Party Systems (PP 2.4) Flashcards
What is a party system?
The way in which parties in a political system are grouped/structured
> How many compete for power
> How many have an impact on the exercise of power
What are the four party systems which can be argued have been in place in the UK?
Two-party system
Two-and-a-half-party system
Dominant party system
Multi-party system
What is a majority government?
- A government which forms with more than half of the seats (half of 650) won.
> Important as it needs a majority to pass votes on key things like the budget and votes of confidence.
What is a coalition government?
- A government of more than one party
> Both parties will have ministers
> Larger party will have the PM, smaller with Deputy PM
> Only recent coalition was the 2010-2015 Conservative-LibDem coalition (Cameron/Clegg)
What is a minority government?
- A government without a majority of seats
> Usually forms a “confidence and supply” agreement with a much smaller party
(i.e. the 2017-19 Conservative-DUP confidence and supply arrangement)
What is the argument for a dominant party system?
- Multiple times were a singular party has been in power for more than a decade
> Thatcher/Major (79’-97’)
> Blair (97’-10’)
> Conservatives (10’-24’) - Could also be argued that we have seen Conservative dominance with a few Labour governments (for the past 80 years, Conservatives have been in power for 50)
What is the argument against a dominant party system?
- Alternate-dominating party system is a much more accurate view, yet this is only shown in governments formed, and not in other metrics (seats won and vote share)
- Conservative dominance shows cracks (under Major, and from 2010 (Coalition, confidence and supply agreement, Brexit)
> Moreover, dominance has never been in terms of votes (between 1979-1997, they only ever won 41-44% of the votes)
Does the UK have a dominant party system?
- No
> While the Conservatives dominated 79’-97’, there has been no return since; even during this period, it was limited with a relatively low vote share.
What is the argument for a two-and-a-half-party system?
- Can be argued that the reason the Conservatives dominated from 79’-97’ was due to the vote split between Labour and the LibDems (and their predecessors)
> “Half” party of LibDems keeping the Conservatives in power
What is the argument against a two-and-a-half-party system?
- More of a multi-party system
> LibDems have collapsed at times (i.e. 2015)
> LibDems take votes from both Labour and the Conservatives, and other parties also have an impact
Does the UK have a two-and-a-half-party system?
No
> The reason why the Conservatives were dominant in the 1980s was due to the weakness of Labour.
What are the four metrics used to determine what type of party system the UK has?
Government formed
Seats won
Vote share
Elections beyond Westminster
What type of party system does governments formed show, and why?
A two-party system
> Only Labour and Conservatives have formed governments; the last time another party formed a government was the Liberals in 1918
What other parties have been in power since 1945, other than Labour and the Conservatives?
Conservative-LibDem coalition in 2010-15, which the electorate rejected (shown through the collapsed LibDem vote in 2015, only winning eight seats)
How many times have Labour and the Conservatives swapped power since 1945?
Eight times.
What are the arguments for a two-party system, in terms of government formed?
- Most general elections have produced a clear majority for one of the two main parties
> Only two exceptions to this (2010 coalition (Labour collapsed due to financial crisis) and 2017-19 (Brexit; still over 80% of people voted for either Labour or the Conservatives)
What is the (less convincing) argument against a two-party system, in terms of government formed?
- Ability to form a single party government is diminishing
> 2010 coalition
> 2017 confidence and supply agreement
> Labour has usually struggled (other than Blair / 2024)
What is the overall argument for a two-party system, in terms of governments formed?
It is clear to see that, in terms of governments formed, it is firmly a two-party system.
> Minority governments / coalitions have only come through exentuating circumstances (financial crisis 08’; Brexit)
What are the arguments for a two-party system, in terms of seats won?
- In all elections since 1945, the vast majority has been won by the two main parties
> In 2024, which was the highest percentage of seats won by smaller parties (18%), only 118/650 were won, which is about a sixth of seats available.
What are the arguments against a two-party system, in terms of seats won?
- There has been a clear and long decline in seats won by the two main parties
> 1945 = 90%+; 1964 = 99%
> 1997 = fell below 90%, has never returned
> 2024 = 82%
What is the overall argument for a two-party system, in terms of seats won?
It is clear that most of the seats are held by one of the two main parties, but the degree to which this is true is decreasing.
> Shows a two-party system in decline.
What are the (less convincing) arguments for a two-party system, in terms of vote share?
Although vote share has been declining since the 1970s, the voters have largely given the winning party enough votes to form a government.
> Even in 2024, both Labour and Conservative voters left their parties (tactical voting for Labour, punishment/Reform for the Conservatives), explaining the lower vote share at 57%
What are the (more convincing) arguments against a two-party system, in terms of vote share?
Even though FPTP encourages a two-party system, the rate of people voting for the two main parties has steadily declined.
> 1950s = over 90%
> 1970s/80s = around 70%
> 2000s = around 60%
> 2024 = 57% (lowest ever, tied with 2001)
Exceptions (2017/19) can be explained with exentuating circumstances (Brexit)
What is the overall argument for a two-party system, in terms of vote share?
- Voters are increasingly not voting for one of the two main parties, even with FPTP encouraging it
> Only 57% voted for Labour/Conservatives in 2024, with only 34% voting for the winning party (Labour)
Does Britain have a two-party system?
In terms of governments formed, it is still a two-party system.
In terms of seats won, it is a two-party system in decline.
