UK Politics - Political Parties Flashcards
What is the UK’s current political system?
- REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY - since the British civil war it has developed into a party system. This is where the electorate have a wide range of parties to choose from, often from those ranging from left to right
Features of the Left wing
- higher taxes on the wealthy - they should pay a higher share which is then redistributed through society
- gov spending on public services - high spending on society funded by taxation - eliminates forms of inequality
- law and order - emphasis on reforming criminals through rehabilitation - encourages social justice
- welfare benefits - extensive welfare provision - belief in minimum wage and strong trade unions
- foreign policy - embraces multiculturalism and so supports alternative lifestyles. Internationalism and cooperation, and a belief that developed countries have a responsibility to provide for less wealthy countries
What is adversary politics (with example)?
- denote a period where there are vast ideological differences between the two main parties e.g. corbyn era from 2015-2020 as he pursued socialist policies that placed labour in direct conflict with conservatives e.g. re-introduce the 50p tax rate on the highest earners
What is consensus politics (with example)?
- when different parties policies are ideologically similar or resonate with eachother e.g. Blair’s government adopted traditionally conservative principles such as free markets or low taxation
What are the features of political parties in the UK?
- help to provide representation for the electorate
- must have an effective leader
- present and formulate policies in their manifesto
- fairly select suitable candidates to present the electorate
- seek to gain public approval
- gaining power must be their ultimate goal
- high levels of organisation
Offering representation to the electorate:
- plan a key representative function to ensure that everyone who is eligible to vote can, because there is enough representation being offered across parties
- ensures every party is being heard
In 2024 general election however the YouGov opinion poll revealed a spike in distrust towards politicians with 43% of those asked saying they had a ‘fairly negative’ view of those in government.
Presenting and formulating policy that is attractive to the electorate?
- Parties must come up with a manifesto that details and outlines their policies and stances on all areas of society
- if the part becomes successful at election, they can use this as a mandate to implement policies
- in labour a national policy forum consults with party members over the development of policy
- in conservative the manifesto is drawn up by senior members
e.g. conservative manifesto 2024 - cut tax for workers by taking 2p off national insurance
Recruiting and maintaining an effective leader:
- parties are mechanisms by which politicians enter politics, gain experience, become MP’s, be a part of government and become leaders of government departments
E.g. 2022 Liz trust received 57% of party membership votes to beat rishi sunak
E.g. 2020 labour results - Keir starmer 56%
Providing suitable candidates to present the electorate:
- must be a member of the party and then go through national selection to be an approved candidate
- candidates who are less controversial and align more with public opinion can claim them an electoral mandate and therefore a seat for their constituency and party in the HOC
They must campaign to get public approval:
- campaigning through providing leaflets, canvass voters on doorsteps, organising political events
- they invigorate democracy by campaigning on local issues, the electorates must understand choice between various candidates
- candidates must understand the importance of social media and the effect online portrayal and promotion can have on votes
Gaining power must be their goal:
To be elected into No.10 should be each parties main goal
How are parties funded elsewhere and in the UK?
- in some countries like Australia, the state will fund political parties
- in the UK, parties tend to rely heavily on private funding from organisations or individuals
What are examples of methods of state funding used in the UK
- policy development grants allocate £2 million to all main parties so they can employ policy advisors
- short money - named after labours ted short in 1974, money is provided to opposition parties based on the seats they have
- leader of opposition is funded around £800,000 for running their office to provide a suitable and credible opposition
How do labour and conservative acquire most donations?
- labour: trade unions
- conservatives: companies and wealthy individuals
How have the ‘political parties and referendums act (2000) improved regulations on party donations?
- an independent electoral commission was established to record and make public how political parties are funded
- the amount a political party can spend in a constituency during an election is limited to £30000
2019 general election donations:
- 63% of all donations went to the Conservative Party
- 93% of donations to labour came from trade unions suggesting they are too closely associated with Trade Union interest
- labour only received a 17.5 share of donations
- the brexit party received 13.5% of all donations (4.150,000)
Short money allocation 2021-22:
How do political parties hinder a representative democracy?
- political parties reduce voter choice as they require voters to associate themselves with the manifesto even though it may not fully represent their views e.g. in 2017, people voted labour for policies on taxation but disagreed with stand on nationalisation + defence
- freedom action of MP’s is reduced as despite them having a personal mandate, as the party whips expect them to support the programme of their party - Disraeli said ‘damn your principles. Stick it to your party’
- the ‘spirit of faction’ created by parties has been criticised for creating a negative approach. Political parties often focus of differences so fail to work together
How do political parties help a representative democracy?
