Mr Scriven - Parties/Ideologies Flashcards
Explain and analyse three ways in which uk political parties select their leaders - 9 marks
P1 - Labour
- the candidate must be an MP and nominated by:
- at least 20% of mps
- 5% of constituency labour parties
- 5% of affiliate members (2 trade unions)
-voted but OMOV using AV - winning candidate must be backed by 50%
- Issues - used to be only 10% of mps but rose to 20 to stop another Corbyn.
P2 - Lib Dem’s
- federal system - ordinary members involved
- 10% of Lib Dem MP’s
- 20 local parties
- 200 members
- all members then vote using STV must receive 50%
P3 - conservatives - most undemocratic as MP’s have the most influence
-1965 and 1997 the leadership election was restricted to party MP’s only
- must be an MP and nominated by 2 other MP’s
- all MPs vote until there is a shortlist of 2
- then all conservative members vote - most votes are elected
Issue - 2022 Sunak was the only contestant = not democratic
Explain and analyse 3 ways in which minor parties have had an impact on British politics since 2010? - 9 marks
P1 - influencing political agenda
- Green Party enviromental policies
- all major parties in the uk have policies on commitments to reduce climate change
-e.g phasing out petrol cars
P2- getting referendums called
- conservatives promised Brexit referendum in their 2015 manifesto
- ukip were doing increasingly well so conservatives wanted to win over ukip voters through the referendum to leave
P3- supply and confidence deal 2017-19
- Conservatives and DUP supply and confidence deal
- conservatives = minority so DUP allowed them to form a govt and pass legislation
-impacted NI as they gained £2b however did not impact UK as May suffered repeated defeat in HOC
What is an ideology
‘Set of core and firmly held ideas and beliefs about human beings and how they should be governed’
The emergence of liberalism
- 19th century origins during a time of new emerging nations challenging systems like the monarchy
- liberal thinkers like john Locke were inspired by the French Revolution ( liberty, fraternity, equality)
- promotion of rights - of individuals and nations
The emergence of conservatism
- origins back to the English civil war - defenders of the church and monarchy
- writers like Thomas Hobbes supported the restoration of the monarchy in 1660
-much modern conservatism is from the writings of MP Edmund Burke - he wrote about his horror and repulsion of the Frenchman revolution (particularly its rejection of monarchy, religion and the past
The emergence of of socialism
-argues it dates back to early religion such as Christianity
- modern socialism inspired by the writing of Karl Marx and Fredrick engles
- he was appalled at the inequalities and injustices of the Industrial Revolution
- he promoted the abolition of of capitalism and the rights of working class
- also inspired the formation of unions and the British Labour Party
Core values of liberalism
1- you have the right to disobey an unjust law
2- the government should not interfere in the operation of their own economy
3- people are rational and will take correct decisions without without goverment interference
4- you are free to act as you wish as long as your actions don’t harm others
5-society will improve and reform naturally
6- govt power should be limited as possible
7- everyone should get equal opportunity but not equal outcome
8- competition is healthy - inequalities are a result of individuals
9- all viewpoints must be tolerated
10- private matters are not the business of govt
11- govt should help those in need through benefits
Core values of conservatism
1- crime is a condition so humans=inherently flawed
2- humans are not consistent
3- competition is healthy
4-any attempt from govt to reverse inequality is therefore doomed
5- those in privileged positions have a duty towards the less privileged
6- gradual change
7- traditions should be adhered to when making new decisions
8- ideologies are dangerous and negative - pragmatism is the best blueprint for change
9- family, community and nation are more important than the individual
10- patriotism is a force for good
11- state has a right to be coercive and govt should ‘lead’ and ‘educate’ society
Core values of socialism
1- human nature is inherently positive
2- societies bases upon wealth encourage divisions and damage human nature
3- individuals reflect the societies they grow up in
4- crime is a response not a condition
5- compassion allows human nature to flourish
6- wealth is responsible for societies ills
7- duty of govt to redistribute wealth - state must deliver equal opportunity and outcome
8- competition is unhealthy and undesirable
9- govt has a duty to legislate and change society - we must be ‘educated’
10- community is more important than the individual - state can be coercive
11- rapid change is the only way to progress
Socialisms economic values
-economy should redistribute wealth through taxation and state ownership
-equality of outcome
- anti-capitalism
-competition is unhealthy
Liberalisms economic values
- govt should not interfere with economy - lesse faire (leave alone)
- capitalism
- competition is healthy
Conservatisms economic values
- capitalism
- competition is healthy and motivates society
Socialisms societal values
- wealth creates divides and damages human nature
-human nature is inherently positive - individuals reflect the society they grew up in
- crime is a response
Liberalisms societal values
