Political Parties

Question 1

When does the Conservative Party date back to

Answer 1

1834

Question 2

What formed in 1900 and what did it become

Answer 2

The Labour Representation Committee

The Labour Party

Question 3

What are the functions of political parties

Answer 3

Representation
Participation
Recruitment
Policy
Government

Question 4

How does the Conservative Party appoint party leaders

Answer 4

MPs vote on leadership candidates - eliminated in voting rounds until two remain. Their top 2 are presented to the rest of the party

All members vote on the two remaining candidates

Question 5

How does the Labour Party appoint party leaders

Answer 5

The Parliamentary Labour Party make nominations - need to be nominated by at least 20% of the PLP to proceed to the next round

Candidates also need 5% of local parties or trade union affiliate members

All member then vote on candidates

Question 6

How do the Liberal Democrat’s appoint party leaders

Answer 6

Must be an MP, have the support of at least 10% of Lib Dem MPs and backing from at least 20 local parties, with support from at least 200 members

Question 7

How does the Conservative Party establish policy

Answer 7

Top down - leader’s team effectively decides what goes in the manifesto

Delegates at the party conference do not vote on policy

Question 8

How does the Labour Party establish policy

Answer 8

The National Policy Forum agrees on the direction of policy and arranges policy commissions

Voted on at party conference - leader can use personal influence to win support

Leader’s team writes up manifesto - has to be accepted by the party’s National Executive Committee, shadow ministers and senior trade union representatives

Question 9

How do the Liberal Democrat’s establish policy

Answer 9

The Federal Policy Committee develops policies to be put to the party conference

Any member can also make a policy proposal to the party conference

The conference votes on all policies and all members can vote

Question 10

What are the sources of funding

Answer 10

Membership fees
Donations by individual members
Donations by wealthy donors
Trade unions
State funding

Question 11

Example of Labour accepting money from a wealthy individual

Answer 11

£1 million off Bernie Ecclestone in 1997

Question 12

In the 2019 general election how did the conservative receive from individuals

Answer 12

More than £13 million

Question 13

In the 2019 general election how did the conservative receive from companies

Answer 13

Almost £6 million

Question 14

What percentage of funding did Labour receive from trade unions in 2019

Answer 14

93%

Question 15

How much did Labour receive from trade unions in 2019

Answer 15

Just over £5 million

Question 16

What are the types of state funding

Answer 16

Short money
Cranborne money
Policy Development Grants
Support for election campaigns

Question 17

What is short money

Answer 17

State funds paid to opposition parties in the House of Commons to cover administrative costs and to enable effective scrutiny of the government

Question 18

What is Cranborne money

Answer 18

State funds paid to opposition parties in the House of Lords to cover administrative costs and to enable effective scrutiny of the government

Question 19

What are Policy Development Grants

Answer 19

Any party with two or more sitting MPs is allocated a share of a £2 million annual fund to help to develop policies

Question 20

How is support given for election campaigns

Answer 20

Royal Mail will send one free campaign mailing to every elector in the UK, and parties receive free airtime for televised election broadcasts

Question 21

What factors affect electoral outcomes

Answer 21

Party leader
Funding
Policies
Record
The media
Election campaigns

Question 22

What is a two party state

Answer 22

Two significant parties compete for power in a duopoly

Question 23

In the 2017 what percentage of vote share did the conservative and Labour receive

Answer 23

80% of the votes

Question 24

In the 2019 what percentage of vote share did the conservative and Labour receive

Answer 24

76%

Question 25

In the 2019 what percentage of seats did the conservative and Labour receive

Answer 25

87%

Question 26

What is a multi-party system

Answer 26

Multiple significant political parties compete for power

Question 27

Evidence to suggest a multi-party system

Answer 27

Coalition 2010-15
Conservative dependent on DUP 2017-19
Smaller parties -SNP
Devolved assemblies