political parties essay plans RATED A+

How effectively do political parties support democracy in the UK? - point 1-Parties play a key role in representation, linking together the people and the government. - link gov to the people by responding to the demands of public opinion-turning them into deliverable policy positions. winning party-a popular mandate to carry out its policies. The emergence of parties in the UK is tied to the introduction of universal suffrage Labour emerging from the trade unions and socialist societies to represent working-class interests, Conservatives associated with representing the interests of private businesses and the middle classes. increasing wealth of UK/ move away from a heavy industry economy, parties have distanced themselves from their traditional interests and ideology by developing policies that appeal to the mass of the electorate. The major UK parties are now 'catch-all parties'. counterpoint-the effectiveness of parties in ensuring representation has also been questioned - parties can only represent their members/supporters when they have a mandate to govern/dominate parliament-this gives them power to pass laws representing the interests of the public however this has only been true, since Cameron, for conservative voters other parties do not have enough seats in parliament to effectively represent the rest of society-tyranny of the majority By moving away from representing their traditional groups, such as Labour looking to reduce its links with trade unions under Tony Blair in order to attract the uncommitted voter, the ability of parties to represent interests has been reduced modern society=pressure groups are seen as more able at fulfilling this role. point 2-political parties foster participation, enhancing democracy - provide opportunities for citizens to join a group of like-minded people and therefore help to shape party policy and, if the party wins, government policy. party membership-432,000 members-Dec 2021-Lab They help to educate/mobilise the electorate through a range of activities - canvassing, public meetings, advertising and poster campaigns, party broadcasts- building loyalty and /identification among the electorate. counterpoint-However, the effectiveness of parties in ensuring participation and mobilisation has also been questioned. - Voters' loyalty towards, and identification with, parties has declined.-partisan dealignment. 44% of voters claimed to have a 'very strong' attachment to a party in 964, this had fallen to a mere 9% by 2015. The consequences have been that people are less likely to vote and that voting patterns are far more unpredictable. Turnout in general elections has fallen sharply since 1997, with only 59% voting in 2001, the lowest turnout since 1918, and 66% voting in 2015, still about 9% below the historical average membership of the three traditional major parties in the UK has fallen. This suggests parties are not only less able to mobilise the public to participate more widely in politics, but also unable to mobilise people to participate in their own internal party democracy point 3-The operation of government relies on parties in many ways - Parties help to form governments- 'party government'. a single party with a majority of seats in the House of Commons forms the government and implements its manifesto » They give governments a degree of stability and coherence, especially as the members of the government are usually drawn from a single party and are therefore united by common sympathies and attachments. » They organise the legislative programme for government and ensure that it is passed in the legislature. » They provide a source of opposition and criticism, helping to scrutinise government policy and provide a 'government in waiting' 2019-johnsons majority of 80 counterpoint-However, the effectiveness of parties in organising government has also been questioned. - The decline in party unity since the 1970s has tended to weaken the majority party's control of the Commons. Instability can occur, even where a single party in power has a majority, if there are clear internal party splits. This was seen in the Major Government of 1992, which started with a majority of 21, or the 2015 Government of David Cameron, and then Theresa May, which started with a majority of 12. 2 2017 hung parliament-theresa may could get nothing through parliament-brexit deal rejected 3 times