-you can choose what laws to obey as long as you don’t harm others
- society will improve naturally
- all view points must be tolerated
Conservatisms societal values
-humans are inherently flawed
- crime is a condition
- individual is less important than family
-pro patriotism
Socialisms government values
-govt should redistribute wealth
-should intervene on economic and social policy
- should educate society
-coersive
Liberalisms government values
-govt = little involvement
-should help those in need through benefits
- govt should not involve on private matters
Conservatisms government values
-contain strong law and order
- govt have the right to lead
- ideologies are dangerous
- adhere to tradition
What is old labour
-class conflict
-state control
-collectivism
-promote economic and social equality
-regulation of private industry
-ideological
-high tax
-working class
New labour
- class no longer important
-encourage free market capitalisation
-inequality is natural and inevitable
-individualism - allow people to prosper
-pragmatic
-low tax
-market economy - catch all party - not just walking class
Similarities of old/new labour
-equal rights
-social justice
-equality of opportunity
-welfare state
-anti - discrimination
- mixed economy
Evidence of old labour/socialism
2017 manifesto:
-scrap tuition fees
-nationalisation of Englands 9 water companies
- re-introduce the 50p tax rate on the highest earners - above £123,000
-income tax rate 45p on £80,000
-end zero hour contracts
-move to charge companies a levy on salaries above 330,000
2019 manifesto:
-raise minimum wage
-stop state pension age rises
-nationalise key industries ( railways, Royal Mail, BT broadband)
-scrap universal credit
-abolish private school’ charitable status
-build 100,000 council houses per year
Explain the 1990’s labours modernisation
Neil kinnock (leader 1983-92) began to modernise the party by reducing the dominance of trade unions over party policy decisions and creating a more open and democratic structure
-also expelled the militant faction from the party to distance them from extreme left
- john smith (1992-94) he introduced OMOV (one member one vote) so the party could represent itself as more democratic and not dominated by trade union leaders
-modernisation was completed under Blair (1994-2007) and his ‘third way’ - he combined elements of Thatcherite free market with continued commitment to social justice
What is clause IV
This provided clear commitment to public ownership of key industries and the redistribution of wealth - nationalisation
Key example of a socialist government
Attlee (1945-51) - great socialist govt
- introduced policies on nationalisation in order to stop workers exploitation
-redistributed national wealth by significantly increasing taxes on the rich
- with resulted money he established the welfare state - NHS
How did Tony Blair change clause IV
By promoting a less socialist view - he did this through conference to make amendments changing ideas around nationalisation - it is in the party’s best interests to have the rigour of competition whilst allowing individuals to work and prosper this therefore left behind the socialist view of wealth distribution
3 labour leaders who modernised the party and how
Tony Blair - changed clause IV by promoting socialist view ‘third way’
John Smith - ended block vote at party conference = OMOV
Neil Kinnock - reduced dominance of trade unions + expelled militant factors, and removed unpopular manifesto commitments (nuclear disbarment) he also changed the logo from a reg flag to a rose
What was labours 1983 manifesto called
Gerald Kaufman - ‘longest suicide note in history’
What was labour branded by the press in 1978 after the public sector strikes
‘Winter of discontent’
Walk through of labour throughout the years
1924 = first labour govt (minority) = coalition with liberal - PM was Ramsay McDonald
1945 = first majority - Attlee govt 45-51 - introduced welfare’s state / NHS and helped society recover from ww2
1970’s:
PM - James Callahan was on the right of the party and said public sector pay demands need to be restricted
Whereas Michael foot and Tony benn (left of the party) still favoured greater wealth distribution
Callaghan lost to Thatcher in 79 - after winter of discontent
79 defeat led to the left gaining control under Foot’s leadership
1983 = most left wing manifesto with policies such as:
-state control
-enhanced workers rights
- nuclear disarmament
-withdrawal from EU and NATO
= Kaufman’s ‘longest suicide note in history’
1990= modernisation from Kinnock, Smith and Blair
The formation of the Labour Party
Keir hardie became the first working class MP to be elected for the independent Labour Party (ILP) in 1892
To begin the few socialist groups had little success in 1900, 70% of men and no women had the right to vote
Real socialists had little chance of being elected
Trade unions were growing and TUC was formed (trade union congress)
LRC was renamed the Labour Party with kier hardie as the leader they won 29 seats in 1906
They originally pursued an agenda set on socialism
1918: the extension of the franchise to all adult men coincided with the adoption of the new Labour Party
What was Cameron’s gaol for the conservatives in 2006
To ‘detoxify the brand’
How did Cameron reach past the party’s core vote
He attempted the ‘green vote’ - adoption of the new green tree logo instead of the blue tourch suggesting voters should vote blue go green.
