Political parties Flashcards
1
Q
What are typical left-wing political ideas?
A
- have positive view of state/collectivist view of society
- believe gov should reduce inequality/encourage social cohesion by providing extensive welfare state.
- generally enjoy close relations with TU movement, since unions rep economic interests of working class.
- wealthier in society should pay higher share of tax through redistributive taxation; nationalisation of key industries.
- embrace multiculturalism; socially libertarian; support giving alternative lifestyles equal status with more trad ones.
2
Q
What are typical right-wing ideas?
A
- focuses more on importance of giving individual as much control over own life as possible.
- reject attempts to encourage greater equality; believe free market operates best when there is as little gov interference as possible.
- govs should aim to keep taxation low/TU influence limited to encourage smooth operation of market.
- companies operate most effectively when there is competition, so nationalised firms are best privatised.
- economically libertarian but socially conservative; emphasise importance of shared national identity/encourage trad lifestyles.
3
Q
What is the structure of the Conservative Party?
A
- local level - Conservative Associations; key role in grassroots; local campaigning/selecting candidates.
- national - Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ);day to day running - Board of Conservative Party made up of reps from all sections.
- Conservative Policy Forum - encourages grassroots participation w/advisory role; generally leader write policy, but 2019 manifesto written by advisors.
4
Q
What is the structure of the Labour Party?
A
- local - each constituency has Constituency Labour Party; takes lead in local/national elections.
- national level base in Victoria Street.
- day to day running by National Executive Committee; enforces discipline; 40 members from party, TUs, CLPs, councillors; elections highly factionalised.
5
Q
What is the structure of the Lib Dems?
A
- local branches run constituency-level campaigns; submit motions for debate.
- HQ - Great George Street.
- Federal Board - national governing body; 35 voting members - party pres, chairs of national parties, councillor, 15 directly elected by party members.
- motions debated/passed at conference become official national party policy.
- policies affecting whole of UK/just England voted on by Liberal Democrat Federal Conference.
- Scottish, Welsh, regional conferences set policy that affect own area.
6
Q
How do parties select their candidates?
A
- all three main parties have similar 3-stage process.
- hopefuls must pass/undertake selection procedure/training before getting onto party’s central list of approved candidates eg aspiring Tory candidates must pass Parliamentary Assessment Board.
- apply to get shortlisted as prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) by local branches.
- adopted following vote of local party members; main parties have sought to increase diversity eg Labour pioneered use of all-women shortlists.
- central party may impose shortlist on local party eg Cons accused of doing so in Bridgend in 2017.
7
Q
What are leadership elections like in the Conservative Party?
A
- Tory MPs vote in series of ballots, ending up with two candidates eg 2019 - nine MPs secured enough support to stand, but seven eliminated leaving Hunt/Johnson.
- party members make final pick on one member, one vote (OMOV) basis; Johnson won with around 2/3 of vote after 16 regional hustings before party members.
8
Q
What are leadership elections like in the Labour Party?
A
- must secure backing of at least 10% of Labour MPs and either 5% of constituency parties or 3 affiliates.
- party members/registered supporters vote on OMOV basis using AV; Starmer won over 50% of vote in first round so no need for second.
9
Q
What are leadership elections like in the Lib Dems?
A
- must gain support from at least 10% of other Lib Dem MPs/be supported by at least 200 members from more than 20 local parties.
- party members vote on OMOV basis using AV; Davey won 63.5% in first round in 2020.
10
Q
How do parties campaign?
A
- deliver leaflets, canvass voters on doorstep, arrange political hustings.
- grassroots Labour movement Momentum appreciated importance of getting political message across through social media.
- increasingly use internet to engage with voters.
11
Q
How do parties play a representative function?
A
- ensure opinions of everyone in in society given mouthpiece
- 2017 - 82.4% of those who voted felt political opinions represented by Tories (42.4%) or Labour (40%).
- wide range of their political parties.
- Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, London Assembly, NI Assembly use PR; gives minority/nationalistic parties greater opportunity to achieve representative influence.
12
Q
What is the Popular Conservatism faction?
A
- want to excite public; take control of faceless organisation, which they define as judges, quangos, international human rights institutions.
- back Rwanda plan, but may seek to push Sunak further; demand UK exists ECHR.
- push for further tax cuts.
- demanding end to Net Zero zealotry.
13
Q
What is One Nation conservatism?
A
- commonly associated with Victorian PM Disraeli.