In terms of vote share, there is a move away from the two-party system of old, shifting into a multi-party system.
What is the underlying reason for a two-party system existing in the UK?
First-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system, which turns multiparty voting into two-party outcomes; looking at elections without the use of FPTP, there are rarely two-party systems in place.
What are the (more convincing) arguments for a multi-party system?
2015
> Despite the LibDems declining, the SNP had become an important party.
> UKIP won 12.6% of the vote share
2024
> Despite SNP losing seats, the LibDems won 72 seats
> Reform won 14.3% of the vote share, and five seats
> Greens won four seats (record)
What are the (less convincing) arguments against a multi-party system?
2017 and 2019 elections show a return to two-party voting (82% in 2017; 76% in 2019)
What is the overall argument for a multi-party system in the UK?
2024 election settles the argument
> Labour won 34%, Conservatives 24% (total of 57%)
> LibDems, Reform, SNP and Greens all won a significant number of votes, but not reflected in the seat share due to FPTP.
What is the overall argument for party systems in the UK; what kind of party system is in place in Westminster?
It can depend on what metric is used (government formed, seats won, vote share), but the most convincing argument is that Westminster has a two-party system in decline, moving towards a multi-party system
What elections beyond Westminster can be looked at to see party systems with proportional voting, and what specific elections will be used?
- Elections to devolved assemblies in Scotland, Wales (1999-) and Northern Ireland (1998-)
- London Assembly elections (2016, 2021, 2024)
- European Parliamentary elections (2014, 2019)
What was the result of the 2016 London Assembly election?
Labour and the Conservatives have dominated both vote share and seats won.
> 75% vote share, 80% in seats won
What was the result of the 2021 London Assembly election?
Labour and the Conservatives have dominated both vote share and seats won.
> 74% vote share, 80% seats won
What was the result of the 2024 London Assembly election?
Labour and the Conservatives have dominated both vote share and seats won.
> 67% vote share, 76% seats won
(Could be argued that it is declining)
Overall, what type of system does the London Assembly elections show?
Despite the use of a proportional voting system, the London Assembly still sees a two-party system in place, closely mirroring Westminster politics.
What was the result of the 2014 European Parliamentary elections?
- Eight different parties won a portion of 73 seats
> Labour, Conservatvies and UKIP all recieved between 23-27% of the vote, and between 19-24 seats
What was the result of the 2019 European Parliamentary elections?
- Eight parties won a portion of the seats
> Brexit Party, Labour, LibDems and the Greens all wonm between 12-31% of the vote and between 7-29 seats.
Overall, what type of system does the European Parliamentary elections show?
If we look at the elections beyond Westminster, it is very clear we do not have a two-party system; one of the main reasons this is because of is the use of more proportional voting systems.
European Parliamentary elections show a multi-party system.
What was the result of the 2021 Welsh Parliament elections?
Labour (40% vote share, 30/60 seats)
Conservatives (26% vote share, 16/60 seats)
Plaid Cymru (20% vote share, 13/60 seats)
Who has won the elections in Wales since 1999 (its inception)?
Labour
> Have always had around half the seats or slightly less
What type of governments have Labour formed in Wales since 1999?
Labour has ruled as a minority government, and sometimes in coalition
> Coalition with LibDems
> Minority govt (with 30/60 seats)
> Coalition with Plaid
What type of party system does the Welsh Parliament show?
A multi-party system, despite the fact that Labour have been in power since 1999 (always ruled as a minority or in a coalition, and three parties have generally gotten a fair vote share)
On the whole, what do elections beyond Westminster show?
In elections beyond Westminster, more parties are elected, and coalition governments are more common.
> It is clear to see that changing the electoral system creates a more multi-party system, and as a result, in elections beyond Westminster, Britain is largely a multi-party system.
What are the current strengths of Britain’s party system?
- Stable
- Parties are a source of strength and participation
- Parties are the base of electoral competition
What are the current weaknesses of Britain’s party system?
- Often argued that parties may not differ much
- FPTP privileges established major parties
- Funding is very controversial
What are three factors which influence the success or failure of parties?
- Strength of leadership
- Extent to unification or division within party factions
- Role of the media in projecting an image of a party
What is the essence behind the impact of a strong leadership?
Voters tend to respond positively to party leaders who demonstrate a clear sense of direction, and reject parties that fail to get a grip on events in times of crisis
Why did the Labour government collapse in 1979?
- James Callaghan (Labour leader) seemed weak as he was unable to control trade union demands for pay increases
> Thatcher took advantage; offered a tough response
What is the essence behind the impact of the unification and division of different party factions?
Divided parties do not perform well at general elections.
What happened to John Major’s Conservatives in the 1997 election?
- Suffered a heavy defeat
> Seen as incompetent and divided on the relationship between Britain and the EU
> Voters’ perception of a weak and divided party meant both pro- and anti-EU MPs lost their seats
> In contrast, Blair was seen as disciplined and united
What is the essence behind the role of the media?
The growing importance of the media in recent decades has tended to reinforce the general public’s impression of parties and their leaders.
Why was Nick Clegg’s appeal enhanced in 2010?
Use of televised debates in the 2010 general election enhanced the appeal of Nick Clegg (LibDems)
> Allowed the LibDems to form a coalition
What is the counter to the importance of the role of the media?
The LibDems had actually emerged with five fewer seats than in the 2005 election, showing that these televised debates may not have had as big of an impact as can be argued.
