Politics - political parties

name the 7 functions of political parties and briefly state what they each do

1. making policy - set intentions and political programme - the policy making function of the party in government is the same as the policy making function of the government itself - Aggregation is converting policies, demands and ideas into practical policy programmes

2. representation - nowadays seek to represent all societal groups and the ‘national interest’, but some prejudice based on core values, populist parties try to represent the ‘unrepresented, and ‘issue parties’ focus on a particular issue

3. selecting candidates - these are for the office and are needed at all levels - mostly carried out at regional levels through committees staffed by activists

4. identifying leaders - PM completely controls appointment of ministers, opposition leader chooses small group of ‘frontbench’ spokespeople, sometime controversy, e.g. 2015 Jeremy Corbyn, Lib Dems use Alternative Vote System which should ensure a majority

5. contesting election - organise themselves into proposing ideas surrounding key issues

6. political education - mainly governing party, inform public about daily political issues, is becoming less important as the media takes over

7. reinforcing consent - all adhere to parliamentary democracy so ensure no challenging of the basis of the system

How are parties funded

Main parties have multiple sources of finance, mainly including; fundraising, membership subscriptions, donations, up to £2 million available in grants from Electoral commission. These are all more accessible to larger parties. 60% of Con and Labour funding in 2015 came from individual/business donations and trade unions respectively.

what legislation put limitations on party funding

2000 Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act - no more individual donations from people not on the UK electoral roll, limits places on parliamentary election spending, anything over £500 declared, anything over £7500 placed on electoral register

2009 Political Parties and Elections Act - following expenses scandal - gave the electoral commission more power to investigate and impose fines

Case study for not complying by funding rules

2016 Labour fined £20,000 by Electoral Commission for breaching finance rules, investigation identified 25 undeclared election expenses, totalling £109,777, Bob Posner commented on voter confidence in the system if these rules were breached

What conclusion did the Phillips Report in 2007 reach

that party funding should be based on vote share or membership size to make party politics in the UK fairer and more democratic

what is the money that they can receive from the Electoral Commission

Policy Development Grants - over £2 million available across all parties

what is short money

money given to the opposition parties to facilitate their work

hugely favours larger parties due to it depending on how many seats and votes in recent GE

in 2019 Labour received over 8 million, whilst SNP got little over 800,000

one seat from UKIP refused over £500,000 saying that short money was corrupt

what is Cranborne money

money given to the opposition parties in the HoL to fund the scrutiny of the government

Where did the Conservatives arise from historically

the capitalist middle class who wanted to benefit from industrialisation and the growth of international markets

wanted to ‘conserve’ the dominant position of the upper class

Robert Peel - first Conservative PM 1834-35, 1841-46

two traditions of the conservatives

‘traditional conservatism’ - 1800s, developed into ‘one-nation conservatism’ paternalistic approach where the rich had a duty to help the poor - Cameron and May

‘New Right’ or ‘Thatcherism’ - 1980s, involved neo-conservatism - state to take authoritarian position on morality and law and order, neo-liberals - who wanted a free-market approach and little state in people’s lives

origins of traditional conservatism

emerged as a reaction against the newly emerging liberal ideology that were causing revolution in America, France etc.

Edmund Burke (1729-97) became alarmed at these ideas and though a society with such little control by government would lead to major social disorder

acknowledges the need for constant reform to relieve the pressure building for any uprising

some of the one-nation conservative principles

noblesse oblige - those of a higher social standing have a moral obligation to help those of a lower social standing, preservation of tradition, strong law and order to control society, faith in property and home ownership, pragmatic responses to issues

history of ‘new right’

reaction against the European socialist ideas and also against traditional conservative ideology which was seen as too weak to deal with the social and economic policies of the present

current conservative views on the economy

When they took over in 2010, economic crisis and country was £1.13 trillion in debt - believed a balanced budget would promote economic growth

also borrowed nationally money in 2020 to fund covid-19 pandemic

neo-liberal attitude towards free-markets

seeks to reduce corporate tax as much is feasible but recognises the lowest incomes are taxed too much - one nation view as fear of increased poverty

current conservative stance on law and order

believes that prison and stern punishments are the best deterrent against crime

think that sentencing policy should be in the hands of the elected government and not unelected judges

sees it at the first duty of government to protect its citizens and therefore accept that in the case of terrorism some of the person liberties may need to be compromised - both 2017 and 2019 manifesto pledged to alter the HRA to be able to effectively deal with national threats

current conservative stance on welfare

Hold the view that welfare benefits should not be a disincentive to work - stricter means testing to ensure that unemployment is not the preferable options

Also introduction of a living wage and a cap on total welfare benefits for families

Supports a welfare state and the safeguarding of NHS and education system - but believes that they should be subject to competition and market forces to increase efficiency c

current conservative stance on foreign affairs

supports NATO but believes that UK national interest relies on retaining independent foreign policy

If in own interest, UK should intervene in foreign conflicts

Reduce contributions to international aid

current conservative external influences

British Banking Association and Confederation of British Industry - both advised David Cameron not to impose fines or increase controls after 2008 financial crash, both also advised against Brexit so limited influence