- focused on duty of those with power/privilege to use this wisely; unite nation by way of moderate social reforms/patriotism.
- One Nation caucus est 1975; more centrist approach to economic and social policy; currently over 100 eg Gillian Keegan; support Rwanda bill, but have voiced concerns about leaving/breaking international human rights treaties.
14
Q
What is the Butskellite pragmatism and consensus?
A
- in wake of 1945 Labour landslide/establishment of Welfare State; Tories shifted further to centre/accepted bulk of Labour’s social reforms.
- throughout 50s/60s, large areas of consensus in many key areas between two parties.
- pro-European; keen to join EEC/Common Market.
15
Q
What is Thatcherism?
A
- dominated much of party’s thinking/policies in 80s/into 90s.
- associated closely with Thatcher; represented conviction over promise.
- Thatcher saw herself on crusade to promote individual freedom, esp. economic; aimed to denationalise most gov-owned industries/encourage council tenants to buy own homes.
- 1984-5 miners’ strike saw Thatcher’s gov break power of one of most formidable unions - National Union of Mineworkers.
16
Q
What is the Common Sense Group faction?
A
- collective of around 50 MPs/peers, standing for ‘authentic conservatism.’
- slammed National Trust for publicising Churchill’s family links to slavery; attacked BLM/XR as subversives fuelled by ignorance.
17
Q
Conservative 2019 policy pledges/strand of conservatism
A
- extra funding for NHS, with 50,000 more nurses, 50m more GP surgery appointments per year - BUTSKELLITE
- 20,000 additional police officers - TRAD VALUES
- promise not to raise income tax, VAT, NI - THATCHERISM
- maintain triple lock on pensions - ONE-NATION
18
Q
What is economic socialism?
A
- commitment to core strands of socialism.
- eg seen in Attlee gov - Welfare Safe; also took many core industries into state ownership.
- Brown/Blair govs chose not to renationalise.
- under Corbyn, 2017/2019 manifestos pledged partial renationalisation.
19
Q
What is trade unionism?
A
- historic ties go back to foundation; many unions have looked to Lab to protect/advance rights of workers eg right to strike/TU recognition in workplace.
- TUs have traditionally supplied bulk of funding, sponsored some MPs, had seats on ruling national executive.
- influence waned in 80s/90s.
- under Corbyn, TUs enjoyed increase in influence/access to leadership; reduced under Starmer.
- only 12 unions were affiliated with Labour in 2020.
20
Q
What is globalist internationalism?
A
- commitment to peace/disarmament; resisting fascism/racism worldwide.
- first Lab PM MacDonald remained a pacifist during WW1.
- strong body within grassroots Lab movement opposed to nuclear weapons/advocating for unilateral nuclear disarmament.
- fought against right wing dictatorships eg Spanish Civil War (1936-1939); campaigned against apartheid in South Africa.
- modern day - would revise attitude into support for European integration w/strong emphasis on protecting workers’ rights across EU.
- weakened under Blair; Iran and Afghanistan.
21
Q
What is New Labour/Third Way socialism?
A
- Blair wanted to modernise/update Labour; move to centre ground of electability.
- emphasis on triangulation - repositioning Lab on centre ground, accepting many Thatcherite economic policies, retaining social values.
- less concern about who owned industry, more focus on distribution of profit.
- for some - amounted to pragmatic common sense/electoral success; others - a sell-out/betrayal (Corbyn).
22
Q
What was the case of the Labour Party and Clause IV?
A
- Clause IV/subsequent revision by Blair in 1995.
- original clause reflected classic socialist goals/used much language of Marx, involving commitment to large-scale nationalisation.
- partly achieved by postwar Lab govs.
- after privatisation programme of Major/Thatcher - the party voted to amend clause.
23
Q
Labour 2019 policy pledge/strand of Labour
A
- hold second referendum on Brexit - BLAIRITE (clear desire to remain closely aligned with EU)
- raise minimum wage to £10/h - BLAIRITE (making capitalism fairer)
- bring forward net zero target - GLOBAL INTERNATIONALISM (caring for planet/all nations working together)
- abolish charitable status of private schools - ECONOMIC SOCIALISM (saw them as elitist)
- remove unfair/unnecessary restrictions on TUs - TRADE UNIONISM.
24
Q
What is the Labour First faction?
A
- right wing Labour group est 1988; supported Yvette Cooper in 2015.
