EXTRA-Why have traditional parties lost their support Flashcards
What are the 4 reasons why traditional parties have lost some of their support?
1) single issue protest politics seem more relevant and exciting
2) Traditional parties and the politicians who represent them have been tainted and lost appeal
3) Countries are more difficult to govern today
4) The media have undermined trust in politicians
Why have traditional parties lost some of their support because of single issue protest politics being more relevant?
The young seem to prefer more loosely organised, less authoritarian parties compared with the oligarchical established parties whose membership is often inactive . Pressure groups and new social movements are seen as better at expressing the identity needs of those who support them
Why have traditional parties lost some of their support because of them being tainted by power and appeal?
They have often been unable to make their performance match up to the promises once made
Why have traditional parties lost some of their support because countries are more difficult to govern today?
People have high expectations which politicians find hard to match because often their capacity to influence events in an age of globalisation is limited
Why have traditional parties lost some of their support because the media has undermined trust in politicians?
In an age of 24 hour news, politicians and their actions are subject to a degree of scrutiny that can make it difficult for them to maintain a positive image
According to US sociologist Daniel Bell what has he said about ideology?
‘the end of ideology’ came about soon after WW2 with the collapse of racism in Italy and Nazi Germany and the decline of Communism in the developed west
What was Bell suggesting in the 1960’s with his ‘end of ideology’?
that there was a broad consensus amongst major parties in support of ‘welfare capitalism’
Between what years post 1945 were there a broad agreement between the parties over key economic and social policies?
1951-1979
What did Robert McKenzie portray the situation between parties in 1955?
That they conduct furious arguments about the minor issues that separate them
Who suggested that the era of consensus in politics was an ‘illusion’?
Pimlott 1989
What did Pimlott 1989 mean when he suggested that the era of consensus in politics was an illusion?
He pointed out that it was much easier to detect consensus in retrospect than it was at the time; it was merely a way to distinguish Thatcherism from the period that proceeded it.
When did the period of the so called consensus end?
in the mid-late 1970’s under the leadership of Thatcher
What happened to voter choice as a result of New Labour’s big tent approach?
There seemed to no longer be a a clear choice in British politics with both parties only offering variations of the same theme
