Has the UK now become a multiparty democracy

Question 1

intro

Answer 1

INTRO - multiparty system is a system in which more than two parties competing for power with a realistic chance of gaining power
LoA - No, not a multiparty democracy

Question 2

what is the theme for paragraph one

Answer 2

election share

Question 3

what is the theme for paragraph two

Answer 3

parliament and FPTP

Question 4

what is the theme for para three

Answer 4

funding

Question 5

para one - election share

Answer 5

• In the 2017 General Election, the Conservatives won their biggest share of the popular vote since the 1970 election. The Conservatives and Labour combined got 82.4% of the popular vote (around 25 million votes), whilst the Lib Dems got 7.4%, Green Party got 1.6%, UKIP 1.8%. This shows the true dominance of the major parties on British politics
  Furthermore, support the minor parties has collapse somewhat in recent years. The Lib Dems gained 23% of the popular vote in 2010 (6.8 million votes), but this dropped to 7.4% in 2017 and 11.6% in 2019. This is in comparison to the Conservatives, who went from 36.1% in 2010 (10.7 million) to 43.6% in 2019 (13.9 million)

Question 6

para one - however

Answer 6

Smaller parties have been highly influential in recent general elections. In 2010, the Conservatives established a coalition with the Lib Dems and in 2017 the DUP agreed to support Theresa Mays government in a confidence and supply agreement.

Question 7

para one - rebuttal

Answer 7

The fact is that more often than not, given the electoral system, majorities are incredibly likely to happen, and so the minor parties cannot expect to be able to exert the influence of the Lib Dems and the DUP

Question 8

para two - parliament and FPTP

Answer 8

• In the parliament elected in 2017, Labour and the Conservatives had 89% of the seats. Furthermore, in the 2019 parliament the conservatives have 365 seats (56.3% of seats). Securing this majority means that the minor parties have basically no way of opposing the legislation of the major party.
  
  • Furthermore, the way in which parliament is run, with parliamentary question time, it is very rare that the minor parties will receive that many questions, with them being much more focused on the majority party and the opposition.
  • FPTP protects the Labour and Conservative duopoly at Westminster, as it disproportionately inflates the vote of the major parties. For example, in 2019 the conservatives got 43% of the vote but 56% of the seats and in 2010 they got 36.8% of the vote and 50.8% of the seats. In comparison, in 2015 the LibDems got 7.9% of the vote but 1.2% of the seats.

Question 9

para two - however

Answer 9

• In the devolved assemblies power is shared by more than two parties, so in the regions there is multiparty democracy. The SNP leads in Scotland, parties like Plaid Cymru are a major force in the welsh elections and Sinn Fein and the DUP lead in Ireland, neither of which are from the major parties of the conservatives and Labour.
  
  • The SNP still has a significant parliamentary presence, which would be very important in a hung parliament. They gained 48 seats in 2019, meaning that they are incredibly influential

Question 10

para two - rebuttal

Answer 10

• However, these devolved assemblies still answer to parliament and parliament still remains sovereign over these assemblies. If the Conservatives decided to remove devolution they would be able to given their majority, therefore showing the dominance they possess over the other parties.

Question 11

para three - funding

Answer 11

• The way in which parties are funded makes if difficult for smaller political parties to break Conservative and Labour domination. In 2019, the Conservatives raised £16 million, meaning each winning seat cost £200,000. The Conservatives accounted for two thirds of all donations, raising £16 million in 2019, whilst the lib dems only received £1.3m and the Greens only received £245,000. This therefore means the major parties are able to simply outspend the minority parties, making it easier for them to win seats.

Question 12

para three - however

Answer 12

• Despite this disparity in spending, the major parties were unable to win a majority in parliament between 2005 and 2019, including pretty much two coalitions. This therefore means that the importance of smaller parties is still significant, and that spending is not everything when it comes to securing votes.

Question 13

para three - rebuttal

Answer 13

Being able to outspend your rivals is a huge advantage. Furthermore, as long as the two major parties remain major they will continue to raise the most money, so the likelihood that this trend will continue is incredibly high.