Evaluate the view that the UK no longer has a two party system (30).
In the wake of the two main parties’ vote share declining in the 2024 general election to
just 57.4% of the vote, it may be argued that the UK no longer has a two party system,
but a multi-party system. This essay will consider whether this is the case by examining
how the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system benefits the two main parties, how
minor parties are a growing electoral threat in terms of vote share, and the influence of
minor parties over policy in the UK. On balance, it is more convincing to argue that the
UK does no longer have a two-party system, as minor parties have had a major
influence on policy in the UK, pressuring the two main parties to adopt policy positions
such as Brexit and Net Zero. With their vote share and seat share significantly
increased, and distrust in mainstream politicians at 49% of the population according to
YouGov, this influence looks set to increase.
On the one hand, it may be posited that there is still a two-party system and minor
parties are unimportant in UK politics due to the ‘winner takes all’ FPTP electoral
system. Historically, this can be seen in FPTP returning huge majorities for the dominant
Labour and Conservative Party; Tony Blair had a landslide majority in 1997, and
Thatcher possessed a 144 seat majority in 1983. Even recently, in the 2024 general
election, Labour and the Tories won a combined 81.8% of the seats in the Commons,
and due to the ‘winner’s bonus’ granted to the party with the largest share of votes,
Labour won a landslide 174 seat majority on only 33.7% of the vote, marking the least
proportional result in British history. When comparing Labour’s huge advantage due to
FPTP with the relative disadvantage suffered by Reform UK, who won 14% of the vote
share yet only 5 seats, this indicates that even when there is a surge in support for
minor parties across the country, this is an anomaly and two-party dominance will return
again. This pattern was already observed with the Conservatives winning an 80 seat
majority in the 2019 general election, after they had been n a confidence-and-supply
deal with the dup; due to large diversions between the two main parties, voters once
again felt that their views were represented by the two main parties, leaving their
support for minor parties like the Greens and Liberal Democrats to dry up. As the FPTP
system is unlikely to change, given it benefits the two main parties in power, and both
campaigned against a switch to proportional representation in the 2011 AV referendum,
it can be said that there is to some extent still a two party system in the UK. On the
other hand, it is more convincing to argue that since the 2024 election, there has been a
clear return to a multi-party system, in terms of vote share. The combined Tory-Labour
vote share was 575, the lowest since 1922 and only 48% of constituency contests
placed them as the top two parties; in 2019, this had been 73%, showing that the 2024
general election significantly strengthened the trend away from the traditional two-party
system. Also, in spite of FPTP typically benefitting the dominant two parties, minor
© Humanities Unlocked. | Edexcel A-level Politics 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is
prohibited.
In the wake of the two main parties’ vote share declining in the 2024 general election to
just 57.4% of the vote, it may be argued that the UK no longer has a two party system,
but a multi-party system. This essay will consider whether this is the case by examining
how the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system benefits the two main parties, how
minor parties are a growing electoral threat in terms of vote share, and the influence of
minor parties over policy in the UK. On balance, it is more convincing to argue that the
UK does no longer have a two-party system, as minor parties have had a major
influence on policy in the UK, pressuring the two main parties to adopt policy positions
such as Brexit and Net Zero. With their vote share and seat share significantly
increased, and distrust in mainstream politicians at 49% of the population according to
YouGov, this influence looks set to increase.
On the one hand, it may be posited that there is still a two-party system and minor
parties are unimportant in UK politics due to the ‘winner takes all’ FPTP electoral
system. Historically, this can be seen in FPTP returning huge majorities for the dominant
Labour and Conservative Party; Tony Blair had a landslide majority in 1997, and
Thatcher possessed a 144 seat majority in 1983. Even recently, in the 2024 general
election, Labour and the Tories won a combined 81.8% of the seats in the Commons,
and due to the ‘winner’s bonus’ granted to the party with the largest share of votes,
Labour won a landslide 174 seat majority on only 33.7% of the vote, marking the least
proportional result in British history. When comparing Labour’s huge advantage due to
FPTP with the relative disadvantage suffered by Reform UK, who won 14% of the vote
share yet only 5 seats, this indicates that even when there is a surge in support for
minor parties across the country, this is an anomaly and two-party dominance will return
again. This pattern was already observed with the Conservatives winning an 80 seat
majority in the 2019 general election, after they had been n a confidence-and-supply
deal with the dup; due to large diversions between the two main parties, voters once
again felt that their views were represented by the two main parties, leaving their
support for minor parties like the Greens and Liberal Democrats to dry up. As the FPTP
system is unlikely to change, given it benefits the two main parties in power, and both
campaigned against a switch to proportional representation in the 2011 AV referendum,
it can be said that there is to some extent still a two party system in the UK. On the
other hand, it is more convincing to argue that since the 2024 election, there has been a
clear return to a multi-party system, in terms of vote share. The combined Tory-Labour
vote share was 575, the lowest since 1922 and only 48% of constituency contests
placed them as the top two parties; in 2019, this had been 73%, showing that the 2024
general election significantly strengthened the trend away from the traditional two-party
system. Also, in spite of FPTP typically benefitting the dominant two parties, minor
© Humanities Unlocked. | Edexcel A-level Politics 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is
prohibited.
