two party system?

Question 1

why does the UK have a two-party system? (6 reasons)

Answer 1

1. FPTP restricts the growth of new parties
2. the existence of broad catch-all parties - the two main parties try to reach out to a broad range of opinion, meaning one doesn’t have to support a third party as whatever views one has will be represented under either conservative or labour
3. emphasis on being in government or opposition - e.g. second party has shadow roles, two main parties sit directly opposite in HoL
4. traditional absence of deep ethnic, linguistic, religious and sectional differences within the population
5. problems faced by third or other parties e.g. lack of finance
6. natural tendency for opinion on issues to divide into a for and against position

Question 2

what’s a two party system?

Answer 2

there are two major parties, each of which has a strong chance of obtaining a majority and winning political power. there may be other parties, some sizeable, but they don’t compete for office with any hope of winning

Question 3

what’s a dominant party system?

Answer 3

there is free competition between parties, but only one party is likely to achieve an absolute majority of votes cast

Question 4

what’s a multiple party system?

Answer 4

these are the norm in eurooean countries. government tends to be based on coalitions, and there isn’t usually a clear distinction between government and opposition as many of the broadly centrist parties tend to be members of most administrations. likely under proportional representation voting system

Question 5

evidence that the UK is a two party system:

Answer 5

1. has only been labour or conservatives in power since 1906
2. in 2017, 84% of the electorate voted conservative/labour
3. conservative and labour have held 85% of the seats since 1945
4. catch all parties e.g. New Labour
5. FPTP - simple pluralist system. harder for third parties to gain rep
   presentation - e.g. in 2015 UKIP won 12.6% of the vote but didn’t win any seats
6. parliament’s adversarial nature
7. still quite strong class alignment in UK - e.g. in 2012, 25% of pop still feels fairly strongly aligned to one of the two main parties

Question 6

evidence that the UK isn’t a two party system:

Answer 6

1. coalition government (cons. and lib dems) from 2010-2015
2. confidence and supply agreement between cons, and DUP in 2017
3. UKIP had a big influence on swaying the public to vote leave in brexit referendum, in 2014 they were the biggest party in the european parliament
4. in 2009 both Green and UKIP gained seats in the european parliament
5. tories/labour only polled 65% of the electorate in 2010
6. periods when it’s been more of a dominant party system e.g. 1979-1997
7. increase in use of referendums is arguably due to the growth and pressure of minor parties e.g. 2014 scottish independence referendum, 2016 brexit referendum

Question 7

what are the advantages of a two party system?

Answer 7

1. creates a strong and stable government
2. having clear opposition means the government can be held to account e.g. during PMQs
3. encourages participation because it simplifies voter choice - for most people there’s only two parties to choose from
4. government is clearly accountable to the electorate
5. moderation is encouraged

Question 8

what are the disadvantages of a two party system?

Answer 8

1. limits the number of new ideas that can be introduced to the electorate
2. less representative of the public’s views
3. limits the choice of the voter