1.2.1: The UK Political Spectrum

Left-wing

Describes a set of political ideals that support increased social and economic equality, favouring increased government intervention and challenging existing structures such as capitalism.

Right-wing

Describes a set of political ideals that support individual rights and capitalism, which may result in inequality, often challenging increased government intervention in society.

Left-wing principles

• Greater state intervention

• Protection of collective rights

• Greater industry regulation

Left-wing policies

• Support a higher minimum wage

• Support for trade unions

• Support higher tax for wealthier people, including a bigger role for government in wealth redistribution

• Believe that welfare support is too low

• Greater support for nationalisation of industries

Right-wing principles

• Strong policies on law and order

• Support free market ideals

• Protecting individual rights

Right-wing policies

• Support capitalism and limited government intervention in business

• Support tighter immigration controls

• Believe in greater private sector involvement incl. In the NHS

• Believe that welfare support is too high

• Believe in less government involvement in wealth redistribution

Fighting elections

Elections in the UK are mostly fought on a party basis, with party manifestos informing people how to vote. This could also include encouraging people to turn out and vote.

Forming government

Parties fight in elections to try and gain a majority of seats so they can form a government and carry out their manifesto

Recruiting and selecting leaders

From joining a party, to running in an election, to forming government, parties are often where people are trained for government roles.

Representing the electorate

MPs are elected to represent the views of their constituents.

To educate

Through the formulation of manifestos and the scrutiny of the government, parties can educate the public on important issues of the day.

Policy information

Through party conferences, and in keeping with party ideals, parties produce a manifesto to show the policies they would carry out if they won in an election.

Adversary politics

A political situation where there is broad disagreement over political principles between the main parties.

Consensus

A political situation in which there is broad agreement over key political principles between the main parties, even if there is disagreement on the detail or how policies should be carried out.

Arguments in favour of parties helping democracy

• Help to ensure that those who take office have sufficient experience and training to do so

• They encourage the electorate to participate, through mechanisms such as party membership, educating voters or giving them a clear choice between who to vote for

• Parties are the way in which government is organised and able to function coherently in the UK

• Adversary politics mean that parties scrutinise the policies of other parties, ensuring good policy formulation

• They ensure representation of the public by carrying out the will of the electorate from an election

Arguments in favour of political parties hindering democracy

• Where adversary politics exists, scrutiny can often be for poor reasons such as to humiliated a competitor party, rather than to produce good policy

• There is concern that at the centre of UK politics, there is too much consensus between the two main parties, limiting voter choice

• Falling party membership and low voter turnout suggests parties are not working as a mechanism for political engagement

• Factions within political parties make it difficult to create a manifesto that the whole party agrees on

• Parties may educate the public selectively in order to win support for their own view

Party membership fees

The Conservatives increased their fees by 56% in 2022 to £39 per year following a slump in people joining the party. In 2020, Labour reported an income of £34.5 million from membership fees.

Donations

Parties must report donations over £7,500 to the Electoral Commission in the UK, but there are no limits on donations. The Conservatives reported £3 million in donations from July to September 2022, down from £5.4 million in the previous quarter.

State funding

• Main source of funding is ‘short money’, introduced in 1975 to support opposition in carrying out their parliamentary duties, but not electioneering

• Cranborne money was introduced in 1996 to support the main and second largest parties in the House of Lords

• Policy development grants from the Electoral Commission were introduced in 2000, giving parties the chance to develop the policies in their manifestos

Arguments in favour of increased public funding for parties

• Gives smaller parties the chance to be competitive in elections, which would increase voter choice and reduce two-party dominance

• Reduces the excessive influence of an elite few wealthy donors, and create more transparency in party funding and greater pluralism

• Allows parties to focus on governing rather than fundraising

• Perceived influence of donations undermines trust in MPs to do their job for the whole of society

Arguments against state funding for parties

• If state funding was based on the current electoral success of parties, it could reinforce the two-party system rather than challenging it

• Fundraising by parties ensures they have to listen to their supporters, increasing the claim they have to be representing them

• Spending public money on political parties is not popular. Even capping the level of donations that political parties should receive is controversial, with more than 40% of people saying they ‘don’t know’ what level such a cap should be set at (and 15% say there should be no cap)