He also sided with Lib Dem on their Gurkha justice campaign unlike labour to settle on recidency rights.
Also addressed that thatcher was wrong when she said there is no such thing as the ‘society’ whereas Cameron said there is such thing as society but that ‘society’ was not the same as the state.
One nation conservatism - pre 1979 “one nation tories”
-slow gradual change (evolution not revolution)
-mixed economy - both private and state owned
-state intervention where necessary
-goal=full employment - tax and spend to create jobs
-support for universal welfare state (paternalism = state is your parent)
-‘government should be there for you from the cradle to the grave’
-internationalism
-increasing European integration
-support for traditional institutions like monarchy, HOL, UK
-pragmatism (don’t be tied to fixed ideas - use evidence)
Thatcherism - after 1979 (ideological)
-radical agenda
-deregulation in the field of business (laissez faire)
-privatisation of publicly owned industries e.g. railways, gas, and phones
-statutory limits on the power of trade unions
-smaller state “rolling back the fronteirs of the state”
-limited state intervention on economy
-greater emphasis on national sovereignty- anti EU
-limited state welfare provision (lower safety net)
Conservatives leader - Margaret Thatcher
-forced to resign by her own cabinet due to her position on Europe
-members feared unpopular policies like ‘poll-tax’ would lose them the next general election
Conservatives leader - john major
- won a surprise election victory in 1992 with a small majority
- continued the Thatcherite agenda
-thrashed by Blair’s new labour in 1997
Conservatives leader - William hague
- tried to modernise the party e.g. ordinary members now allowed to vote in leadership elections
-retreated ‘core vote’ strategy - anti euro
-thrashed by Blair in 2001 = first Tory leader to not become PM
Conservatives leader - Iain Duncan smith
- first Tory leader directly elected by party members
-disastrous attempt to reimpose Thatcherite agenda - very right wing
-he resigned = first Tory leader to not fight an election
Conservatives leader - Michael Howard
-‘care taker’ leader to get them to the 2005 election = heavy defeat
-former member of thatchers cabinet - very right wing, anti immigration
Conservatives leader - David Cameron
-elected leader 2005
-aimed to detoxify the brand to get back into power
What were Richard Kelly’s judgment on Camerons conservatism
1- represented ‘flagrant capitulation to new labour’ (be more like labour)
2- should be seen as a ‘subtle continuation of Thatcherism’
3- it has amounted to little more than ‘shameless opportunism’
Examples of Cameron detoxify the brand
-‘vote blue go green’ - change of logo
- society is not the same as the state (contradicting thatcher)
-sided with libdem on Gurkha justice
-changed the perception of the ‘nasty party’ to fix broken Britain
Policies perused by Theresa May (largely one nation)
- brexit
- end austerity = spend more
-raising personal tax allowance
-test winter fuel allowances
-dementia tax
-reintroduction of grammar schools
-replace free school lunch with free school breakfast
-rise in VAT
-cut cooperation tax + business rates (Thatcherite)
-support for fracking
Examples where Boris’ manifesto is ‘one nation’
-state to expand the NHS and increase the number of nurses by 50,000
- a safety net to be created to make sure no one will sell their home to pay for care
- freeze student finance fees and loans - keep then at £9000 a year and promised not to rise
- there is a housing crisis - the government will spend £6.3bn on 2.2m disadvantaged homes
-state pension to increase by 2.5% per year
- ensure universal credit benefit system is rolled out even further
-to build a new Manchester to Leeds rail line
Examples of Boris’ manifesto being Thatcherite
- leave EU by jan 31st and to leave completely before 2021
-introduce a new points based immigration system to ensure immigrants can contribute to the UK economy - state not to interfere with income tax, VAT or national insurance - Boris promised no rise in these
Liberals 1906
Liberals win a landslide - free school meals introduced
1911 - national insurance act was passed
Proud tradition of govt = one of the 4 ‘nation changing’ governments
The formation of the Liberal Democrat’s
1981 - moderate labour leaders Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and bill Rodger’s the ‘gang of 4’ break away from labour to form the social Democratic Party (SDP) - the liberals and SDP form an alliance - wasn’t winning many seats so David steel proposes the merger of the two parties.
