Internal Democracy

Question 1

Explain the two stages in choosing a new conservative leader

Answer 1

Stage 1- conservative MPs vote in a series of ballots to narrow the field of leadership down to two candidates

Stage 2- party members vote on a one member one vote basis to decide which of these two candidates become party leaders

Question 2

Explain the new stages in choosing a new Labour Party leader

Answer 2

Stage 1- candidates must secure the nomination of 15% of parliamentary Labour Party to qualify for the ballot

Stage 2- party members and registered supporters vote on a one member one vote basis using alternative vote system

Question 3

Explain how a new liber democrat leader is chosen

Answer 3

Stage 1- candidates must secure the nomination of 20 local parties or 200 party members to qualify for the ballot

Stage 2-party members vote on a one member one vote basis using alternative vote system

Question 4

What are the three stages in choosing a parliamentary candidate

Answer 4

Stage 1- hopefuls must get there names onto a centrally vetted approved list of candidates

Stage 2-the local constituency party draws up a short list from those approved candidates

Stage 3-constituency party members vote for their preferred candidate at a meeting or through postal vote

Question 5

What is an all women shortlist

Answer 5

A Labour Party initiative which required a constituency party to draw up entirely female short lists from which the parliamentary candidate will be chosen

Question 6

What are some of the limitations of an all women shortlist

Answer 6

❌discrimination against men

❌un democratic

Question 7

What is a husting

Answer 7

A meeting which local voters attend and are addressed by an election candidate

Question 8

What are open primaries

Answer 8

A popular ballot in which all registered voters have a hand in selecting the candidate who will run in the election

Question 9

What are priority lists ( A-lists)

Answer 9

List of candidates intended as a means of boosting the number of women and ethnic minority conservative MPs

Question 10

Until the late 1990s how was Conservative party policy determined

Give an example

Answer 10

Described as a top down process
Conservative leader would mostly decide although it was expected that he would consult senior parliamentary colleagues, the 1922 committee and the membership

John Major- described his manifesto as ‘it was all me’

Question 11

How is Conservative party policy decided nowadays

Answer 11

Typically by a selection of the PMs advisors

Could be described as quite dictatorial

Question 12

How was labour party policy decided pre 1997

Answer 12

At a Labour Party conference

Question 13

How is labour party policy formalised nowadays

Answer 13

The national policy forum appoints policy commissioners to make proposals which are then formalised by the national executive committee before being pit in front of the party conference for approval

It is argued that the last part is just to rubber stamp it

Question 14

How do Liberal Democrat’s decide on policy

Answer 14

Using the federal policy committee
Argued to be the most democratic of all three
Been put in dispute due to the leaders influence over the committee.

Question 15

How do political parties get money

Answer 15

Membership subs
Affiliated organisation s(ie trade unions)
Wealthy business interests
Donations (eg Bernie Ecclestone donated large amounts of money to labour)

Question 16

What is the new perception around donating lots to political parties

Answer 16

The idea that someone may be able to buy access or political influence

Question 17

What attempted to regulate party funding in 2000 and what did this do

Answer 17

The political parties, elections and referendum act (PPERA) Which put an overall limit on party spending in general election campaigns and required parties to declare all donations over £5000 to the electoral commission

Question 18

What did Sir Hayden Phillips’ report conclude

Answer 18

A way forward might be greater state funding for UK political parties, perhaps Ona ‘pence per voter’ funding formula

Question 19

What is Craborne money

Answer 19

Funds paid to opposition parties in the House of Commons or lords in order to help them cover the costs and provide proper scrutiny or the govt

Question 20

In 2014-15 how much money did labour receive

Answer 20

£572,000

Question 21

What is short money

Answer 21

Funds paid to all of the opposition partitas in order to help them cover the costs of proper scrutiny. Available to all opposition parties that win at least 2 seats in parliament or one seat and 150,000 votes nationally

Question 22

How much short money did labour get in 2014-15

Answer 22

£6,500,000

Question 23

Have the reforms to party spending worked

Answer 23

Led to some parties attempting to avoid regulation by encouraging donors to give low interest long term loans, led to the loans for peerages scandal in 97-10

Question 24

Explain the 3 reasons why political parties should be state funded

Answer 24

• if parties are not funded by taxpayers, they will be funded by wealthy individuals and interest groups
• state funding would allow politicians to focus on representing their constituents rather than courting potential donors
• parties like LDs could compete on an equal financial footing because funding would be based entirely on membership or electoral performance

Question 25

Explain three reasons why political parties should not be state funded

Answer 25

• taxpayers should not be expected to bankroll the parties that they oppose
• politicians could become isolated form real world issues if they are denied access from interest groups
• parties will always have unequal resources, even if state funding is introduced- not least because there are different membership numbers, levels, human and material resources.