election
• Before 2007 Scotland was governed for eight years by a Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition
• In NI a fully proportional system, Single Transferable Vote (STV), is used to elect the assembly
• Until January 2-17, when the power-sharing executive collapsed owing to internal disagreement, the first minister and four other members were drawn from the largest party, Democratic Unionist Party, Sinn Fein was held by an independent
• From 2011-16 three smaller parties supplied some members of the executive. It would thus be fair to describe the regions of the UK a having multi-party systems

Question 95

What issues form the backbone of the answer to the question ‘What are the main factors that influence the fortunes of political parties’?

Answer 95

• The strength of a party’s leadership
• The extent to which parties are united or divided between different party factions
• The role of the media in projecting a particular image of a party