- most influential; aim has always been to fight the organised hard left; champion New Labour/to mobilise moderate members.
25
Q
What is the Momentum faction?
A
- left rival to ‘right’ factions,
- ability to influence decision-making drastically diminished with election of Starmer.
- grassroots group; key player in campaign for Corbyn’s reelection.
- seeks election of progressive-left Labour Party at every level; more open, member-led, socialist policies.
- about 100,000 supporters.
26
Q
What is the Progressive Britain faction?
A
- independent group of Lab party members est 1996 as Blairite pressure group.
- committed to New Labour agenda
- aims to promote radical/progressive policies, recognising that centre of party has shifted.
27
Q
What are the core values of the Lib Dems?
A
- strong commitment to Europe/EU
- concern for constitutional reform esp in regards to voting systems
- emphasis on human rights/freedoms; some emphasis on environmental policies.
28
Q
Lib Dem 2019 manifesto pledges/core values
A
- stop Brexit process completely - EUROPE
- defend HRA 1998/resist any attempt to withdraw from ECHR - CIVIL LIBERTIES
- put end to wasted votes by intro of STV, give 16-17 year olds the vote, reform HoL - POLITICAL REFORM
- set new legally binding target to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2045 at latest - ENVIRONMENT.
29
Q
What is the current state of the Lib Dems?
A
- 2010 - won 57 seats; 8 in 2015; 12 in 2017; 11 in 2019 - leader Jo Swinson lost seat.
- rise in share of vote from 7.4% in 2017 to 11.5% in 2019 - FPTP
30
Q
What are the origins of the Conservative Party?
A
- est from the Tory Party in the 1830s.
- throughout 20th century - traditionally/one-nation conservative in ideology.
31
Q
What are the origins of the Labour Party?
A
- est at start of 20th century by the Trade Union Congress, the Independent Labour Party, the Fabians and the Social Democratic Federation.
- founded with aim of repping working class.
- Old Labour ideas - nationalisation, opposition to capitalism, belief in equality/redistributing wealth to poor.
32
Q
What are the origins of the Lib Dems?
A
- formed when Liberal Party/SDP merged in 1988.
- Liberals were major force in 19th/early 20th centuries; SDP formed by Gang of Four (four Labour politicians who left bc they disliked Foot’s policies).
- classical liberalism - argues for limited state intervention; advocates equality, tolerance, freedom.
- modern liberalism - advocates need for more state intervention by introducing regulation of market/providing welfare for ppl.
33
Q
What is the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000?
A
- all parties must register with Electoral Commission/provide regular returns of income and expenditure.
- strict limits placed on amount each party can sown in run-up to election - £30,000 per constituency.
- parties have to declare all donations, defined in 2020 as those over £7500.
- regulates campaign expenditure for national referendums; can issue fines to parties/groups who break rules; eg Leave.EU fines £70,000 in 2018.
34
Q
What is the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009?
A
- strengthened provisions of PPERA by increasing powers of Electoral Commission.
- further requirements on parties/donors regarding source of donations.
- donations/loans of more than £7500 can only come from those resident, ordinarily resident and domiciled in UK.
35
Q
How are parties funded?
A
- Policy Development Grants; allocate £2m to all main parties.
- Short Money, which HoC pays to opposition parties; leader of the opposition funded £800,000.
- Cranborne Money; HoL pays to opposition/second larges opposition party.
- membership fees of political parties
- individual donors
- Financial Assistance; SP pays to opposition parties/NI Assembly pays to opposition parties.
36
Q
What did the Trade Union Act 2016 do?
A
- changed laws regarding TU membership; new union member must opt in if they wish their membership fee to go to Labour.
37
Q
What are the membership fees of the three main parties?
A
- Cons - standard = £39 per year (£3.50 a month)
- Lab - £5.71 per month
- Lib Dem - £15 a year
38
Q
How do membership subscriptions work?
A
- agreed to be fairest/most transparent method
- large numbers paying small amounts ensures no single donor gets undue influence.
- not large enough to sustain level of finance required to fund professionally run campaigns, post ads on billboards/social media, organise effective policy.
39
Q
How do individual donors fund Labour?
A
- Blair years - Lab benefitted from wealthy individuals eg Bernie Ecclestone (chief executive of Formula One Group)/Lord Sainsbury.
- traditionally, has been bankrolled by affiliated TUs included Unite (have over £3million in 2019.