Governing in devolved areas - Lib Dem
2003 - elections in Scotland and wales see no change In Lib Dem’s numbers; the coalition with Labour remains in Scotland but wales labour win enough to govern alone
Charles Kennedy leader in 2001-5
In 2005 the vote rises 22% and wins 62 seats - the highest number since 1923
- Kennedy claimed this election ‘ broke the mould of 2 party politics in the uk’
2010 coalition
- election campaign was transformed by TV debates - Clegg performed exceptionally
The hung parliament leads to coalition with conservatives; 5 Lib Dem’s enter cabinet- this nearly ruined them! There vote fell to 8% in 2015
The Liberal Democrat’s recovery since 2015
- Richmond by election December 2016 - Lib Dem sarah Olney beat zac goldsmith in the Richmond park by election
-overturned 2 Tory majority’s in by elections in June/December 2021
Lib Dem local election results 2019
- gained 647 more seats
-control of 10 more local councils
-only a partial recovery
The roles of political parties in the uk
- representation
- policy formation
- encourage political engagement and participation
-engage in political recruitment - provide a stable govt
- (or) provide democratic opposition - checks and balances
-enable parliament to function effectively
Criticism of representation
- conservatives represent ideas of big business + financial backers
- labour dominated by unions
Criticisms of policy formation
-only labour and conservatives ever reach govt so policy doesn’t change much - not all views represented
Criticism of engaging political engagement/participation
-participation crisis - low turnout, falling membership especially younger people
Criticisms of engaging in political recruitment
- narrow range of recruitment - historically white middle class, privately educated males
- we are becoming more diverse but still long way to go
Criticism of providing a stable govt
- 2017-19 minority led by May
Criticisms of providing democratic opposition
-parliamentary scrutiny seen as weak and ineffective e.g PMQ’s
Evidence that the uk is a multiparty system
- in the 2015 GE, 13.5% of Uk voter (and 61% of Scottish voter) backed parties other than labour and conservatives
- in 2019 GE in Scotland SNP got 48% of the vote and won 45% of seats in Scotland
-2017-19 DUP supply and confidence deal with with conservative govt
-SNP are the party of government in Scotland
-Plaid Cymru have served in coalition governments in wales
-labour/libdem coalition since both Scotland and wales in recent years
-2010-15 Lib Dem/conservative coalition
Evidence that the uk is a 2-part system
- the success of parties such as BNP was fleeting - Green Party failed to add to its 1 seat
-UKIP still relevant after BREXIT ?
-2017 GE labour and conservatives achieved 82% of total votes and 89% of seats
-labour and conservative govt are the only parties with a realist chance of forming a government or being senior partner in coalition - 2019 the conservatives and labour won 76% of the vote and 87% of seats
Minority parties - nationalist
- a ‘nation’ like SNP, Plaid Cymru
- a ‘region’ like mebyon kernow (party of Cornwall)
Some want complete independence - SNP others wants more modest goals
BNP
Were successful in early 2000’s but now have only 1 elected councillor and only 500 members - too small to be a party
Minority parties - singe issue
- Green Party - wide range of environmental issues
-UKIP (EU membership) one singular issue - pro-life alliance on abortion - one specific policy
Conservative leadership contest in 2019
- called because of the resignation of PM Theresa may
-10 candidates reduced to a short list of 2
-Johnson consistently most popular he won the membership vote 66-34%
-tiny proportion of electorate had chosen the new PM (136,000 out of a possible 46.5m)
The election of Liz Truss - 2022
-caused due to resignation on PM Boris Johnson
- 8 candidates whittled down to 2 - Truss and sunak
-final ballot of MPs = Sunak (137) Truss (113)
-member vote =- Sunak (60,000) Truss (80,000)
- 4/5 of last pms had now entered office without winning GE
Election of rushi Sunak - October 2022
- caused by resignation of PM truss
-1922 committee changed the rules - candidate needed the support of 100mps - 3 candidates emerged - Johnson, Sunak, Mordaunt
- Johnson amend Mordaunt withdrew
- Sunak = leader without ballot
Labour leadership election contest - 2015
- caused by resignation of leader Ed Milliband following election defeat
- corbyn added to shortlist of 4 MPs concerned about the lack of diversity
-the contest saw an explosion in Labour Party membership ( miliband changed the rules) - telegraph encouraged conservative voters to join labour and vote corbyn (hashtag tories for corbyn trended on twitter)
- British communist voters encouraged members to join and vote corbyn
-corbyn won the first ballot with 59% of member votes
Labour leadership contest - 2020
- caused by resignation of corbyn following disastrous GE in 2019
