Political Parties Flashcards
What is Old Labour (social democracy)?
Key Labour principles embodying nationalisation, redistribution of wealth from rich to poor and the provision of continually improving welfare and state service - an approach which largely rejected the more free market approach associated with Thatcherism or New Labour
What is New Labour (Third Way)?
A revision of old traditional Labour values and ideas, involving a shift in emphasis from a heavy focus on the working class to a wider class base, and a less robust alliance with the trade unions
What is right wing?
Supporting the status quo - for little or no change. Supporters of right wing parties stress the importance of order, stability, hierarchy and private property
What is meant by left wing?
Desiring change, reform and alteration to the way that society operates, including socialists, who are critical of the capitalist or free-market economy
What are the functions of political parties?
Representation: represent the views of people with a certain set of beliefs
Participation: in order to win power or influence, parties encourage people to participate in politics
Recruiting office holders
Formulating policy
Providing government
How did parties develop?
17th century: Cromwell wins the Civil War, and establishes the supremacy of parliament over the monarch
18th century: 2 groups of people emerge, forming 2 parties; the Tories who want to conserve traditional values and institutions, and the Whigs, who want greater reform and rights for the middle classes
19th century: the Great Reform Acts are passed, extending the franchise to ordinary people. They are controversial and cause many people to switch sides, and as a result the parties rename: Tories to Conservatives, and Whigs to Liberals
20th century: they dominate politics until WW1, when the Liberals implode as a result, and a new socialist party, Labour, take their place as opposition
What is meant by One Nation?
A paternalistic approach adopted under Benjamin Disraeli in the 19th century - continued by Cameron and May - revolving around the idea that the rich have an obligation to help the poor
What are the 2 principles of One Nation Conservatism?
- Paternalism: a belief that there is an order in society, and those who are better off have a duty and obligation to help those who are not
- Pragmatism: a rejection of ideology. Demonstrated by the fact that Conservative governments have often adopted ideas from other parties, even if they seem to go against some of their policies
What is meant by New Right (Thatcherism)?
An approach that combined:
- the thinking of Neo-conservatives who wanted the state to take a more authoritarian approach to morality and law and order
- the thinking of Neo-liberals who endorsed the free market and the rolling back of the state in peoples lives and businesses.
What were the key themes of Thatcherism?
- Control of public spending, combined with tax cuts to provide incentives for business leaders and to stimulate economic growth
- Privatisation of industries and services take into state ownership to promote improvement and wider consumer choice through competition
- Legal limits on the power of trade unions to deter industrial action
- A tough approach to law and order, with increased police and judicial powers
- Assertion of British interests abroad, in relation to the challenges posed by the Soviet Union and other external threats
- A desired to protect national sovereignty against the growth of the European Community
How did Cameron bring the Conservatives back to power in 2013?
- Identified himself as a ‘liberal conservative’, tolerant of minority groups and different lifestyles
- Showed interest in the environment
- Demonstrated that he valued public services
- Emphasised the bond between people
What were Cameron’s economic policies?
- Priority was to reduce the budget deficit inherited from Labour
- Programme of public spending cuts, dubbed ‘austerity’ to maintain the confidence of the financial markets and prevent Britains borrowing costs from rising
- ## Budgets of Whitehall departments were cut by up to 25%
What were Cameron’s welfare policies?
- Cut costs and encourage those receiving benefits to be more ‘self-reliant’
- Universal credit system intended to simplify the welfare system and encourage low income people to take up employment
- The coalition implemented a radical overhaul of the NHS allowing the private sector to compete with hospitals
What were Cameron’s law and order policies?
- Called for more understanding of young offenders (‘hug a hoodie’)
- Tried to follow a balanced approach to crime
- Supported tough sentencing for certain crimes, promoted a ‘rehabilitation revolution’ to reduce the problem of people reoffending
- Rewarded private firms and charities which helped criminals in their rehabilitation using a ‘payment by results’ scheme
- Legalised gay marriage
What was Cameron’s foreign policy?
- Consistent with Thatcherism; featuring strong links with the US, support for airstrikes against Islamic terror groups, and a pragmatic Euroscepticism
- Championed the remain side of the Brexit referendum
Liz Truss’ policies
- unfunded tax cute - New RIght
- deported asylum seekers, tough on immigration - New RIght
- wanted a UK bill of rights to leave the ECHR and wanted sovereignty - New Right
- introduced a carbon tax - One Nation
Rishi Sunak’s policies
- Introduce tax cuts for the self employed
- Proposed new legislation to ‘stop the boats’, but sacked Zuella Braverman (face of the Rwanda campaign)
- Wanted to remove benefits for job seekers after 1 year of not taking a job
Robert Jenrick’s policies
- Quit Sunak’s cabinet over Sunak’s failure to take a tougher approach to immigration - New Right
- Wants to secure sovereign borders NR
- Said murals in asylum seeker centres should be painted over so theyre not too welcoming NR
- Wanted to leave the ECHR - NR
Kemi Badenoch’s policies
- Doesn’t want to leave the ECHR
- Wants to support schools and SEN schools
- Supported Brexit
- Wants to protect female only spaces
Boris Johnson’s policies
- Insisted Britain leave the EU and scrapped May’s withdrawal agreement; not pragmatic, so NR
- Wanted to raise the 40% tax threshold from£50,000 to £80,000, increase the point at which workers start paying NI and cut stamp duty - NR
- Vowed to deliver a One Nation agenda and wanted to introduce a points based immigration system and introduce a new state-backed insurance scheme to help people save better for care in old age - ON, rejects ideology
- Promised to make the UK the ‘cleanest and greenest’ economy in Europe, supported pledge for net 0 by 2050; ON, rejects ideology
- Covid lockdowns; ON
Issues within Thatcher’s cabinet
- Thatcher was forced out by her colleagues
- Many were appalled by Thatcher’s manner, views and didn’t like her style; she didn’t agree with anyone else
- Thatcher was scornful of upper class men, and suspected that they distrusted her because she was a woman
- Thatcher thought that the Conservatives had adopted labour
The start of the Labour Party
The Labour Party was founded in 1900 by a group of socialist societies and trade unions, and its purpose was to get more working class MPs into parliament
What was clause IV?
Clause IV committed Labour to campaign for the ‘common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange’
Old Labour leaders
Labour gain power twice in the 30s under Ramsay McDonald, but the depression of the time prevents it from being able to be a reforming government
Clement Attlee formed the post-war government from 1945-1951
Harold Wilson brings Labour back to power from 1966-1970 and then 1974-76 (followed by Jim Callaghan from 1976-79)
the Attlee/Wilson/Callaghan years are the ‘old labour’ years