Political Parties Flashcards
What are 3 functions of political parties?
- Provide government and opposition
- Serve as agencies of representation
- Enable popular participation in politics to take place
What are 5 criticisms if political parties?
- Failed to attract members in recent decades
- Minority interests are unrepresented
- Main parties have become too similar and so fail to offer the electorate a real choice
- Parties rely on wealthy individuals/organisation for funding are corrupt
- Party scandals have become increasingly prevalent in recent years
Why should we do state funding?
- Private system is politically corrupt and undemocratic as may ask for favours e.g seats in the Lords or certain policies e.g oil companies
- Private donation system benefits the wealthy which is undemocratic as political equality where?
- would mean equal funding of parties and so parties could focus on policies rather than raising funds
- increase chance of election for minority parties and the main parties no longer have an advantage
Why do people reject the idea of state funded system?
- Taxpayers will be forced to pay it , is it undemocratic for taxpayers to be paying money towards parties they do not like
- If state funding is dependant on how well parties have done in recent election it may make parties complacent especially if the funding is guaranteed
- If done on past elections benefits bigger parties over smaller parties, my just exacerbate the issue
- State funding diminishes the importance of individual political spending e.g on ideology - donors have choice, should choice be restricted?
What are liberal policy’s about economy, law and order, welfare and foreign policy?
Economy:
Classical liberals - support free makers capitalism
Modern liberals - Keynesian economics (in the coalition supported austerity
Law and Order: civil liberties, opposed ID cards, protest bans etc for more freedom also rehabilitation of prisoners
Welfare:
Modern - support welfare state for positive freedom
Classical - smaller state
Foreign policy: international cooperation, no war, like EU
What did Old Labour make of welfare, economy, law and order, foreign policy?
Welfare: strong welfare state ‘cradle to the grave’ with a strong public sector
Economy: focus on working class, trade unions, state intervention e.g nationalising industries
Law and Order: tackle cause of crime
Foreign Policy: dislike war and sceptical of EU as thought it was too capitalist however post Thatcher believed it helped protect workers rights
What do New Labour make of Welfare, the economy, Law and Order and Foreign policy?
Welfare:
- limited in scope with a stress on individual responsibility, help you get a job
Economy:
- Free market economies, private industry, limited state
Law and Order:
- Tough on crime, more prisoners with longer sentences
Foreign Policy: military intervention to promote human rights e.g Iraq war
What do the New Right make of welfare, the economy, Law and Order and Foreign Policy?
Welfare:
- Dislike welfare ‘benefit culture’
Economy:
- Free market with low taxation and limited public spending
Law and Order:
- Extremely tough approach
Foreign Policy:
- Eurosceptics and alliance with US
What do the one nation conservatives make of welfare, the economy, Law and Order and Foreign Policy?
Welfare:
- Cameron spoke about maintaining high quality public services, bit more interest in welfare
Economy:
- Intervention during Covid, almost indicated a return to Keynesian’s economics
Law and Order:
- “hug a hoodie” speech from Cameron
Foreign Policy:
- More positive approach to the EU
4 reasons minority parties may have played a significant role in UK politics?
- Regional parties e.g SNP give a voice to regions
- Turn towards issue voting e.g The Green Party and UKIP
- Give a wider range of choice to the electorate can be seen as improving democracy
- Challenge and threaten mainstream parties
What are 4 reasons minority parties may be considered successful?
- Gain more votes e.g Reform over 4,000,000 votes
- Minority parties more successful in devolved bodied e.g SNP in Scotland
- Issue voting e.g Greens
- UK referendum on Brexit, influence of UKIP
What are / arguments that suggest minority parties have had little success?
- Little electoral success, voted a lot less than major parties
- Little impact on policies as limited MPs
- Few members and limited money and resources
- Two party system FPTP
What are 4 reasons the left and the right may be declining in importance?
- Some important policies do not work on left-right axis e.g climate change, constitutional issues, COVID
- Left and right associated with class based voting which has declined since 60s
- Under Cameron took a more left economic approach ‘levelling up agenda’, New Labour supported free market capitalism
- Complaints that everyone is too centrist
What are / reasons that left right politics may still be considered relevant?
- Issues that divide the left and right remain relevant, rise in social inequality and growing wealth gap
- Labour very left under Corbyn
- Shift to the right under Kimmy Badenoch anti immigration, socially right also
What are / reason that make some parties more successful than others?
- Leadership
- Policies
- Organisation and funding
- Media Support
- Track record
- Unity
- Weak opposition