- 5 candidates recited enough mp nominations
- Emily thornberry and jess Phillips withdrew due to lack of support from trade unions and affiliated members
-kier starmer = most popular with MPs - he won enough in the 1st ballot (56%)
-Angela raynor elected as deputy separately
Liberal Democrat leadership contest - 2017
- caused by resignation of Tim farron following controversy over his Christian view on homosexuality
-limited choice due to so few Lib Dem MPs - vince cable did not stand as he lost his seat in 2015 GE
-Vince cable elected in an uncontested election but resigned before the next GE - replaced by jo swinson
Liberal Democrat leadership contest - 2019
- caused by resignation of jo swinson following 2019 GE
-the only candidates was ed Davey and Layla Moran
Davey won with 63.5% of vote
Party funding controversy 1997 Blair govt ( ban of tobacco advertisement)
- Bernie ecclestone (founder of F1) made secret donation of £1m to labour during the introduction of legislation to ban Tobacco advertising in sport
-when passed F1 were given an exception. - this damaged Blair’s credibility in early premiership when he campaigned against ‘Tory sleaze’ in 1997 - labour will be ‘pure’
Key difference in funding between labour and conservatives
Labour is typically funded by Trade unions and affiliated organisations whilst conservatives are bankrolled by wealthy business interests
Recent reforms on party funding
-Have to declare all donations of £5,000 to the electorate commission.
- the PPEA built on this by giving electoral commissions more power to investigate and limit donations over £7,500
- Hayden Phillips recommended we should have greater state funding e.g ‘pence per voter’ or ‘pence per member’
party funding scandal - derek draper and lobby gate
- in 1996 he became a lobbyist he worked as director of GCP market access and helped to set up the new labour organisation process - reputation took a hit after been found to be involved in 1998 lobbygate scandal
- he was caught on tape talking with Jonathan mendlesohn about selling access to govt ministers and creating tax breaks for their clients.
Party funding scandals - parliamentary expenses scandal
-2009
-the disclosure of expenses on mps in the uk
-monetary allowances that MPs may claim if an expense is occurred during the performance of their parliamentary duties
- caused wide spread dissatisfaction among electorate
E.g:
-Phil hope = £41,709
- resulted in large number of resignation, sackings, apologies and repayments
Party funding scandal - cash for honours - Lord levy and Blair
- also known as ‘cash for peerage’ or ‘loans for lordship’
- emerged that 4 wealthy business men who had lent the party a total of £5m were nominated for life peerages by the then pm, Blair
- they were rejected by HOL appointment commission
-further revealed they loaned large amount of money to labour at the suggestion of labour fundraiser lord levy - he was arrested but released on bail
Party funding scandal - cash for access
- 2 MPs filmed meeting undercover reporters, appearing to offer to use their positions to benefit the firm in exchange for thousands of pounds
-former Labour foreign secretary operated ‘under the radar’ to use his influence to change EU rules on behalf of a commodity firm which paid him £60,000 a year
Party funding scandal - David Cameron and greensill
- Cameron joined greensill as an adviser and lobbyist
- sent ministers dozens of messages asking for greensill to be allowed access to the govt corona virus loan support scheme
Party organisation and membership - 25 marks
‘It has been said about the organisation of the two main parties that the power flows down from the leadership in the Conservative Party and upward from the membership in the labour party’
Support:
- members only elect when pcp has narrowed it down to 2 - conservatives
- conference has no authority only advisory - conservative
- members contribute to policy forum, this is advice for manifesto however the leader writes it
- shy Tory effect
- do not have or elect a deputy leader
- labour elect a deputy leader using AV
- conservatives had no say in Sunak becoming leader
- the Labour Party conference (NEC) is sovereign - everything must be approved including manifesto
- labour can elect NEC members
- micheal foot knew the 1983 labour was unpopular
Agaisnt:
- labour’s ordinary members can only vote when a shortlist has been produced
- since 2001 conservative members can advise policy at conference
- only since 2001 ordinary conservative members could vote on leader
- 1987 Kinnock withdrew policies ( nuclear disarmament) that NEC approved
- Liz truss won the choice of ordinary members
Labours NEC - national executive committee
- sovereign body of Labour Party is conference
- meets for a week annually
- when conference not in session sovereignty lies with nec
- all policy must be approved by NEC whilst conference not in session
