Fu n ction s of political par ties:
Selectin g Can didates:
They select these candidates to fight local, regional, mayoral and general elections to
contest the general election, applicants must be a member of the party and then go
through a national selection process becoming approved candidate. If they pass this,
they can apply to a constituency party that will then choose the individual it
considers has the best chance of increasing the party share of the vote.
Once a candidate Windsor seat, they can claim to have an electron mandate to
represent that seed in the House of Commons. However, the local party does not
need to endorse this candidate for the next general election if their views are too
opposed for those of local activists. In 2022, the Labour MP Sam, who have been
sacked to shadow minister by circuit Starmer on the grounds that he was out of touch
with the leadership, was selected by his Ilford South constituency.
Pr ovidin g the per son nel of gover n m ent:
By providing candidates for election to public office, political parties contribute to the
personnel for government
Electin g a leader :
In the Conservative party, the parliamentary party will agree on two MPs, whose
names then go forward to party members to decide between. In 2022, the party
membership voted for Liz Truss (57%) over Rishi Sunak (43%). However, the
influence of a party's members can be sidestepped, such as when people withdraw,
for example, Andrea Leadsom in 2016 to ensure that Theresa May became the
conservative leader.
Policy for m ulation :
In the labour party, a national policy forum consults with party members over the
development of policy. Before the 2017 general election the National Policy Forum
and the elected National Executive Council worked closely with the leadership and
senior members of the Parliamentary party the aggregator manifesto that fairly
represented the political opinions of the labour movement.
The Conservative party also encourage consultation; however, the manifesto is more
likely to be drawn up by senior members of the party. More decentralised parties
, such as the Lib Dems and the Green party give the party membership that the final
decision over what goes in the party manifesto.
Cam paign in g:
Party activist will deliver leaflets, canvas voters on the doorstep and arrange political
event so that voters understand the choice between the candidates. Political parties
are increasingly moving towards the Internet and social media as well. They also
invigorate democracy by campaigning on local issues.
Repr esen tation :
Representation is a key function. In the 2019 general election, 75.7% of those who
voted felt that their political opinions were represented by the Conservative party or
the labour party. The Scottish Parliament, the Parliament for Wales, the London
Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly are elected using proportional
representation, which gives minority and nationalist parties a greater opportunity to
achieve representative influence.
Mobilisin g con sen t for gover n m en t:
Without political parties, it would be difficult to form effective government in
representative democracies with large populations. Individual politicians would find
it virtually impossible to establish government quickly and effectively. With the
parties combining elected politicians into recognisable groups, it creates favourable
conditions for the establishment and survival of.
Funding:
Sh or t m oney: the money allocated to the opposition parties for the work in the
House of Commons based on number of seats they have. The leader of the opposition
is also funded almost £800,000 for the running of their office.
Cr an bou r n e m on ey: supports the work of scrutiny carried out by the opposition
parties in the House of Lords
These subsidies do not cover campaigning in election expenses. For these, a political
party depends on the subscriptions of his party members, as well as individual
donations from benefactors
Don ation s to political par ties dur in g the 6 w eek of the 2019 gen er al
election
Par ty Individual Com pany Tr ade Other Total % shar e
donation Donation u nion donations
donations