Chapter 2 Political Parties

Question 1

2.1 What are Political Parties

Answer 1

• A political party is a group of people drawn together by a similar set of beliefs
• This is known as an ideology, even if they don’t have identical views
• Most parties aspire to form a government
• They adopt an agreed programme of policy commitments, linked to their core ideas
• Some parties are defined by a single issue
• They usually develop policies on other issues to broaden their support base

Question 2

What are the functions of political parties?

Answer 2

Representation
Participation
Recruiting Office holders
Formulating Policy
Forming government

Question 3

Explain representation as a function of political parties?

Answer 3

• Representation can be seen as the parties main function
• They are to represent the views of people with a certain set of beliefs
• Right-wing > Conservative Party
• Left-wing> Labour
• Representative function could be performed by lots of individuals or pressure groups

Question 4

Explain participation as a function of political parties?

Answer 4

• In order to win power or influence, parties encourage people to participate in politics
• Vote, join a party and to support it through funding to get its message across
• Parties vary in how far they allow their members to shape party policy

Question 5

Explain recruiting office holders as a function of political parties?

Answer 5

• Party membership leads to recruitment as candidates for public office
• Candidates can learn political skills as campaigners and organisers
• Parties also have the right to reject or ‘deselect’ candidates who fail to live up their expectations
• E.g before the 2015 general election, Conservative activists in South Suffolk did not allow the sitting MPs to stand again as candidates

Question 6

Explain formulating policy as a function of political parties?

Answer 6

• Parties generate policies that embody ideas for which they stand
• At general election they put these proposals forward in a manifesto
• E.g 2017 general election, NHS was a key battleground. Conservative party promised to give people access to their GP 7 days a week. Labour pledged that patients would be given an appointment within 48 hours

Question 7

Explain providing government as a function of political parties?

Answer 7

• Winning party at an election has an opportunity to form government
• Party then controls the business of parliament with a view to passing its manifesto to law
• The PM is not directly elected by the people
• But the PM is usually the leader of the largest party

Question 8

Party Funding

Answer 8

• parties must meet most of their election costs from from the voluntary subscriptions of their membership
• also from fundraising events in MPs constituencies
• there is special state provision to support the activities of the opposition of parliament (short money)
• donations also occur

Question 9

Why has there been controversies with party funding?

Answer 9

• there has been suspicion that powerful interests offer financial support in return for political influence
  -Large parties have been accused of offering political honours such as places in the house of lords
• E.g Blair faced criticism within months of becoming PM in 1997 following the event of Bernie Ecclestone, the motor racing boss, had donated £1 million to Labour
• It was alleged that there was a connection between this and a delay in implementing a ban on tobacco advertising in formula one racing
• e.g cash for peerages scandal

Question 10

How has party funding been reformed?

Answer 10

• Blair passed the 2000 political parties, elections and referendums act
  > independent electoral commission set up
  > the amount of money that a party could spend in their constituency was capped at £30,000
  > donations of more than £5000 (nationally) or £10000 (to a constituency) had to be declared, and parties had to publish details of donations at regular intervals
  > donations from individuals not on the UK electoral roll were banned

Question 11

What are some potential reforms to party funding?

Answer 11

• 2007, a report by a former civil servant, Sir Hayden Phillips, proposed to address the problem of private donations
• Proposal of moving towards a system where parties are funded from taxpayers’ money
• No government has acted on this recommendation however

Question 12

Arguments FOR state funding of parties

Answer 12

• 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
• it would curb the possibly corrupt influence of private backers on party policy

Question 13

Arguments AGAINST state funding of parties

Answer 13

• increased state funding could lead to calls for greater state regulation, possibly reducing the independence of parties
• it is hard to decide how much support a party should have to qualify for funding
• taxpayers would resent compulsory contributions to parties of which they disapprove