Evaluate the view that minor par-
ties have little impact on British
politics
A minority party is a political party whose electoral strength plays a smaller
role than the mainstream parties in a country’s politics and elections. Smaller
political parties have been a long-standing feature of the British political land-
scape at both national and local levels. The 350 political parties, and other po-
litical organisations add a richness and depth to politics that has an impact on
democracy and representation beyond the limited success they achieve at the
ballot box, both locally and nationally. The limitations of minority parties comes
in many forms, FPTP being the most important but also English Votes For Eng-
lish Laws (EVEL) prevents them partially to have an impact and an inability
sometimes to get their policy initiatives into the mainstream. While politics at
all levels in the UK are dominated by the main three parties, small parties have
been a persistent challenger to those parties and have consistently offered the
voter a choice beyond the mainstream. This essay will argue that although mi-
nor parties are disproportionately under-represented, they have been increas-
ingly popular in recent years and thus, are of growing significance in British Pol-
itics.
It is clear that minority parties can be influential in British politics due to the
clarity of their position on single issues. As many minority political parties are
single-issue parties, their focus on a specific political agenda means voters may
support such parties because they consider the core-issue of that party of vital
importance and are less concerned that other policy aspects are not fully de-
veloped. UKIP is an example of such a minority party with its focus on anti-EU
policies, it is undoubtedly one of the most eurosceptic parties in Britain and can
be considered as one of the major manifestations of the UK’s challenge to Euro-
peanisation. Their growing influence over the British populous was evident
through their historic victory in the 2014 European Parliamentary Elections by
winning a large number of UK seats. Those 24 seats made UKIP the biggest UK
party in the European Parliament, this makes it a challenge to the main politi-
cal parties and to the British political system as a whole. Also UKIP secured 3.9
million votes in the 2015 general election, although it only achieved one seat.
UKIPs success at the European level demonstrates that minor parties have the
ability to influence voters with their clear and direct manifesto, unlike the ma-
jority parties who have a much more obscure agendas. UKIPs increasing popu-
larity over the years strengthened the party as a fundamental catalyst for the
2015 EU Referendum and the ‘victory’ of Brexit, thus proving that minor party
ideology has permeated the agenda of the mainstream parties who are con-
scious of their electoral successes.
Despite the previous argument, it is obvious that minority parties have little im-
pact on British Politics because they are disproportionately under-represented
by the FPTP electoral system. The FPTP electoral system creates a two-party
ties have little impact on British
politics
A minority party is a political party whose electoral strength plays a smaller
role than the mainstream parties in a country’s politics and elections. Smaller
political parties have been a long-standing feature of the British political land-
scape at both national and local levels. The 350 political parties, and other po-
litical organisations add a richness and depth to politics that has an impact on
democracy and representation beyond the limited success they achieve at the
ballot box, both locally and nationally. The limitations of minority parties comes
in many forms, FPTP being the most important but also English Votes For Eng-
lish Laws (EVEL) prevents them partially to have an impact and an inability
sometimes to get their policy initiatives into the mainstream. While politics at
all levels in the UK are dominated by the main three parties, small parties have
been a persistent challenger to those parties and have consistently offered the
voter a choice beyond the mainstream. This essay will argue that although mi-
nor parties are disproportionately under-represented, they have been increas-
ingly popular in recent years and thus, are of growing significance in British Pol-
itics.
It is clear that minority parties can be influential in British politics due to the
clarity of their position on single issues. As many minority political parties are
single-issue parties, their focus on a specific political agenda means voters may
support such parties because they consider the core-issue of that party of vital
importance and are less concerned that other policy aspects are not fully de-
veloped. UKIP is an example of such a minority party with its focus on anti-EU
policies, it is undoubtedly one of the most eurosceptic parties in Britain and can
be considered as one of the major manifestations of the UK’s challenge to Euro-
peanisation. Their growing influence over the British populous was evident
through their historic victory in the 2014 European Parliamentary Elections by
winning a large number of UK seats. Those 24 seats made UKIP the biggest UK
party in the European Parliament, this makes it a challenge to the main politi-
cal parties and to the British political system as a whole. Also UKIP secured 3.9
million votes in the 2015 general election, although it only achieved one seat.
UKIPs success at the European level demonstrates that minor parties have the
ability to influence voters with their clear and direct manifesto, unlike the ma-
jority parties who have a much more obscure agendas. UKIPs increasing popu-
larity over the years strengthened the party as a fundamental catalyst for the
2015 EU Referendum and the ‘victory’ of Brexit, thus proving that minor party
ideology has permeated the agenda of the mainstream parties who are con-
scious of their electoral successes.
Despite the previous argument, it is obvious that minority parties have little im-
pact on British Politics because they are disproportionately under-represented
by the FPTP electoral system. The FPTP electoral system creates a two-party
