2.3 - Minority Parties in the UK

Question 1

What are the main minority parties in the UK?

Answer 1

• SNP
• Plaid Cymru
• Reform UK
• DUP
• Green

Question 2

When was the SNP established?

Answer 2

1934.

Question 3

When did the SNP win its first Parliamentary seat?

Answer 3

1967.

Question 4

What is the highest number of seats the SNP has ever received?

Answer 4

56.

Question 5

How did the SNP become the third biggest party in the Commons following the GE’s of 2015 and 2017?

Answer 5

They won a large portion of seats in Scotland.

56/59 in 2015
35/59 in 2017

Question 6

Why is the SNP’s power limited at Westminster?

Answer 6

The Labour Party seem unwilling to work with a party that has established itself as the dominant political force of Scotland.

Question 7

Where has the SNP’s most powerful policies come?

Answer 7

In the government of Scotland.

Question 8

What are the most impactful policies the SNP has made in Scotland?

Answer 8

• Maintained free university tuition.
• Prescription charges have been abolished.
• 16 and 17 year olds have been permitted to vote in local council elections and were allowed to vote in the Scottish independence referendum.

Question 9

Why is it important to not overexaggerate the power of the SNP?

Answer 9

• Scotland is still part of the UK, so despite their rejection of nuclear weapons, those decisions are still made at Westminster.
• The Supreme Court also ruled that Scotland need not be consulted over legislation withdrawing themselves from the EU, despite their decisive decision to remain in the EU.

Question 10

When does Plaid Cyrmu date from?

Answer 10

1925.

Question 11

When did Plaid Cymru win their first seat at Westminster?

Answer 11

1966.

Question 12

Where did Plaid Cymru win their first seat?

Answer 12

Carmarthen by-election.

Question 13

Where is Plaid Cymru’s main basis of support?

Answer 13

North Wales (particularly the Welsh speaking parts).

Question 14

What is the most seats that Plaid Cymru has won?

Answer 14

4 out of 40 in the Welsh Parliamentary seats.

Question 15

What is Plaid Cymru’s power within the National Assembly for Wales?

Answer 15

Limited, but they formed a coalition with Labour from 2007 - 2011.

Question 16

Why did Plaid Cymru enter into a coalition with Labour?

Answer 16

Under the premise that the Assembly would have further devolved powers.

Question 17

When was UKIP founded?

Answer 17

1993.

Question 18

What was the first real power that UKIP had?

Answer 18

2004 European Parliament Elections.

Question 19

Where is UKIP’s main voter base?

Answer 19

Amongst the white-working class.

Question 20

What has UKIP’s main goal always been?

Answer 20

They were highly Eurosceptic, so campaigned to leave the EU.

Question 21

How did UKIP broaden their support amongst the white working class?

Answer 21

Not only opposing the EU, but also further immigration.

Question 22

How did UKIP do in the 2014 European Parliament elections?

Answer 22

They did well, achieving 26.6% of the votes, more than Conservatives or Labour. They had 24 seats.

Question 23

How did UKIP do in the 2015 GE?

Answer 23

Achieved 12.6% of all votes, but only had 1 seat due to the current voting systems.

Question 24

How big has UKIP’s affect been on UK Politics?

Answer 24

Massive, as they fuelled much of the Euroscepticism that caused us to leave the EU due to the referendum.

Question 25

Why does the strength of UKIP tend to hurt Labour?

Answer 25

UKIP and Labour have much of the same voter base, so if UKIP are stronger, they take more of the votes from Labour, allowing parties such as the Conservatives to take seats.

Question 26

What were the results in the 2016 EU referendum?

Answer 26

52% Leave
48% Remain

Question 27

Why are minority parties victims of FPTP?

Answer 27

Despite having a percentage of the vote, their votes are often too far spread across the country so they have very few seats.

Question 28

What have the names of the Green party been?

Answer 28

PEOPLE
Ecology Party

Question 29

How did the Green Party do in the 2015 UK Elections?

Answer 29

3.6 of the popular vote, but only had 1 seat.

Question 30

What did the Green Party do in the 2017 elections?

Answer 30

They chose not to contest many seats with a close Labour to Conservative contest in an effort to not split voter bases.

Question 31

What is the DUP?

Answer 31

The Democratic Unionist Party.

Question 32

Where is the DUP’s main base of voters?

Answer 32

Northern Ireland.

Question 33

When was the DUP founded?

Answer 33

1971.

Question 34

What is the DUP’s priority?

Answer 34

To keep Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom.

Question 35

What was one of the most pivotal events in peace processes in Northern Ireland?

Answer 35

• The agreement to power share with Sinn Fein.
• They still find it difficult to cooperate in government, and as a result their power sharing broke down in 2017.

Question 36

Why did the DUP have such a powerful base in Westminster?

Answer 36

The Conservatives had to ask for DUP support to avoid having a minority administration.

Question 37

What is confidence and supply?

Answer 37

A minority government retains power by arranging with another party that will support it on votes of confidence and on the budget.

Question 38

What is the difference between confidence and supply, and a coalition?

Answer 38

Confidence and Supply is a more informal arrangement than the coalition, as members of the smaller party do not sit in government and can vote against the government on other issues.

Question 39

What did the DUP have to do in their CaS deal with the Conservatives in 2017?

Answer 39

Vote with the Conservatives on Brexit, the budget and votes of confidence.

Question 40

What did the DUP get in return for the CaS deal?

Answer 40

• An extra £1 billion in funding for NI
• A parliamentary veto over the government’s Brexit negotiations.
• The Conservative government will not put pressure on the Government of Northern Ireland to adopt same-sex marriage laws, or to allow abortion.