Political Parties
2.1 Political Parties
- The functions and feaures of political parties in the UK's representative democracy:
*Representation of membership and society as a whole
*Recruitment of people to be MPs and frontbenchers
*Participation as joining a party means one becomes actively involved in politics
*Governing and providing the country with leadership after winning a general election
*Policy Formulation through party manifestos
*Electoral functions allow parties to put forward/support candidates at election time
Parties promote democracy:
1) Key organisational role- Political parties provide a framework for elections, they provide full time agents and an army
of volunteers who will campaign on behalf of candidates. For example all political parties MP's are elected as
representatives from Britain’s 646 constituencies bar one.
2) A competitive government is formed- Political parties ensure that stable government is formed and held accountable to
voters. For example Ed Milliband highlights the problems in the government’s response to the deficit reduction
and put forward an alternate economic policy. Pledged "savings of 500m in local government, stopping winter
fuel allowance for wealthy old people and capping child benefit rises"
3) People can participate beyond voting- People can also join political parties and rise up the ranks of the party hierarchy, this
makes leaders accountable as they have to please people. For example Brown had to pay heed to his backbenchers
concerns over his wish to abolish the 10p rate of income tax.
4) Political parties can educate people and inform citizens about issues- Political parties can make complex issues easy
for the people to understand and provide a response, thus mobilising opinion from the public. For example the Green
Party has been influential in raising environmental issues up the government agenda.
Parties damage democracy:
1) Political parties fail to offer voters any real choice- This is mainly due to a lack of representation from smaller parties,
and critics have argued that Labour and the Conservatives are morphing into one party. The similarity of parties has led to
apathy, disengagement and falling participation. For example both parties have to some degree austerity measures in
their manifestos to help reduce the national debt. Conservatives and Lib Dem coalition went with Austerity
defunding NHS, Schools and investing in infrastructure to save 11.5b in the long term. Labour pledged savings of
500m in local government, stopping winter fuel allowance for wealthy old people and capping child benefit
rises"
2) Not viewed as representative of the British electorate- Membership of political parties in the UK is low and many people
now see pressure groups as a more effective vehicle for getting ideas acted upon rather than political parties. Labour
only has about 190,000 members compared to the Countryside alliance with members around a million.
3) Increased centralisation of decision making and power within political parties- The party’s whips often force MP's to
do what the party leader wants, clearly seen in 2014 when Lib Dems voted for higher education fees even though
their constituents didn't want this whatsoever.
4) Political parties are seen to be corrupt- By promoting the interests of the party above the democratic system. For
example the Cash for Questions Affair and the Blair government removing formula one from the tobacco
advertising ban.
, - How parties are currently funded, debates on the consequences of the current funding system:
* Conservative - individual/company donations
* Labour - trade unions
* The Electoral Commission was created and they ensure that all donations over £5,000 are declared and they
place limits on spending campaigns
* Short Money - annual payment to opposition parties in the Commons
* Cranborne Money - annual payment to the two main opposition parties in the House of Lords
* General funding (£16,956 for each seat/ £33.86 per vote)
* Travel expenses (£86,000 divided based on seats and vote)
* Leader of the opposition office (£789,000)
The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014: restricted the
funding and spending of non-party campaigners during election periods.
The Trade Union Bill 2015-16 introduced on 15 July 2016:
includes provisions that could have implications for the funding the Labour Party receives from trade unions.
The benefits of state funding include:
-Reduces reliance on private donors or trade unions with vested interests, making parties more responsive to the
public.
-Creates more of a level playing field for parties, reducing the unfair advantage given by large donations.
-Parties could perform more effectively without the need to spend time and effort raising funds.
The drawbacks of state funding include:
-Parties would no longer need to seek financial support, so may have their links to society weakened.
-If as expected funding is linked to past electoral performance, this would favour existing parties.
-It may make parties less independent of the state.
Until the passage of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, party funding in the UK was
largely unregulated.
The Act, which created the Electoral Commission...
- Introduced a ban on donations from those not on the UK electoral roll
- Set limits on the amount that could be spent on parliamentary election campaigns
- Required all donations above £500 to be declared, and all those above £7,500 to be entered onto a public register.
