political parties pt2 Flashcards
SNP policies
LEFT
- Scottish independence from uk
- anti Brexit
- Social democratic: supports free tuition, strong public services, and progressive taxation
- Pro-environmental action and renewable energy
- more powers for the Scottish Parliament
reform uk policies
RIGHT
- strongly anti-eu and anti-immigration
- supports low taxes, small gov
- critical of net zero targets - wants cheaper energy
- supports reforming house of lords and civil service
UKIP policies
RIGHT
- pro Brexit
- strong anti-immigration and law-and-order policies
- supports British nationalism and direct democracy
reduce foreign aid and scrap climate targets
Green Party policies
LEFT
- tackle climate crisis and achieve Net Zero
- public ownership - energy, rail etc
- raise taxes on wealthy to fund health and education etc
- pro human rights, diversity, social justice
Plaid Cymru - wales - polcieis
LEFT
- Wants Welsh independence and more powers for Senedd Cymru
- Supports Welsh language and culture
- Centre-left: believes in social justice, green policies, and public services
- Pro-EU membership and anti-Brexit
Democratic Unionist Part - policies
RIGHT
- Supports Northern Ireland remaining in the UK
- Very socially conservative (e.g. anti-abortion, anti-same-sex marriage)
- Pro-Brexit opposed Northern Ireland Protocol
- Emphasises British identity and Protestant values
- Favours low taxes and business-friendly policies
Sinn Fein policies
LEFT
- Supports a united Ireland (Northern Ireland leaving the UK)
- Left-wing: supports strong public services, welfare, and affordable housing
- Nationalist and focused on Irish identity
- Opposed to austerity and pro-environmental action
- Neutral on monarchy; supports Irish reunification via referendum
3 reasons why smaller parties ARE important
- divert votes away from main parties which enhances democracy eg - SNP has decimated labour support in Scotland eg 2015 SNP won 56/59 seats
- smaller parties affect the policies of larger parties if they present electoral threat - The UK Independence Party (UKIP) forced the Conservative Party to adopt a tougher stance on immigration and eventually led to the 2016 Brexit referendum - this keeps elections more competitive and makes larger parties think more abt issues
- they promote regional and niche interests - which larger parties overlook eg Plaid Cymru advocates for national interests of Wales and Green party for environmental issues - voices are represented - democracy
3 reasons why smaller parties have LIMITS to their importance
- their support base might be limited to a specific region eg Plaid Cymru - large force in Wales, strong presence in Welsh Assembly and wins seats in Parliament but its impact on wider UK politics is limited
- FPTP - hard for parties whos vote is wide but shallow rather than concentrated. eg UKIP won 13% of vote in 2015 but only 1 seat
- smaller parties nich and unique policies get stolen by larger parties if ppl start to show support to these parties therefore its harder for smaller ones to stand out eg labour supported bringing forward net-zero carbon emission in 2019 manifesto - dampened support for greens
4 types of party systems
- dominant party - one party dominates number of seats in legislative body and is only party in government
- two-party - only two parties have significant representation
- three-party there parties have significant representation
- multi-party - 4+ parties have significant representation elected and smaller parties have more impact on policy
evidence of a DOMINANT PARTY SYSTEM and counterargument
FOR
1. long periods on single party rule:
- Conservatives: 1979–1997 (18 years)
- Labour: 1997–2010 (13 years)
- Conservatives: 2010–2024 (14 years)
- Labour: 2024 onwards –> (power switches between 2 main parties)
2. 2019: Theresa May’s Conservative minority survived a no-confidence vote –> a party can remain in control even when unstable
AGAINST
1. coalitions
- 2010: Coalition (Conservatives + Lib Dems)
- 2017: Conservatives relied on DUP for support –> Shows other parties have real influence
2. Cons relied on DUP
- Cons lost majority 2017 so formed confidence-and-supply deal w DUP
- they needed DUP support to pass legislation including Brexit
–> they had to compromise w smaller parties - couldn’t do it alone
evidence of a 2-PARTY SYSTEM and counterarguments
FOR
1. FPTP - only Cons + Labour have a real chance of winning a GE eg 2019 they won 568/650 seats (87%) even though smaller parties got millions of votes
- keeps smaller parties out power
AGAINST
- SNP control Scottish gov
- NI have own parties making up NI assembly - Sinn Fein, DUP
–> outside Westminster other parties can dominate and govern
evidence of 3-PARTY or MULTI-PARTY SYSTEM and counterarguments
FOR
- Green party has its first MP - Caroline Lucas - Brighton Pavilion bc she increased her majority in last 4 GEs –> smaller parties can hold seats in FPTP
- 2024 GE, 118 Mps elected outide of Labour and Cons - compared to average of 9 in 1950s - clear rise in smaller parties
- 2019 SNP won 48 seats - 3rd largest party in parliament
AGAINST
- fptp means only 2 parties have an actual chance of winning majority. either labour or cons have been in power since 1922 (103 years)
- the third parties are often regional - SNP only in scotland - fptp limits them.
3 factors that affect party success
- quality of leadership
- experience, decisiveness, intelligence, media image etc - Valence
- how people view the parties image
- how competent they are, how economically responsible they are, how trust worthy they are, how unified they are - influence of the press
- whether the press present the leader as strong or weak, newspapers have preferences on dif parties
how does quality of the leader influence party success - for and against
POSITIVE AFFECT
- 1997 Blair’s high approval rating helped party to landslide victory 418 seats
- 13.5 mill votes - highest ever total
–> popular leaders can boost public trust and attract voters
NEGATIVE
- 2019 a poll showed 43% of respondents who DIDNT vote for labour chose not so bc of their negative perceptions of Corbyn as the Labour Party leader. labour only won 202 seats - worst result since 1935
–> unpop leader damage parties chances even if policies are supported
how does valence influence party success - for and against
POSITIVE AFFECT
- 1983+87 GEs Labour party was divided between left-wing and moderate fractions
- in contrast, Thatcher appeared strong, united and decisive therefore:
- 1983: Conservatives won 397 seats; Labour only 209
- 1987: Conservatives won 376 seats; Labour just 229
–> voters trusted the competence and unit of Cons
NEGATIVE AFFECT
- 2017-19 Cons divided on Brexit
- Mays 2017 gov seen as weak and indecisive after losing majority in 2017 and failing to pass Brexit deal
how does influence of the press influence party success - for and against
POSITIVE AFFECT
- 1997 GE the Sun (who normally supported Cons) shifted to Labour
- the front page read ‘The Sun Backs Blair’
- labour won landslide majority of 179 seats - best ever result
- suns backing helped labour reach new voters among swing voters too
NEGATIVE AFFECT
- 1992 GE the sun strongly opposed labour leader Neil Kinnock
- ‘If Kinnock wins today, will the last person to leave Britain pls turn out the lights?’
- then Cons won unexpectedly with 21 seat majority
- sun later declared ‘its the sun wot won it’
–> shows hostile media coverage can turn voters against a party
