Political Parties

Question 1

Political Party

Answer 1

A group of people who share the same goal by having candidates and attempting to win elections.

Question 2

Pressure Groups

Answer 2

Only enter elections to raise awareness for their cause, or influence the policies of the main parties.

Question 3

Manifesto

Answer 3

Policies that parties decide upon before election ad promise to asct upon if let into office/government.

Question 4

Mandate

Answer 4

The right of a winning party to govern a state and pursue the policies they were elected for.

Question 5

Salisbury Doctrine

Answer 5

Ensures that the House of Lords cannot oppose any bill that the governing perty wishes to implement from their manifesto.

Question 6

1997 New Labour Manifesto

Answer 6

Promised to remove hereditary peers from HoL, their landlside win allowed them a strong mandate and they were able to pass the House of Lords Act, 1999.

Question 7

Political Party Functions

Answer 7

• providing representation
• engaging in ‘political recruitment’
• formulating policy
• providing a stable government
• encouraging political participation

Question 8

Representation

Answer 8

Parties are meant to represent their constituencies and populations across the country. This was true when people identified with parties on the basis of class and wealth, however party dealignment has shown how this is no longer the precedent cause of people voting for a specific party.

Question 9

Political Participation

Answer 9

Parties promote this by engaging the public in issues ‘of the day’, and through encouragement of voting as it provides people with power democratically.

Question 10

Political Recruitment

Answer 10

Parties assess those who want to become electoral candidates, casting aside those who they deem unfit and training the rest through ‘political apprenticeship’ at a local level.

Question 11

Policy Formulation

Answer 11

Parties discuss and agree upon potential policies, often targeted at their ideologically-aligned demographic e.g. Labour’s ‘abolition of the tuition fee’ policy was targeted at the like-minded, more radical younger population, in order to gain more votes. Also unites the party as everyone in it has to agree upon the policies.

Question 12

Stable Government

Answer 12

Parties present voters with a clear choice, as all participants ‘belong’ to a set of ideologies and principles from their party rather than being driven by their own personal goals. Having parties also provides order within the election process.

Question 13

Mainstream Parties

Answer 13

These are the parties that typically dominate the UK. The Labour Party formed because of trade unionism and the need to represent workers during the 20th century, the Conservative Party emerged from the ‘Whig’ group within Parliament in the mid 19th century, and the Liberal Democrat Party formed as a merge between the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party in 1988.

Question 14

Minority/Niche Parties

Answer 14

Nationalist
- Try to nurture and represent the culture and identity of a specific region
- Often attempt to gain independence (SNP) or gain representation (Plaid Cymru)
Single-Issue
- Tend to offer a wide range of policies based on an issue/political perspective
- Main goal is to raise awareness rather than govern the country (UKIP, Green Party)

Question 15

Does the UK have a multiparty system? FOR

Answer 15

• 2015 GE, 13.5% of UK and 61% of Scottish voters backed parties outside the main two.
• some places (e.g. Scotland) have genuine multiparty competition for elected office
• UKIP, SNP, Green Party have managed success in second-order elections despite not gaining Westminster representation

Question 16

Does the UK have a multiparty system? AGAINST

Answer 16

• The two main parties are the only ones with a chance at winning election
• in 2015 both main parties received 67.2% of the popular vote, displaying how they dominate the UK’s political system.
• success of smaller parties at second order elections are fleeting, Green party has failed to add to its one seat in HoC, UKIP is a much less prevalent force as of 2016.
• Although the LibDems achieved 3rd place in the 2015 GE, they were still 224 seats behind Labour (2nd place). Not even close.

Question 17

Party Funding

Answer 17

Refers to the ways Parties are funded and ran, e.g. donations, membership subscriptions