Chapter 2 - Established political parties Flashcards
Who is considered the first Conservative Party prime minister?
Sir Robert Peel
When was Sir Robert Peel prime minister?
1834-35 and 1841-46
Who formed the organisation we now call the Conservative Party?
Sir Robert Peel and Benjamin Disraeli.
When was Benjamin Disraeli prime minister?
1868 and 1874-80
What were Sir Robert Peel and Benjamin Disraeli’s main objectives when they formed the Conservative Party?
- Prevent the country falling too far into inequality.
- Preserve the unity of the United Kingdom.
- Preserve order in society.
When did traditional or one-nation conservatism dominate conservative thought?
From the late eighteenth century to the 1980s.
What was one-nation conservatism a reaction to?
The new liberal ideas behind the revolutions in North America (1776) and France (1789).
What does the Conservative Party consider to be the best deterrent against crime?
Prison and stern punishments.
What do Conservatives see as the first duty of government?
To protect its citizens.
What do Conservatives not want welfare benefits to become?
A disincentive to work.
What is a party faction?
A distinct group within a political party whose views vary significantly from the main policies.
Give 3 Conservative Party factions.
- Cornerstone
- Conservative Way Forward
- Tory Reform Group
What is the motto of the Cornerstone faction of the Conservative Party?
‘Faith, Flag, and Family’
What does Cornerstone promote?
It wants the UK to be a Christian country, is intensely nationalist, and wishes to retain traditional family values.
What does Conservative Way Forward promote?
The ideas of Margaret Thatcher with a neo-liberal approach to the economy.
Who is a leading member of Conservative Way Forward?
Liam Fox
Who is a leading member of Cornerstone?
Jacob Rees-Mogg
What sort of ideas does the Tory Reform Group promote?
One-nation toryism and the belief that too much inequality is divisive.
When was the Labour Party created?
1900
What was the Labour Party created from?
It was the political organisation of the trade unions.
When was the Liberal Party formed?
1877
Who formed the Liberal Party?
It was an amalgamation of Whigs and radicals.
When was the Liberal Democratic Party formed?
1988
Who formed the Liberal Democratic Party?
It was an amalgamation of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who had split from Labour in the 1981.
How many seats did the Lib Dems win in the 2015 general election?
8
When was the Independent Labour Party (ILP) established?
1893
Who is the main financier of the Labour Party?
Trade unions
When did Labour first come to power?
1945
Why was the SDP formed?
Because of a split in the Labour Party due to two crushing defeats by Thatcher.
What are New Labour’s policies known as?
Third Way
What are Third Way politics?
Social democracy, a move towards the political centre.
When was the period of New Labour?
From the early 1990s to the present.
Was the Labour Party ever a socialist party?
No - it never wanted to overthrow capitalism and introduce a workers’ state.
When was Old Labour?
1900-1990s
What sort of politics were Old Labour?
Democratic socialist
What was the key value of Old Labour?
Equality - understood as a redistribution of income and formal equality (now known as social justice).
Recognising that total equality was not possible, what did Labour favour?
Equality of opportunity
How did Old Labour believe we could best achieve our aims?
Through collectivism
What are two practical applications of collectivism?
- Welfare state
- Trade unions
How did Old Labour interpret common ownership?
As public ownership of major, strategic industries, run by the state on behalf of the people.
What did Old Labour consider vital to restoring the balance of power between employers and workers?
Strong trade unionism
What is statism?
State control of economic activity in securing social goals.
When was the NHS opened?
1948
Who founded the NHS?
Nye Bevan
When was the Beveridge Report?
1942
What were William Beveridge’s Five Giants?
- Want
- Disease
- Ignorance
- Squalor
- Idleness
What did Third Way and New Labour seek to find?
A middle way between socialism and the free-market.
What did New Labour reject?
The socialist idea of class conflict.
What did New Labour accept?
Capitalism as the best way of creating wealth and should be largely free of state control.
What was stressed under New Labour?
Equality of opportunity - education and welfare would allow people to better themselves.
What was New Labour committed to?
Political and constitutional reform.
What did New Labour not do?
- Restore the powers of trade unions largely removed under Thatcher.
- Nationalise privatised industries.
What were some of New Labour’s policies?
- Increased expenditure on the NHS.
- Increased funding for education.
- Reduction in corporate taxation to encourage enterprise.
- Constitutional reform.
What movement was formed to support Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership?
Momentum
What sort of policies did Momentum campaign for?
- Abandonment of Trident.
- Nationalising key industries
- Public housing
Who founded the Blue Labour faction of the Labour Party?
Maurice Glasman
What are Blue Labour beliefs?
Socially conservative - anti-immigration and pro-Brexit.
Supports regulated free-markets to protect British industry and jobs.
Who were the Liberal Party’s first leaders?
Lord Palmerston and William Gladstone
What was the ‘Alliance’?
The pact between the SDP and the Liberal Party to not put up candidates in the same seats.
How many seats did the Liberal Democrats win in 2005?
62 - the height of their success.
Who do the Liberal Democrats share a lot of their values with?
The social democracy of New Labour
How should the state behave according to Liberal Democrats?
It should interfere as little as possible but promote welfare and social justice wherever it does interfere.
Why is welfare a key Liberal Democratic value?
Because people cannot be free if they are enslaved by poverty; state welfare sets people free.
What are Liberal Democrats suspicious of?
The power of government, leading them to favour constitutional restraints.
What rights have the Liberal Democrats strongly supported?
- Women
- Minorities
- LGBT
What is the Liberal Democratic approach to law and order?
- The law should prioritise rehabilitation as much as punishment.
- Crime has social causes and those causes should be dealt with.
What is the Liberal Democratic stance on foreign policy and conflict?
- Strong support for international aid.
- Abandon Trident.
- Support for NATO.
What Constitutional reforms do the Liberal Democrats want to make?
- Elected second chamber.
- Electoral system reform.
- Codified Constitution.
- Further devolution.
Give a Liberal Democrat Party faction.
Social liberals
What does the Social liberal faction of the Liberal Democrats believe?
- Social justice
- Redistribution of income
Who was a leading member of the social liberal faction of the Liberal Democrats?
Vince Cable
