P1 T2: Political Parties Flashcards
2.1 What do political parties do?
Exercise power by governing, adopt a ‘broadchurch’ attitude, members united by an ideology
2.1 What has happened to the 2 party system over the last century?
Since Universal Suffrage in 1928, Labour and Conservatives have dominated, however in the last 15 years, smaller parties have made inroads to challenge the 2 party system
2.1 KTD: How effectively do political parties support democracy in the UK? (Formulation of Policy)
FOR:
-Political parties are one of the key ways that societies set goals, formulate policy, and offer choice; if all parties offer policies based on their party’s ideologies, voters have a real choice
AGAINST:
-Not that effective at formulating policy - neither party is ideological, more interested in retaining power, leading to lower turnout
2.1 KTD: How effectively do political parties support democracy in the UK? (Recruitment of leaders)
FOR:
All political careers start with a decision to join a party, parties control the process for who is chosen to lead them, parties act as a ‘training ground’ for future leaders to canvas, campaign, and learn
AGAINST:
Parties tend to choose leaders who can win elections rather than govern effectively e.g. Boris Johnson in 2019 won 43% of the votes but was removed after 2.5 years, Party members select party leaders rather than by MPs which puts power in the hands of an unrepresentative sample of people
2.1 KTD: How effectively do political parties support democracy in the UK? (Organisation of government)
FOR:
Operation of govt. relies on parties, they take control and are responsible for their actions, if there were no parties, who would be Prime Minister?, provides opposition and scrutiny to the govt.
AGAINST:
Decline in party unity since the 70s, instability can occur even with a large majority e.g. 2019-2024 tories with a majority of 80
2.1 KTD: How effectively do political parties support democracy in the UK? (Participation and mobilisation)
FOR:
Like-minded citizens can join groups with similar beliefs, can shape party policy, educate the electorate through canvassing, ads, and campaigns
AGAINST:
Partisan dealignment - voters no longer have a party they automatically vote for (Only 10% have a ‘strong attachment’ vs. 44% in 1964), turnout and party membership has fallen sharply
2.1 KTD: How effectively do political parties support democracy in the UK? (Representation)
FOR:
Representation is seen as the main function of political parties, they articulate the interests of the electorate, winning parties claim they have a ‘mandate’ to introduce policy they were elected on which gives legitimacy
AGAINST:
Parties have moved away from traditional groups e.g. Tories appealing to middle class voters, Seen in 2019 where working class voted for Conservatives and 2024 where they voted Reform, in modern society pressure groups are more effective
2.1 Describe the 3 main ways parties are funded
Membership fees - declined with the collapse of party participation for the Tories but for left wing parties, since 2015, membership increased so that membership income exceeded donations
Donations - Individuals, corporations, businesses, and pressure groups, like trade unions, Labour controlled by trade unions whereas the Tories have more donations from wealthy donors
Grants - ‘Short Money’ given to opposition parties based on the proportion of seats and votes they won, ‘Cranborne money’ is a similar scheme for the largest and 2nd largest parties in the HoL, Electoral commission given £2m to allocate to parties with at least 2 MPs to develop policies to include in their manifestos
2.1 Describe the scandal involving Tony Blair’s government and Formula 1
Bernie Ecclestone donated £1m to the Labour party before the 1997 election, in Labour’s manifesto it said they would introduce a ban on the large scale advertising of tobacco especially in sports to discourage smoking, when they were going to introduce the policy they made F1 exempt claiming to give them a few more years so they didn’t lose too much money, this shows that Ecclestone gained something after donating - corruption
2.1 What act was introduced as a result of the Ecclestone scandal?
The Political Parties, Elections, and Referenda Act (PPERA) 2000 which said donations in excess of £7,500 to political parties should be declared
2.1 KTD: Should UK parties be state funded? Give the arguments FOR
FOR:
It would remove the chance of rich organisations secretly influencing policy
Parties could be more responsive to the views of members and the voters; their needs would always come first
State funding could be allocated based on an agreed measure of a party’s popularity - this would remove an unfair advantage for parties with wealthy backers
Current framework is inadequate - even after PPERA allegations that donations secure peerages and influence have continued
Parties would only require £25m a year to be funded
2.2 Describe features of the left-wing
A more optimistic view of society, the state can be used to deliver change, higher taxes, more equality
2.2 Describe features of the right-wing
A more pessimistic view of society, the state should do little, favouring businesses and the free market
2.2 What are the origins and overall ideology of the Conservative party?
First half of the 19th century, originally called the Tories, a reaction to revolutions in the world, pragmatic view rooted in the idea that human nature is selfish
Emphasises the need for gradual, slow change in society rather than radical reform, conserve the best of political institutions (parliament) and social institutions (church), flexibility of this approach enabled the Conservatives to become the most successful political party in history
2.2 Define pragmatism
A way of dealing with problems or situations that focus on practical approaches