- if politicians stated individual views, it would be difficult to establish a government as its members would not be united under one ideology
- without parties, voting in elections would be more complicated as voters wouldn’t be able to associate a candidate with a particular party manifesto
- wealthy individuals with populist agendas will find it easier to access power
Why do we need political parties?
Without political parties, it would be difficult to form effective governments in representative democracies with large populations. Each politician with unique opinions would find it impossible to establish government quickly and effectively. Parties combine elected politicians into recognisable groups, which creates favourable conditions for a government to survive and be established
How and why did Tony Blair try to ‘reform the system’?
- there was a scandal called the ‘cash for honours’ which said that certain labour donors had been promoted and elevated to lord’s because of their donations. There were no prosecutions but there was so much public outrage that Blair commissioned the Philips report to investigate the case for party funding reform
What was the Philips report (2007)?
It said that political parties should be primarily funded through taxation and for a limit of £50000 to be put on donations from organisations or individuals and around £20-25mn a year of taxpayers’ money to help fund political parties
Why didn’t the Philips report work?
Conservative didn’t agree to this as they didn’t want to lose their advantages over other parties - labour is also aware that this would cut donations from trade unions
What were some key 2024 donations to political parties?
What is the threat of Cronyism?
Where parties who receive a large donation from friends/businessmen and women then place those people in positions of authority in their government
Figures of accepted donation in the 2024 general election:
- labour - £8,068,420
- conservative - £6,672,226
- Lib Dem’s - 1,519,162
Why should political parties be state funded?
- disproportionate influence reinforcing duopoly - in the 2019 general election, conservatives and labour were responsible for 80.5% of campaign spending
- despite the 2006-07 cash for honours scandal, other big donors have been awarded peerages. In 2021, Peter cruddas, who donated £3mn to the Conservative Party was recommended peerage by Boris Johnson which is a potential claim for corruption
- the cost of state funding of parties would be small (the Philips report recommended £25mn) meaning the required increase in taxation would be small comparatively
Why shouldn’t political parties be state funded?
- suggests that political parties are servants of the state, which limits their political independence
- in the 2019 general election, 87 political parties, received more than 500 votes - It would be controversial to decide which would receive funding and how much
- disproportionate influence has little impact in terms of success - in 2019, the Brexit party spent £4,150,000 yet won no seats. The Scottish national party received £24,929 in donations and won 48 seats
- short money allows opposition parties to carry out parliamentary work - from April 2022, the amount payable to qualifying parties is £19,401 and the leader of the opposition party is given £903,907 to run their office
Where did the Conservative Party stem from?
The British civil war - represented the defence on monarchy and land owing aristocracy
What are the basic principles of conservatism
- a strong defence of the country
- law and order; protection of property
- respect for monarchy
- respect for institutions of power
- love of tradition
- being pragmatic
Where did One-nation conservatism come from and what was its approach?
- Benjamin Disraeli came up with it and said that traditional conservatism lacked dynamic to inspire men. Instead he offered a paternalistic approach - the ONC should protect and advance the interests of the whole nation - inclusive & progressive
What were the Policies & ideas of One Nation
- social reform
- a patriotic foreign policy
- creating national unity by uniting all social classes under the patriotic banner
- ‘Tory paternalism’ - must be a safety net for the poor and vulnerable
What was The new right?
- disreli’s view of ‘one nation’ conservatism was becoming undermined by demands from TU’s for higher wages for workers
- MARGARET THATCHER defeated Edward Heath for leadership in the Conservative Party - she adopted new right principles
- combination of neo-liberalism and neo-conservatism. It is based on the principle that the economy best regulates itself with as little government intervention as possible
What were new right principles?
- kept taxation to a minimal to provide people with greater opportunities to take financial control of their lives
- reducing inflation & interest rates
- belief in monetarism and ‘hands off approach’
- Limit TU’s as they disrupt smooth run of free markets
What were the new right principles in terms of social security and stability?
- discouraging permissive and alternative lifestyles that threaten the traditional family unit
- giving gov extensive powers to fight crime
- protecting national interests
- sceptical of organisations that challenge gov authority
- sense of community
What are the main differences between the New right and One nation?
ONC has a pragmatic approach whereas Thatcherism has an assertive and dogmatic approach, ONC favours gradual change, Thatcherism supports a radical approach to change. ONC focuses on societal needs compared to Thatcherism which focuses on individual needs and free markets
What did thatcher cause to the economy?
She caused The manufacturing industry to collapse and the economy (after she reduced the money in it), to go into recession & unemployment reached 3 million in 1981 - traditional tories begged thatcher to change course
