✅ Is the UK a 2 party system

what is the traditional view of UK politics

that it is dominated by a 2 party system

when did the epitome of the 2 party system exist?

between 1945 + 1970, during this period, conservative + labour parties consistently won over 90% of the vote + also dominated the HOC w over 90% of MPs

When was the 2 party system called called into question during its’ epitome

during the 13 years of continuous tory rule (1951-196) this looked more like a dominant party system

what was 2-party politics once portrayed as?

the surest way of reconciling representative govt w effective govt.

Key advantage of 2 party politics

• is that it makes possible a system of party govt, supposedly characterised by stability, choice + accountability, the two major parties are able to offer the electorate a straightforward choice between rival programmes + alternative govts

2 key foundings of the 2 party system

The system is supported by stable party loyalties

The class-based division within society

how the 2 party system was seen to be supported by stable party loyalties

1. during the period of 1945-70, around 80% of the public identified w either the tory or labour party, these allegiances were transmitted through the family w voters' party identification being strongly lined to the party identification of their parents

how The class-based division within society founded the 2 party system

working-class voters identifying w labour + upper-class voters w the Tories

when did the 2 party system start to break down

from 1974 onwards, w vote share for the 2 main parties slipping from 89.4%  in 1970 down to 74.9% in 1974 + continues to average that until 2015, despite the lower vote share, the parties still received over 90% of the seats in the commons from 1974 to 1992 + 86-99% between 1997 +2015

The main beneficiary of this change to the 2 and a half system

was the liberal party which went from 7.5% of vote + 6 seats to 19.3% + 14 seats in 1974, the liberal's position as the 3rd party continued from 1974-2015, during which they secured a considerable % of the votes while never rlly threatening the 2-party system in terms of seats, however 2010 election resulted in a hung parl., + the lib dems entered into govt, since 2015, the vote share + no. seats won by the lib dems have collapsed + they were replaced as 3rd largest by the SNP and then surged back up in later elections

since 1997 2-partyism in the UK has started to give way to what?

multi-party systems, which operate in diff ways at diff levels

since 1997 2-partyism in the UK has started to give way to multi-party systems because?

• Devolution has made nationalist parties more prominent, turning them from being 'minor' Westminster parties into 'major' parties in Scotland + Wales, and in the case of the SNP, giving them the potential to influence the formation of the govt at Westminster

• The use of proportional electoral systems for newly created bodies + in European parliamentary election since 1997 has improved minor + emerging party representation, also underlining the extent to which two-partyism was maintained by FPTP elections

• New issues have emerged that cut across trad party-political battle lines, i.e. Europe, the environment, + Scottish independence, this has fragmented traditional voting blocs + given impetus to parties such as UKIP + reform, greens + SNP

Party system=

the no. parties in a political system, + how those parties compete + cooperate

2-party system=

 2 parties win most of the votes + seats, and power alternates between the 2 parties

Dominant party system=

where 1 party dominates the govt + parl, w limited chance of any change in the short term

Multiple-party system=

multiple parties are competing for votes + seats, w the likelihood of minority govts/ coalition govts being formed

reasons for the UK being a 2 party system

In terms of general elections, the UK remains a two-party system

The 2 main parties still set the political agenda + dominate the media

While other elections are important, they key elections take place for Westminster as this is the seat of power in the UK

In terms of general elections, how does the UK remains a two-party system

• All the govts formed since 1945 have been led by either a conservative or labour PM

• The conservative + labour parties continues to dominate in terms of the % of votes + more emphatically in terms of the no. seats

• The 2 main parties continue to dominate due to their clear advantage in terms of party funding

• FPTP favours the main 2 parties

how The 2 main parties still set the political agenda + dominate the media

• The key policy ideas are still generate by the main parties, while the main parties are the only parties that can realistically win power + deliver on their promises

• Media coverage remains focused on the main parties + their leaders in particular

While other elections are important, they key elections take place for Westminster as this is the seat of power in the UK

e.g.:

• At Westminster the big 2 parties continue to dominate, winning 87.3% of the seats in 2019

• Westminster sets the direction, while the SNP opposed the conservative party's Brexit approach + wanted a 2nd referendum, the govt ultimately made the decisions

reasons the UK isn’t a 2 party system

 a two-party system has not been the case in the UK since 1974 due to the breakdown of strong party identification, class-based voting + the emergence of new political issues that have fragmented the party system

Increasingly the political agenda is being shaped by minor + emerging parties

Outside Westminster, the 2-party system has fragmented into a multi-party system

The evidence that shows that a two-party system has not been the case in the UK since 1974 due to the breakdown of strong party identification, class-based voting + the emergence of new political issues that have fragmented the party system?

• Between 1974-2015, the liberals/lib dems secured around 20% of votes cast + held significant no. seats in the HOC

• Labour was the dominant party in Scotland until the independence debate in 2014, when trad labour voters were put off by seeing labour + Tories campaigning side by side against independence, in 2012 labour won 41/59 seats in Scotland but in 2015 labour won only 1 seat, with the SNP picking up 56 of the 59 seats

• In 2/4 elections between 2010-19, the elections didn't deliver a majority govt for 1 of the 2 main parties

how the political agenda is increasingly being shaped by minor + emerging parties

• Both the EU referendum in 2016 + Scottish independence referendum in 2014 emerged from the policy platforms of minor parties

• The past of UKIP + the Brexit party/ reform to take voters from both main parties has seen policy shifts on the EU + migration by both tory + labour

• The DUP in N.I., in return for its support of the tory govt in 2017, won additional annual spending commitments for N.I.

how Outside Westminster, the 2-party system has fragmented into a multi-party system

• The Scottish parl. Was controlled until 2007 by a labour-lib dem coalition, but a minority SNP administration was then formed, with a majority SNP govt being elected in 2011 + an SNP minority govt in 2016

• The Welsh parl. has had 4 diff types of govt: a majority labour administration, a minority labour, a labour-lib-dem coalition + a labour-plaid Cymru coalition