- total during 2019 GE - £5,500,000.
40
Q
How do individual donors fund Conservative party?
A
- raised more then £5.67m in large donations in first week of 2019 election campaign, including £200,000 from Lubov Chernukhin (banker).
- total for 2019 GE - £19,370,908.
41
Q
How do individual donors fund smaller parties?
A
- business person Christopher Harborne donated £2m to Brexit Party campaign in 2019.
42
Q
What are the problems with funding from individual donors?
A
- potential for corruption/undue political influence; 1997 case of Bernie Ecclestone’s £1m donation led some to suggest this was repaid by delay in introducing of ban on tobacco advertising in Formula 1 motor racing.
- research by openDemocracy found that almost 20% of an elite group of leading Tory funders received honours after donating to party; Michael Farmer donated more than £6.4m since 2010/received peerage.
43
Q
Should the state fund political parties? - arguments for
A
- if parties had state funding that matched vote, it would encourage them to campaign in all seats to increase party vote, not just in key marginal areas; fewer safe seats.
- could provide greater sense of equality between parties; 2019 - tories raised more than £5.67m in first week, Greens only raised £200,000; fact that PPEA 2009 even exits shows that there is a problem.
- state money would be clean without dependence on wealthy donors/interest groups who may expect something in return; certain level of corruption prevented, so more democratic by extension.
44
Q
Should the state fund political parties? - arguments against
A
- funding based on existing shaker of vote merely strengthens larger parties/makes it more difficult for smaller; FPTP makes this prevalent; could lead to a decrease in representation.
- will always be inequalities in party funding; some larger/more popular; increasing membership subscriptions might help instead eg Labour has been very successful in raising money esp during leadership challenge to Corbyn.
- politics should be treated as extension of free market, right to donate is basic democratic right eg in the US; parties will be less independent of state; PPERA attempts to make donations/funding more transparent.
45
Q
Does media spending by parties work?
A
- evidence suggests the parties believe so.
- from Oct 2018 - May 2020; LD spent £1,312,915 on 19,975 ads; Lab spent £1,219,315 on 7,647 ads; Cons spent £999,730 on 20,887
46
Q
What are the factors that affect parties and their electoral outcomes?
A
- relevance/attractiveness of main policies - ‘Get Brexit Done’ resonated with voters more than Labour’s convoluted Brexit policy.
- Leadership - Blair, Johnson, Thatcher vs May, Corbyn
- committed/energised activists - local campaigners needed
- strength/situation of opposition - Johnson experienced campaigner, Swindon less assured/made huge gamble.
- party unity - Johnson resolved deep disarray that happened under May by removing whip from 21 rebel MPs; Labour remained heavily factionalised/dogged accusations of anti-Semitism.
- electoral system
47
Q
How do minor nationalist parties play a role in political debate/setting political agenda?
A
- nationalist parties eg SNP have strong concentrated followings; largest Scottish political party; won 48 seats in 2019/45% of total vote in Scotland; Cameron wouldn’t have entertained independence referendum without pressure.
- Wales - Plaid Cymru won 4/40 Welsh seats; secured just over 10% of vote.
- NI has own party system based on nationalist/unionist divide; Tories contested 4 seats in 2019, won 0.7% of vote share; significance of Ulster parties cast into spotlight with DUP becoming part of supply and confidence.
48
Q
How do single issue parties play a role in political debate/setting political agenda?
A
- Green Party, UKIP, Brexit Party far from insignificance.
- latter two fared well in European elections, winning those held in 2014/2019; 2014 - Farage’s UKIP won over 26% of vote, 2019 - BP won over 31% of vote.
- many argue that without success of Eurosceptic parties, the Tories wouldn’t have been pushed into more resolute position in Brexit; however, they have only ever won one Westminster seat.
49
Q
To what extent is there a multiparty system in Britain?
A
- benches of commons would suggest two-party duopoly; after 2019 election, 87% of seats held by two largest parties w/combined vote share of nearly 76%.
- in 2010, combined Tory/Labour vote share only 65%, though share of seats was 87%.
- devolved assemblies; NI often has several parties contesting, despite local electoral pacts; Scotland has 3-4.
- local authorities have hung/balanced councils with no overall control; independents have significant presence eg in 2019 council elections, won over 1100 seats.
- no fewer than 10 parties won seats in last European elections in 2019.
- unelected HoL is multiparty chamber with no party having overall majority.
