Political Parties Flashcards
1
Q
What is a political party
A
- group of people drawn together by broad ideology
- aspire to form a gov
2
Q
What key functions do political parties need funding for?
A
- fighting elections
- holding party conferences
- carrying out research and developing policies and manifestos
3
Q
How do parties get funding?
A
- membership subscriptions (was 35% of labour parties funding in 2021)
- trade unions (2021 - 13% of labours funding)
- public funding
- donations
4
Q
2000 Political Parties, Elections, and Referendums Act
A
- make party funding less democratic
- have to report donations over £7,500
5
Q
What ideas did Old Labour want to implement?
A
- nationalisation of coal, railways, power, steel
- NHS created
- described themselves a socialist (but were social democrats)
- keynesian economics
6
Q
What was the thing abt longest suicide note in history
A
- Labour lost 1983 election on hardline socialist programme of nationalisation, increased tax spending, withdrawal from ‘capitalist’ EEC
7
Q
Why did they stray away from Old Labour?
A
- industrial base of country disappeared, couldn’t just appeal to working class anymore
- early 1980s, moved away from left wing to broaden support
8
Q
What is Third Way
A
- third way between free-market capitalism and old style socialism
9
Q
How did New Labour come about
A
- revising clause IV, they were no longer trying to nationalise and redistribute wealth
- moved away from just high taxes on the rich
- third way
- pro-EU (Eu developed policies that protected workers rights, e.g Social Chapter’
10
Q
What was the thing about Red Ed
A
- 2010-2015
- He tried to combine New Labours support for businesses with defence of the working class
- media dubbed him red ed
- mainly continued new labours policies but moved slightly to the left
11
Q
Corbin rise to power?
A
- 2015- labour members wanted them to be more left wing (they got replaced in Scotland by SNP for not being left wing enough)
- Corbyn had a more left wing agenda and got chosen as party leader
- he struggled to form a united shadow cabinet (opposing MPs forced a 2nd leadership contest, he won)
12
Q
Corbyn fall from power
A
- he reembraced old labour ideas
- destroyed in 2019 election, rejection of such left wing ideas and a weak leader
- issues with antisematism in labour party
13
Q
Economic policy under New Labour?
A
- not increasing taxes to separate from earlier social democratic administrations
- did not make wiping out inequality a priority (national minimum wage of £3.60 and hour, not what trade unions wanted)
- supported capitalism and use of Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs), using the private sector in the provision of public services (e.g building new schools)
14
Q
Law and order under New Labour?
A
- Blair said that Labour must be ‘tough on crime, and tough on the causes of crime’
- some measures to fight terrorism promoted safety of community over human rights
- encouraged and facilitated immigration (net migration quadrupled to 200,000 a year when they were in office)
15
Q
Welfare under New Labour?
A
- Increased spending on NHS (shortest waiting time in NHS history)
- increased spending on eduction (average spending rose by 48% per pupil between 1997 and 2007, record results in schools)
16
Q
Foreign policy under New Labour
A
- Blaire supported George Bush decision to invade Iraq in 2003
- Doubled foreign aid spending
17
Q
Law and order under Corbyn
A
- opposed cuts to police numbers
- rejected new labour tough stance on crime
- 2017 and 19, pledge to end immigration targets
18
Q
Welfare under Corbyn
A
- opposed benefit cuts
- opposed use of private sector to deliver public services (argued for fully state run NHS)
- 2017-19, pledged to scrap tuition fees
19
Q
What was the post-war consensus
A
- conservative undid very few of labour’s policies when they took office
20
Q
How did Cameron detoxify Conservative party
A
- elected 2005
- he identified himself as a liberal conservative, tolerant of minority groups and different lifestyles
- showed that he valued NHS and the environment
- shifted party back to moderate one nation conservatism
21
Q
How did Cameron move away from Thatcherism
A
- Cameron and may said they stood on the side of ordinary people
- Cameron argued for cooperation between people, talking about “Big Society” (sounds pretty one nation)
- he supported the legislation of gay marriage
22
Q
Why did Theresa may soon lose power
A
- reign defined by chaos and division within Conservative party over brexit
23
Q
Why did boris Johnson soon lose power
A
- he successfully passed the hard brexit deal after 2019 election (slogan ‘Get Brexit Done’)
- Partygate scandal during COVID eventually brought him down
24
Q
