Internal Democracy Flashcards
Explain the two stages in choosing a new conservative leader
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
Explain the new stages in choosing a new Labour Party leader
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
Explain how a new liber democrat leader is chosen
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
What are the three stages in choosing a parliamentary candidate
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
What is an all women shortlist
A Labour Party initiative which required a constituency party to draw up entirely female short lists from which the parliamentary candidate will be chosen
What are some of the limitations of an all women shortlist
❌discrimination against men
❌un democratic
What is a husting
A meeting which local voters attend and are addressed by an election candidate
What are open primaries
A popular ballot in which all registered voters have a hand in selecting the candidate who will run in the election
What are priority lists ( A-lists)
List of candidates intended as a means of boosting the number of women and ethnic minority conservative MPs
Until the late 1990s how was Conservative party policy determined
Give an example
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’
How is Conservative party policy decided nowadays
Typically by a selection of the PMs advisors
Could be described as quite dictatorial
How was labour party policy decided pre 1997
At a Labour Party conference
How is labour party policy formalised nowadays
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
How do Liberal Democrat’s decide on policy
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.
How do political parties get money
Membership subs
Affiliated organisation s(ie trade unions)
Wealthy business interests
Donations (eg Bernie Ecclestone donated large amounts of money to labour)
What is the new perception around donating lots to political parties
The idea that someone may be able to buy access or political influence
What attempted to regulate party funding in 2000 and what did this do
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
What did Sir Hayden Phillips’ report conclude
A way forward might be greater state funding for UK political parties, perhaps Ona ‘pence per voter’ funding formula
What is Craborne money
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
In 2014-15 how much money did labour receive
£572,000
What is short money
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
How much short money did labour get in 2014-15
£6,500,000
Have the reforms to party spending worked
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
Explain the 3 reasons why political parties should be state funded
- 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
Explain three reasons why political parties should not be state funded
- 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.
