UK political parties- two Flashcards
how are political parties funded?
policy development grants allocate 2 million to the main parties so that they can allocate advisors.
Short money is also allocated to the House of Commons, this is on a basis of the number of seats that the party has- i, 2017 the Labour Party received 6 million
the leader is also allocated 800000 for the running of their office
Cranbourne money also subsides the work of the house of lords.
This money does not cover the cost of campaigning- that is funded by the own donations/ subscriptions of the party
under the Trade Union Act of 2016 members now have to opt in if they want their money to go towards the Labour Party- affecting how much Labour is benefitted by trade unions.
what were the donations received during the campaign trail in 2024?
Labour- 9 million
Conservatives- 1.8 million
Liberal Democrats- 1.6 million
Reform- 1.6 million
what has the recent controversy been over Labour and donations?
Lord Alli faced investigation over his donations of 10000’s to cover clothes and holidays for the pm
Starmer forced to pay back 6000 in gifts
Criticism for a donated concert, Racheal Reeves also faced the same criticism.
should the state fund political parties?
the 2007 Philips report suggested that there was strong support for the state funding of parties, this was also due to the discrepancy in the donations that parties were receiving.
Though people have suggest that in a free democracy people should be able to support whoever they wish, this may also suggest that parties are servants of the state and there may be controversy over the funding of extremist groups.
how does the current Conservative Party compare to original conservative ideas?
neo-liberalism
keep tax low, in 2017 they pledged this has been questioned as by 2023 65% of over 65s were paying income tax
CP- Sunak, he was responsible for one of the biggest tax rises, 40 bn tax rises
austerity
Neo-conservatism
commitment to immigration- Rwanda
value of tradition- wanting British bill of rights, Brexit
One-nation
supporting gay marriage
Osbourne and his introduction of a national living wage
May and the creation of the department for business, energy and strategy
what were the key policies of Boris Johnson?
Focus on Green energy- wanting to cut carbon emissions by 78%
“Get Brexit done”, though this was predicted to affect the imports and exports of the UK by 15%- this led to the suspension of parliament.
There were increase in taxes, people were to pay 1.25p more in National Insurance.
The government announced the suspending of the triple-lock
There was success proposed over Covid with the so-called fastest roll-out in Europe
what were the key policies for Rishi Sunak?
Rwanda
He did meet his pledge to halve inflation, inflation was lowered to 4.2%
The illegal migration Bill was passed 17 July 2023
what were key policy of Corbyn?
Corbyn reinstated that Labour will never apologise for their close relationship with Trade Unions
the maintenance grant and removal of university fees
removal of VAT exemption- key link to Starmer
though, the top-rate of taxation was 50p which was not the 83% that was seen in 1979
Corbyn has also favoured a soft brexit
is the Labour Party a united party?
Corbyn currently serves as an independent, Starmer has ousted key left-wing members.
Faiza Shaheen was ousted from the party, Starmer has been accused of purging people on the left
what is the key policy of keir Starmer?
VAT on private schools
Kendall has a crackdown on benefits, the eligibility of PIP will be narrowed.
Stricter disability benefits- Starmer saying that some people are fearful of trying to work.
Rayner- plan to prevent people from buying their council homes, this is going against the right to buy scheme.
voting against the scrap of the two-child benefit cap
commitment to Green energy- demand to end new oil and gas is now government policy
abolishing NHS England
Commitment to foreign policy with Ukraine
what was the Liberal Democrat manifesto?
free personal care in England- commitment to disability aid
more GPs and faster cancer treatment
scrap Rwanda
Scrap two-child limit and better social care
Give 16 year olds the right to vote and PR- see topic one
what was in the reform manifesto?
scrap HS2
ban on transgender ideology
Leave the European Convention on Human Rights
scrap the license free
tax relief for school fees- compare to Labour
scrap net-zero
freeze on “non-essential” immigration
has the UK become a multi-party system?
the involvement of FPTP give smaller parties much less power
There is also the view that a vote for a minority party is a “wasted vote”
in the recent election the liberal democrats won c.70 seats (see 2024 stats)
6 independent mp’s were able to gain seats
Reform were able to gain mp’s
Green Party
Question whether these parties won their votes simply as a tactical vote as 1/3 people said that they voted tactically rather than voting for their preferred party.
Compared to the 530 seats of the “big-two” question over how effective the smaller parties are.