How did liz truss get destroyed
A
- she sought to bring back Thatcherism to boost UK economy in context of cost of living crisis
- her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng introduced mini budget which cut taxes significantly, but it made value of the pound fall and Bank of England increased interest rates
- she tried to replace Kwarteng with Jeremy Hunt but it was too late and she resigned (after 45 days)
25
Q
Economic policy under thatcher
A
- reduced taxes to encourage individualism (top income tax cut from 83% to 40%)
- public spending cut by £1B within her first year (reduced funding everywhere but police)
- supported privatisation (privatised British telecom 1981)
- right to buy scheme: allow people to purchase their own council homes
26
Q
Law and order under Thatcher
A
- called trade unions the ‘enemy within’
- made striking more difficult and used police against them
- increased funding for police and armed forces
- very tough on crime
27
Q
Welfare policy under Thatcher
A
- 1998 Education Reform Act, removed control over education from local politicians (schools self governing and curriculum decided by UK gov)
- cut budgets of many gov departments
- reduced some benefits
28
Q
Foreign policy under Thatcher
A
- ‘iron lady’ strong foreign policy
- eurosceptic, sought to protect Britains sovereignty against EU
- strongly protected Britains interests, against the USSR and in the Falklands War, developed good relationship with Reagan
29
Q
2010 Lib Dem manifesto ideas
A
- scrap university fees for undergraduate students
- make first £10,000 ppl earn tax free
- backed constitutional reform
- changing trident nuclear missiles system
30
Q
Current policies of Lib Dems
A
- oppose tax rises, saying it would hurt working families the most
- strongly back green causes and green investments
- support constitutional reform (reform HoL, make voting system more proportional)
31
Q
Main goal of SNP
A
- Scottish independence
32
Q
History of SNP
A
- been in power since 2016
- Scottish independence referendum in 2014 narrowly lost, so leader Alex Salmond resigned
- replaced by Nicola Sturgeon (very popular but suddenly quit in feb 2023)
33
Q
Ideas and policies of SNP
A
- free uni in scotland
- support immigration, want control over it to be devolved
- pro-EU, want to rejoin EU once Scotland independent
- increase healthcare spending
- opposed trident
34
Q
UKIP/Brexit Party policies
A
- Led by Nigel Farage
- leave EU in a way that regained the UK political sovereignty and reduce immigration
- quite right wing populist party
35
Q
Green Party ideas
A
- tackle climate change
- oppose fracking
- left wing party committed to reducing social inequality
- strongly pro-EU
-abolish tuition fees
36
Q
Minor parties ARE NOT important
A
- FPTP reduces their relevance (2015 - UKIP won 3.88 million votes and got 1 seat in parliament)
- when minor parties do have influence its very minor and temporary
37
Q
Minor parties ARE important
A
- minor parties with concentrated support can get seats under FPTP
- they also have more success in local elections and EU parliament
- they have indirect influence (lowkey pressure groups)
38
Q
Party funding affect on party success
A
- Those with significant funding are able to hire a lot of staff and spend a lot on advertising
- major parties can outspend the minor ones
- can harm popularity of parties if linked to corruption
39
Q
Electoral system affect on party success
A
- parties with concentrated geographic support are able to benefit while smaller parties get fucked
- smaller parties can still have influence on policies of two main parties
40
Q
Party leadership affect on party success
A
- important since the rise of TV and social media
- increased presidentialisation of UK politics
-charismatic leaders can increase vote share (Boris Johnson 2019 and Tony Blair 1997) - shit leaders not useful (Theresa May 2017 and Corbyn 2019)
- but local MPs also play a key role, and many ppl vote for that party regardless of leader
41
Q
Media affect on party success
A
- significant majority of the press is right wing and supports tories
- important role in key political standards (partygate 2022)
- however media often only reports events and voters make up ow minds
42
Q
Economic policy under Corbyn
A
- 2019, pledged to increase taxes with 50% tax rate for those earning over £125 000
- pledged to increase corporation tax from 21% to 26%
- pledged 6 big nationalisations: rail, mail, water, energy, broadband
- end PFIs
43
Q
Foreign policy under Corbyn
A
- 2017-19, pledged not to pull out of NATO and to pay for Trident
- 2019 manifesto included second referendum on Brexit (Corbyn was unsure about this, looked weak, whereas Starmer strongly supported)
44
Q
What is Trident?