2.2 Established political parties
- The origins and historical development of the Conservative Party and Labour Party, and how this has shaped
their ideas and current policies on the economy, law and order, welfare and foreign policy:
Labour:
Old Labour (Social Democracy) -
Society- we live in an organic society, everyone should work together to maintain the nation. For example Marxist
2.1 Political Parties
- The functions and feaures of political parties in the UK's representative democracy:
*Representation of membership and society as a whole
*Recruitment of people to be MPs and frontbenchers
*Participation as joining a party means one becomes actively involved in politics
*Governing and providing the country with leadership after winning a general election
*Policy Formulation through party manifestos
*Electoral functions allow parties to put forward/support candidates at election time
Parties promote democracy:
1) Key organisational role- Political parties provide a framework for elections, they provide full time agents and an army
of volunteers who will campaign on behalf of candidates. For example all political parties MP's are elected as
representatives from Britain’s 646 constituencies bar one.
2) A competitive government is formed- Political parties ensure that stable government is formed and held accountable to
voters. For example Ed Milliband highlights the problems in the government’s response to the deficit reduction
and put forward an alternate economic policy. Pledged "savings of 500m in local government, stopping winter
fuel allowance for wealthy old people and capping child benefit rises"
3) People can participate beyond voting- People can also join political parties and rise up the ranks of the party hierarchy, this
makes leaders accountable as they have to please people. For example Brown had to pay heed to his backbenchers
concerns over his wish to abolish the 10p rate of income tax.
4) Political parties can educate people and inform citizens about issues- Political parties can make complex issues easy
for the people to understand and provide a response, thus mobilising opinion from the public. For example the Green
Party has been influential in raising environmental issues up the government agenda.
Parties damage democracy:
1) Political parties fail to offer voters any real choice- This is mainly due to a lack of representation from smaller parties,
and critics have argued that Labour and the Conservatives are morphing into one party. The similarity of parties has led to
apathy, disengagement and falling participation. For example both parties have to some degree austerity measures in
their manifestos to help reduce the national debt. Conservatives and Lib Dem coalition went with Austerity
defunding NHS, Schools and investing in infrastructure to save 11.5b in the long term. Labour pledged savings of
500m in local government, stopping winter fuel allowance for wealthy old people and capping child benefit
rises"
2) Not viewed as representative of the British electorate- Membership of political parties in the UK is low and many people
now see pressure groups as a more effective vehicle for getting ideas acted upon rather than political parties. Labour
only has about 190,000 members compared to the Countryside alliance with members around a million.
3) Increased centralisation of decision making and power within political parties- The party’s whips often force MP's to
do what the party leader wants, clearly seen in 2014 when Lib Dems voted for higher education fees even though
their constituents didn't want this whatsoever.
4) Political parties are seen to be corrupt- By promoting the interests of the party above the democratic system. For
example the Cash for Questions Affair and the Blair government removing formula one from the tobacco
advertising ban.
, - How parties are currently funded, debates on the consequences of the current funding system:
* Conservative - individual/company donations
* Labour - trade unions
* The Electoral Commission was created and they ensure that all donations over £5,000 are declared and they
place limits on spending campaigns
* Short Money - annual payment to opposition parties in the Commons
* Cranborne Money - annual payment to the two main opposition parties in the House of Lords
* General funding (£16,956 for each seat/ £33.86 per vote)
* Travel expenses (£86,000 divided based on seats and vote)
* Leader of the opposition office (£789,000)
The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014: restricted the
funding and spending of non-party campaigners during election periods.
The Trade Union Bill 2015-16 introduced on 15 July 2016:
includes provisions that could have implications for the funding the Labour Party receives from trade unions.
The benefits of state funding include:
-Reduces reliance on private donors or trade unions with vested interests, making parties more responsive to the
public.
-Creates more of a level playing field for parties, reducing the unfair advantage given by large donations.
-Parties could perform more effectively without the need to spend time and effort raising funds.
The drawbacks of state funding include:
-Parties would no longer need to seek financial support, so may have their links to society weakened.
-If as expected funding is linked to past electoral performance, this would favour existing parties.
-It may make parties less independent of the state.
Until the passage of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, party funding in the UK was
largely unregulated.
The Act, which created the Electoral Commission...
- Introduced a ban on donations from those not on the UK electoral roll
- Set limits on the amount that could be spent on parliamentary election campaigns
- Required all donations above £500 to be declared, and all those above £7,500 to be entered onto a public register.
2.2 Established political parties
- The origins and historical development of the Conservative Party and Labour Party, and how this has shaped
their ideas and current policies on the economy, law and order, welfare and foreign policy:
Labour:
Old Labour (Social Democracy) -
Society- we live in an organic society, everyone should work together to maintain the nation. For example Marxist