Conservative factions

• Cornerstone - traditional

• Conservative Way forward

• tory reform group

History of the Labour party

lower class did not get the vote until 1884 but were mainly represented by people in the Liberal or Conservative parties

When trade unions became legalised they wanted to elect the leaders into UK parliament

Labour party and Independent Labour Party arose - ILP strongly socialist, LP a mixture, agreed not to put candidates against each other

By 1970 the ILP was more of a faction of the PLP

Labour since WW2

Won first HoC election in 1945

two huge defeats from Thatcher in 1980s led to a split, one section became Social Democrat Party, the other became New Labour, led by Tony Blair in 1992 after the Death of John Smith - they then won the 1997, 2001 and 2005 elections

Labour and trade unions

Until 1960s, they were indistinguishable from one another as many MPs had arose from union politics

However 1960s deindustrialisation led to PLP not being able to meet the demands of the unions which angered them - they began to question party leadership which resulted in scrutiny from Conservatives

in the 1980s the Conservatives imposed harsher restrictions on the influence of the trade unions, this was furthered when New Labour arose and Blair sought to seek new forms of funding and dissociate them all together

Now they are closer than they were with Blair and they still contribute significantly to the funding of the party

Labour key values

Equality - redistribution of wealth for ‘social justice’, recognised total equality was not possible so prioritised equality of opportunity

Collectivism

Trade unionism

Statism - to control economic activity and secure social goals

Welfarism

Labour policies and actions

Introduction of the NHS in the 1940s

Trade unions powers

Nationalisation of major industries e.g. railways

Higher tax on higher incomes

Comprehensive education

Equal pay for women, discrimination against women and ethnic minorities outlawed

New Labour Values

Individualism

Rejection of Class Conflict - all members have equal right to state assistance

Accepted capitalism with argument of an enabling state

Committed to political and constitutional reform

Individualism over collectivism

Equality of opportunity

New Labour policies

Constitutional reform e.g. HRA, devolution, freedom of information

Huge increase in NHS spending

Large investment in education

Reductions in corporate tax

Various policies to reduce poverty

History of the Liberal Democrat Party

Formed in 1988 when the Social Democrats and the Liberal Party joined

Key Liberal Democrat Values

• liberty - minimal state interference

• social justice - removal of all income inequalities, equality of opportunity, removal of inherited privileges

• state welfare sets people free

• constitutionalism

• multiculturalism

• care for the environment

Lib Dem Economic stance

Not particularly distinctive

Rebalancing economy so that wealth is spread more geographically evenly across the country

Redistribution of income

Lib Dem 2 opinions on law and order

Prioritise rehabilitation where possible - social reasons for crime

Law must not become so authoritarian that human rights are threatened

define co-option

when the policies of a smaller party are adopted by a larger one

Background on SNP

As the Lib Dems lost many voters, the SNP blossomed

Forms the Gov of Scotland

Won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats available in the 2015 GE

Persuaded David Cameron to allow a referendum on Scottish Independence in 2014

UKIP

Formed in 1993 as a reaction to the development of the EU

Gained 12.6% of the vote in the 2015 GE but translated to only 1 seat

Got the referendum it wanted

Lost its 1 seat in 2017

Not relevant since Brexit is now happening

Brexit Party - now Reform

Launched in 2019 by former UKIP leader Nigel Farage

Got 29 of the UKs 72 seats in European Parliament

Green party

growing in popularity under Zach Polanski

Won the Gorton and Denton seat off Labour in a by-election

Democratic Unionist Party

Had 10 seats when Theresa May was PM

made a supply-and-demand agreement that helped her government to survive

Policies of the SNP

Wants to ultimately become a sovereign state in the EU

Support constitutional reform - votes for 16, elected 2nd chamber, proportional representation voting system

Redistribution of income

Abolished tuition fees for the Scottish in Scotland

Environmental protection almost as strong as Greens

Pro EU

Supports a welfare state

Green Party policies

Abolish uni tuition fees

Large-scale environmentally friendly house building

Better public transport

Wealth tax and living wage

Legalisation of drugs

Opposed to all nuclear power

Name and define the different party systems

One party system (China) - authoritarian regime where only 1 party is allowed to operate, not democratic

Dominant party system (SNP) - democratic systems that allow parties to operate, though they have no real chance of taking governmental power

Two party system (USA) - only 2 of the parties have a realistic chance of forming government

Two-and-a-half party system (Canada) - 2 main parties that contest for government but also a sizeable third party that can be seen as holding the balance of power

Multi-party system (Germany) - several parties competing for votes and power, tend to form coalitions

Party system of Westminster

Two party system in terms of seats and governing, but multi-party in terms of votes

Examples of where leadership, unity and media have influenced elections

Leadership - Thatcher and Blair vs Nick Clegg, Gordon Brown

Unity - 1980s Cons united around Thatcher whilst 1981 Labour split - 2 huge majorities in 1983 and 1987

Media - papers, TV and social media