A
- essentially the nuclear arms programme in the UK, ours are stationed in submarines around the world so we can strike wherever we want
45
Q
How is current Labour similar to Old labour/Corbyn
A
- Starmer has pledged to nationalise rail and energy
- Investment in public services (kind of similar to New Labour as well though)
- still trying to fix issues surrounding crime and be tougher on causes of crime as well
46
Q
How is current Labour similar to New Labour
A
- keep most industries privatised, use of PFI
- Starmer strongly supports defence spending and NATO
- not far from ‘tough on crime, tough on causes of crime’
- similar taxation policies
47
Q
Other social policies under Thatcher?
A
- Section 28 of Local Government Act 1988 introduced ban on promoting homosexuality in schools - christian values
48
Q
Economic policy under Cameron?
A
- reduce budget deficit inherited by Labour
- introduce austerity to maintain confidence of financial markets
- budgets of gov departments were cut by up to 25%
- did not raise taxes, instead cut them in 201 5
49
Q
Law and order under Cameron?
A
- more liberal than Thatcher, called for the understanding of young offenders
- resembled Blairs insistence of being tough on crime and the causes of crime
50
Q
Welfare under Cameron?
A
- universal credit system was introduced to try and encourage low income people to take up employment
- allowed private sector to compete with state hospitals
51
Q
Foreign policy under Cameron?
A
- similar to Thatcher in his special relationship with the US, supporting air strikes in Syria
- supported pragmatic euroscepticism (like Thatcher)
52
Q
Climate change under Cameron?
A
- said his gov would be the ‘greenest government ever’
- prioritised green investments and introduced carbon tax on fossil fuels
53
Q
Economic policy under Sunak?
A
- trying to reduce national debt and tackle inflation (he wanted to half inflation by the end of 2023)
- Increases taxes and cut public spending ( corporation tax to rise from 19% to 25% in april 2023)
- opposes striking workers but has not given them what they have asked for
54
Q
Law and order under Sunak?
A
- pledged to recruit 20 000 additional police officers
- strong stance against immigration (Safety of Rwanda Act and all)
- tough on strikes and protests (Public Order Act 2023)
55
Q
Welfare under Sunak?
A
- promised to cut NHS waiting times
- opposed striking NHS nurses and is seeking to im[pose mandatory minimum service levels as part of anti-strike legislation
56
Q
Foreign policy under Sunak?
A
- strong assertive foreign policy
- Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also detailed the tough stance the UK needs to take on China for their lack of adherence to the rules and norms of the international community
57
Q
Lib Dem’s under Charles Kennedy (early 2000s)?
A
- centre-left party
-opposed the Iraq War, identity cards and tuition fees and wanted 50% tax rate for those earning over £100 000
58
Q
Why did the Lib Dems join the coalition and how did it damage them?
A
- due to the gravity of the financial crisis, they thought they had to g along with Con’s immediate austerity policies
- By joining the coalition they were associated to many unpopular Con policies
- broke promises to scrap tuition fees and saw a more proportional electoral system rejected by electorate in 2011 AV referendum
59
Q
Lib Dem’s after the coalition?
A
- punished in 2015 election, where they won only 8 seats
- 2017, increased to 12 seats under Tim Farron
- 2019, got 11 seats after promise to revoke article 50
60
Q
Number of seats in Scotland belonging to SNP in 2016
A
- 56 out of 59
