how political parties works

government and opposition rules - functions of UK political parties

• Parties ensure that a single government is formed as a result of the general election which is able to safely pass its legislation through the HoC

• Parties also perform the role of the opposition parties who check the actions of the government and hold it to account

representation - functions of UK political parties

• A key role of political parties is representing their members

• But overall party membership has been declining since the 1950s

• Political parties represent the wider public in Parliament, regional Parliaments and assemblies and local councils

political participation - functions of UK political parties

• Political parties allow people to have a greater participation in politics by becoming members of the party and so increase their involvement in the democratic process

• Parties also aim to increase political engagement by educating citizens on political issues

recruiting politicians - functions of UK political parties

• Parties recruit individuals into the political system and choose those individuals they believe to be most suitable to stand for public offence

• Parties also play a role in the promotion of politicians, with those who are seen as having the qualities most suitable for national leadership roles promoted to more senior positions within the party

creating policy - functions of UK political parties

• Political parties establish policies which they believe are in the interests of voters and meet their needs, presented in a manifesto

choice at elections - functions of UK political parties

• Political parties offer voters a clear choice at elections, ensuring that voters are able to support the party whose policies most appeal to them

membership fees - funding of UK political parties

• Political parties receive funding from membership fees paid for by party members - dwindling source of income for the main UK parties due to declining party

donations - funding of UK political parties

• Parties have increasingly become reliant on donations from individuals and organisations, and receive the majority of their funding from donations

short money - funding of UK political parties

• Short money is funds received by opposition parties that win 2 or more seats in the HoC at the GE or win one seat and gain more than 150,000 votes

• Short money is designed to cover party administrative costs and to allow for effective scrutiny of the government

EX: New Labour party funding

• Historically the Labour Party was mainly funded by trade unions

  • Previous leaders such as Tony Blair made efforts to decrease trade union influence within the party

• Under New Labour, the party was increasingly funded by large donations from a small number of wealthy individuals such as Lord Sainsbury and Bernie Ecclestone

EX: Jeremy Corbyn and party funding

• Under Jeremy Corbyn, there has been a move towards a large amount of party funding coming from smaller donations made by ordinary members of the party with over £18 million received in 2017

• There has been a rise in income from trade unions under Corbyn, with the trade union Unite donating £4.5 million in the 2017 GE

EX: Conservative party funding

• The Conservatives receive the majority of their funding from wealthy donor such as Ehud Sheleg and Lord Bamford

• In 2017 it was revealed that large amounts of party funding from the GE came from hedge funds and bankers

funding controversies - UK funding reform

• Controversies around party funding have come from a small number of large individual donations including the ‘Cash for Questions’ and Bernie Ecclestone affairs

• Controversies have led to the belief that individuals can buy access to, and influence over political decision makers

PPERA - UK funding reform

• Political Parties, Election and Referendums Act (PPERA) 2000 introduced party spending limits at GEs to £30,000 for each constituency

• PPERA also limits spending for elections to European Parliament and devolved bodies and says parties must make public any individual donation over £5,000

PPEA - UK funding reform

• Political Parties and Election Act (PPEA) 2009 enabled the Electoral Commission to investigate and fine parties who broke the rules of PPERA

• PPEA also limits donations allowed from non-UK residents and reduces the amount at which donations need to be made public by parties

evaluation of UK funding reforms

• Regulations have increased the transparency of party funding

• But, there are still issues with funding and transparency:

  • Parties have encouraged supporters to give longer-term ‘loans’ instead of donations to get around PPERA regulations

  • The main political parties still receive large donations from wealthy individuals

• Bigger reforms such as introducing state funding are unlikely, as they would come at the taxpayers’ expense

current public funding - state funding

• Current public funding exists through Short Money, Cranborne money (both of which are paid to opposition parties) and Policy Development Grants

state funding FOR

• State funding would remove the influenced and access private donor have to political decision makers

• State funding gives politicians more time to serve the interests of their constituents rather than spending time seeking funding

• Minority parties could compete better if the funding gap between major and minor parties was smaller

  • Greater funding for opposition parties would allow them to research policy and offer a strong alternative to the government which is good for democracy

state funding AGAINST

• Taxpayers might oppose funding parties they are opposed to

• In practice it would be difficult to work out how much each party should receive

• State funding will not solve the problem of parties having different levels of funding, as parties have different levels of membership

• In a democracy and free society, it could be argued that individuals who wish to donate money to party should be allowed to do so