Political Parties - Notes
What is a political party
Group of likeminded individuals who seek to realise their shared goals by fielding candidates
at elections and thereby securing election to public office
Manifestoes and mandates
A political party uses its manifesto to set up the policies it would seek to pass into law if
elected to office
The party that is returned to power at Westminster in the wake of a general election is said
to have earned an electoral mandate - the right to implement its stated policies
- Example: the 1997 labour party manifesto promise to remove the rights of hereditary
peers to sit and vote in the house of lords
- The landslide victory in the election therefore handed the party a strong mandate to
fulfil this reform, leading to the house of lords reform act 1999
Roles of political parties in the UK
Providing representation
- Parties were said to represent the views of their members, when voters were divided
along class lines
- Nowadays there is class and partisan dealignment, so this primary role has been
undermined
Encouraging political engagement and facilitating political participation
- By making citizens aware of the issues of the day, parties perform an educative function
that encourages political engagement
- Parties promote political participation by encouraging citizens to engage with the
democratic process
Engaging in political recruitment
- Parties assess the qualities of those seeking election to public office, casting aside those
who are considered unsuitable
- Parties also give those who will ultimately become the nation's leaders an opportunity
to serve a form of political apprenticeship at a local level before going to high office
Formulating policy
- Parties discuss and develop policy proposals before presenting them to voters in their
manifesto
Providing stable government
- Without parties, it is argued the house of commons would simply be a gathering of
individuals, driven by their personal goals and political ambitions
- Parties present the voters with a clear choice, while also providing order following a
general election - by allowing a single party to form a government and secure the safe
passage of its legislative proposals through the commons
1
, Types of political parties in the UK
Mainstream parties
In the modern era, UK politics has been dominated by three main national political parties
- The conservative party
- The labour party
- The liberal democrat party
Minority or niche parties
Nationalist parties
- Parties that like to nurture the shared cultural identity and language of those indigenous
to a given geographical area
- Scottish national party
Single issue parties
- Recent years have seen a rise in the number of single-issue parties contesting elections
in the UK
- In some cases, these parties offer a wide-ranging programme of policies rooted in a
particular ideological perspective (Green Party)
- They may also campaign on a particular issue (UKIP on the EU)
The UK party system
Britain has traditionally operated under two party system
- Two party system: where two fairly equally matched parties compete for power at
elections and others have little realistic chance of breaking the duopoly
There have been times where the domination by a single party has led onlookers to herald
the emergence of a dominant party system
- Dominant party system: where a number of parties exist but only one holds
government power
- Conservatives in office from 1979 to 1997
- Labour in power from 1997 to 2010
UK has never witnessed a single party system
- Single party system: where one party dominates, bans other parties, and exercises total
control over candidacy at elections
- Nazi Germany
The rise of the liberal democrats and a range of other smaller parties has led some to
suggest that the UK was morphing into a multi-party system, though most regarded it as the
two-party model
- Multi-party system: where many parties compete for power and the government
consists of a series of coalitions formed by different combinations of parties
2
What is a political party
Group of likeminded individuals who seek to realise their shared goals by fielding candidates
at elections and thereby securing election to public office
Manifestoes and mandates
A political party uses its manifesto to set up the policies it would seek to pass into law if
elected to office
The party that is returned to power at Westminster in the wake of a general election is said
to have earned an electoral mandate - the right to implement its stated policies
- Example: the 1997 labour party manifesto promise to remove the rights of hereditary
peers to sit and vote in the house of lords
- The landslide victory in the election therefore handed the party a strong mandate to
fulfil this reform, leading to the house of lords reform act 1999
Roles of political parties in the UK
Providing representation
- Parties were said to represent the views of their members, when voters were divided
along class lines
- Nowadays there is class and partisan dealignment, so this primary role has been
undermined
Encouraging political engagement and facilitating political participation
- By making citizens aware of the issues of the day, parties perform an educative function
that encourages political engagement
- Parties promote political participation by encouraging citizens to engage with the
democratic process
Engaging in political recruitment
- Parties assess the qualities of those seeking election to public office, casting aside those
who are considered unsuitable
- Parties also give those who will ultimately become the nation's leaders an opportunity
to serve a form of political apprenticeship at a local level before going to high office
Formulating policy
- Parties discuss and develop policy proposals before presenting them to voters in their
manifesto
Providing stable government
- Without parties, it is argued the house of commons would simply be a gathering of
individuals, driven by their personal goals and political ambitions
- Parties present the voters with a clear choice, while also providing order following a
general election - by allowing a single party to form a government and secure the safe
passage of its legislative proposals through the commons
1
, Types of political parties in the UK
Mainstream parties
In the modern era, UK politics has been dominated by three main national political parties
- The conservative party
- The labour party
- The liberal democrat party
Minority or niche parties
Nationalist parties
- Parties that like to nurture the shared cultural identity and language of those indigenous
to a given geographical area
- Scottish national party
Single issue parties
- Recent years have seen a rise in the number of single-issue parties contesting elections
in the UK
- In some cases, these parties offer a wide-ranging programme of policies rooted in a
particular ideological perspective (Green Party)
- They may also campaign on a particular issue (UKIP on the EU)
The UK party system
Britain has traditionally operated under two party system
- Two party system: where two fairly equally matched parties compete for power at
elections and others have little realistic chance of breaking the duopoly
There have been times where the domination by a single party has led onlookers to herald
the emergence of a dominant party system
- Dominant party system: where a number of parties exist but only one holds
government power
- Conservatives in office from 1979 to 1997
- Labour in power from 1997 to 2010
UK has never witnessed a single party system
- Single party system: where one party dominates, bans other parties, and exercises total
control over candidacy at elections
- Nazi Germany
The rise of the liberal democrats and a range of other smaller parties has led some to
suggest that the UK was morphing into a multi-party system, though most regarded it as the
two-party model
- Multi-party system: where many parties compete for power and the government
consists of a series of coalitions formed by different combinations of parties
2
