C1: Political Parties Flashcards

1
Q

What are the five functions of political parties?

A

Representation
Participation
Recruiting Office holders
Formulating Policy
Providing Government

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2
Q

How are MPs Paid?

A

General Taxation

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3
Q

How much are MPs paid? (as of 2017)

A

£76,000 a year

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4
Q

How is the Conservative Party mostly funded?

A

Donors and big business

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5
Q

How is the Labour party mostly funded?

A

Trade Unions

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6
Q

What are some criticisms of the ways in which large parties get their funding?

A

They’re on the bankroll of the rich

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7
Q

What scandal in 2006 raised the issue of private donor funding?

A

‘Cash for Peerages’

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8
Q

What was set up as a result of the 2000 Political parties, Elections, and Referendums Act?

A

An independent Electoral commission was set up to supervise party spending on election campaigns

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9
Q

What is the maximum spend of a party per Constituency?

A

£30,000

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10
Q

How large does a donation have to be for it to be declared?

A

£5,000 nationally, or £1,000 to a specific constituency

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11
Q

What are some arguments that parties should be state-funded?

A

Parties play an important role in representative democracy.
Public funding would remove the gap between bigger & smaller parties
It could encourage participation if the state matched funding to party membership
It would curb the influence that potentially corrupt donors have over party policies.

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12
Q

What are some arguments that parties should not be state funded?

A

It could reduce parties’s independence.
It is hard to say how much support would be needed to qualify for funding
Taxpayers wouldn’t like that their taxes go to parties of which they disapprove.

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13
Q

Who drastically changed the Conservative Party in the 1980s?

A

Margaret Thatcher

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14
Q

Why did the Conservatives see a fall in support 1992-2005?

A

They struggled to find an identity separate from Thatcherism

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15
Q

Who started to move the Conservatives away from Thatcherism in 2005?

A

David Cameron

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16
Q

What did Cameron refer to himself as?

A

A ‘Liberal Conservative’

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17
Q

What were Cameron’s main Economic policies?

A

Austerity - public sector cuts of up to 25%

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18
Q

What was the purpose of Cameron’s main Welfare policies?

A

To cut costs & make people more self-reliant

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19
Q

What was Cameron’s approach to Law & Order?

A

Tough on Crime, Tough on the causes of Crime

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20
Q

What was Cameron’s approach to Foreign Policy?

A

Strong ties to the USA, pragmatic Euroscepticism

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21
Q

Who was the last ‘Old Labour’ PM?

A

Jim Callaghan

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22
Q

Who was elected leader of the Labour Party in 1994?

A

Tony Blair

23
Q

What did Tony Blair revoke that finalised the party’s shift to the centre-left?

A

Clause 4 - promise to nationalise

24
Q

Which 3 elections did Tony Blair win?

A

1997, 2001, 2005

25
Q

Why was New Labour controversial?

A

Moved away from traditional socialism

26
Q

What were the five main features of New Labour policy?

A

Emphasis on wealth creation rather than redistribution
People need to be aware of social responsibilities as well as social rights
Responsibility of government with public spending & the economy
Enlisting the Private sector to help provide public services
Influence of Liberal ideology

27
Q

What caused a major shift in New Labour policy under Gordon Brown?

A

2008 Financial Crash

28
Q

What were some of Brown’s new policies that were seen as a move away from New Labour?

A

Part-nationalisation of the most vulnerable banks
Treasury pumped money into the banking system in an attempt to boost economic activity
Brown broke a promise not to raise income taxes

29
Q

What did Milliband’s policy try to do?

A

Reconcile the ideas of New Labour with the classic Labour ideals of helping the working class.

30
Q

What was Miliband labelled as by the media?

A

Red Ed

31
Q

What was Jeremy Corbyn’s main economic policy?

A

Re-nationalisation

32
Q

What was Jeremy Corbyn’s main goal in welfare policy?

A

Oppose benefit cuts & cuts to public services

33
Q

What was a foreign policy commitment Corbyn advocated?

A

UK withdrawal from NATO

34
Q

What was Corbyn’s stance on crime?

A

Strongly opposed to the harsher policies of New Labour

35
Q

How many seats did the Lib Dems have in 1997?

A

46

36
Q

How many seats did the Lib Dems have in 2010?

A

57

37
Q

What was Lib Dem Economic Policy in 2015?

A

Emphasised commitment to reduce the defecit, but in a way fairer to the poor.

38
Q

What was the Lib Dem Welfare policy in 2015?

A

Increase NHS funding, control benefits spending

39
Q

What was the Lib Dem Law & Order policy in 2015?

A

AImed to see personal freedom wasn’t eroded as a consequence of giving authorities more powers to fight crime

40
Q

What was the Lib Dem foreign policy stance in 2015?

A

Very Pro-EU, reluctant to accept Brexit even after the referendum.

41
Q

What is the main purpose of the SNP?

A

Scottish Independence

42
Q

How many Westminster seats do the SNP have as of 2019?

A

48

43
Q

Where is the only seat held by the Green party?

A

Brighton Pavilion

44
Q

What is the main Purpose of UKIP?

A

Britain’s exit of the EU

45
Q

What is a One-Party system?

A

A system in which only one party will ever realistically hold power

46
Q

What is a Two-Party system?

A

A system in which two parties fight over which one will hold power.

47
Q

What is a Two-and-a-half party system?

A

A system in which two parties compete for power, but they are threatened by the growth of a third party.

48
Q

What is a multi-party system?

A

A system where many parties vie for power. Coalitions are commonplace in these systems.

49
Q

Why is Westminster considered a Two-Party system?

A

The effects of FPTP Voting

50
Q

What party system are devolved assemblies considered to be?

A

Multi-party: Hollyrood has a minority government led by the SNP

51
Q

What are the four main factors that affect a party’s success?

A

Strength of Leadership
The extent to which the party is united
The role of the media
Funding

52
Q

What are some examples of weak party leadership?

A

John Major, Gordon Brown, Theresa May

53
Q

What are some examples of strong party leadership?

A

David Cameron, Tony Blair

54
Q

What is the slogan used by the Sun to reinforce their effect on elections?

A

It’s the Sun wot won it