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.
