political parties evidence

how have coalition governments been unsuccessful?

the tory and lib dem coalition wasn't very successful and made unpopular compromises. For example, the tories wanted FPTP and the lib dems wanted pr, so they held a referendum on av, a majoritarian system, and it lost by 68%. The lib dems also promised not to raise tuition fees but the coalition tripled them. The coalition wasn't very popular - it only lasted one term and the lib dems lost most of their seats in the next election.

which countries don’t have parties?

micronesia, tuvalu, palau - all tiny, kuwait, oman - or resemble one party states where the legislature can only advise the head of state

how have majority governments been unsuccessful?

Theresa May's government started with a majority but faced many defeats over Brexit and was unable to reach a deal. John Major's government was divided by the eu and was weakened by allegations of sleaze.

how have parties chosen bad candidates?

boris johnson appealed to the electorate but was incompetent as a politician, handled covid poorly

how has labour chosen poor candidates

Jeremy Corbyn - elected by members but unsupported by the public and unsuccessful electorally

how are parties better at governing?

Parties are able to create policy proposals in many different areas as they have many members with expertise in different areas. Independent mps tend to focus more on single issues and don't have policies for all areas of government

how have parties been linked to representing different groups in society?

They formed to represent different groups in society - the tories represent business owners and middle class and labour emerged from trade unions and working class. As politics and the economy have evolved, parties have moved to represent different groups across more classes as catch all parties. They still have some ideological differences - the labour party is more socially liberal than the conservatives.

what areas have all main parties had similar stances on?

gay marriage, immigration (both aim to reduce it), tolerance and discrimination (both oppose discrimination), and the nhs (both parties support the existence of the nhs)

how do parties support education and participation?

They canvas, distribute leaflets, advertise, and give speeches. This builds up loyalty and awareness among the electorate and encourages people to vote. There is a lot of news around elections about the stances of parties overall, and little about individual candidates.

how has party allegiance changed?

In 1964, 44% said they had a ‘very strong’ attachment to a party. In 2015 it was only 9%.

how has party membership changed?

Only about 1.5% of the country is a member of one of the 3 main parties, compared to 4% in the 1950s. 

what is party funding like now?

Parties are funded by membership fees, donations from individuals, corporations and trade unions, and grants, including short money for the parliamentary business of opposition parties in the hoc, cranborne for the two largest opposition parties in the hol, and money from the electoral commission for parties with at least two sitting mps to develop policies.

what are conservative donation sources?

in 2019 conservative donations were £13m from individuals, £6m from companies, £150,000 other

what are labour donation sources?

in 2019 £200,000 from individuals, £200,000 from companies, £5m from trade unions, £10,000 other.

how has no state funding been a threat?

Elon Musk, a fascist who is not from the uk and has no real connection to the uk, considered making a donation of up to £100m to reform, a far right party who would undermine human rights and be bad for democracy.

how has labour attracted public donations in the past

tony blair looked to end reliance on trade unions by attracting more donors, jeremy corbyn created more income from membership. 

how have the tories attracted donations from the public?

Tories increased membership from 124,000 in march 2018 to 160,000 in 2019. 

how has labour recently attracted funding?

Of Labour's £10.4m in donations in q1 of 2023, £4.6m were individual and £1.5m from trade unions.

how could state funding help smaller parties?

greens might get more based on large membership - over 150,000 in 2025. Lib dems could get more based on local elections - over 3100 councillors

how could state funding support extremist parties?

The British Democratic Party, a fascist party, has won several seats on local councils in Cornwall, Kent and Doncaster, and might receive more money and influence from state funding.

what were the results for Labour and Tories combined in 2024?

labour and conservatives have 532/650 seats but only 57.4% of votes between them.

what is the current legislation on party funding?

The political parties, elections and referenda act 2000 (updated 2009) attempted to manage party finance - established electoral commission to oversee party finances. Parties must submit audited annual accounts that are made public, the commission reviews spending during elections, and parties must report any donation over £7,500, which is made public. The act also increased party grants, and capped election spending at £30,000 per constituency

why has further regulation failed?

New changes such as caps of £10,000 for donations are unlikely because labour and conservatives cant agree if they should apply to trade unions and stuff.

how expensive would state funding be?

£25m a year

donation scandal?

the tories failed to fully report a donation of £67,800 from huntswood associates limited in oct 2020 and were fined £17,800 by the electoral commission

why don’t the public trust politicians with money?

the expenses scandal in 2009, when mps claimed personal expenses on mps allowances

what did the tories pledge about the civil service?

cut the civil service headcount to save £3.9bn

what did the tories pledge about borrowing?

keep public sector borrowing below 3% of GDP

what did the tories pledge about tax?

tax cuts of £17bn by 2030, including abolishing national insurance for the self employed and decreasing national insurance for employers by 2p by 2027 - to encourage business. Paid for by reducing benefits

liz truss economic policy

Liz Truss’s mini budget in 2022 involved significant tax cuts, including national insurance and corporation tax, and deregulation of industries, both much more Thatcherite policies.

Rishi Sunak economic policy

Rishi Sunak also had Thatcherite economic policies, aiming to reduce inflation and then cut taxes while he was prime minister.

one nation inequality policy example?

levelling up, supported by Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, to reduce geographic wealth inequality, was more influenced by one nation conservatism, as it aimed to reduce significant wealth divides.

pragmatic economic policy example?

Their response to the covid pandemic was more pragmatic and influenced by one nation conservatism. They created a furlough scheme for people who couldn't work, and in 2021 committed to increasing corporate tax from 19% to 25% in 2023 to pay for costs.

one nation recent pm

Theresa May aimed to prioritise the needs of those who were ‘just managing’ and accepted the need for economic regulations. 

Thatcherite housing policy?

in 2024 they pledged a return to the help to buy scheme, to help people buy homes - target of building 1.6m homes in England in 5 years, up to 20% equity loans for first time buyers.

tories benefit pledge?

They pledged to reduce certain benefits - reform disability benefits to reduce the number of people assessed as unfit to work, introduce tougher sanctions on people who refuse suitable employment after 12 months so they can be taken off benefits entirely.

tories transphobia

Rishi Sunak said “we shouldn't be bullied into believing people can be any sex they want”

tories anti immigration

Rishi Sunak pledged to ‘stop the boats’ as prime minister and the tories pledged to increase the time for indefinite leave to remain and citizenship. 

tories law and order policy

They are strict on law and order, pledging tougher prison sentences, more spaces, and more policing - 4 new prisons, 8000 more community police officers.

tory support for nfs

They pledged 92,000 more nhs nurses and 28,000 more doctors, new and modernised gps, and a cap on social care costs of £86,000 over a lifetime.

tories children pledges

They pledged 30 hours of free childcare a week from when a child is 9 months old to when they start school. They also pledge to move to a household based child benefit system to save money for people benefitting. 

tories pro society pledge

They pledged mandatory national service for school leavers - less individualistic, wanting people to contribute to society.

tories socially liberal policy

support of gay marriage - david cameron passed the marriage (same sex couples) act in 2013, legalising gay marriage, and the party continues to support it. 

main tory foreign policy in recent years - detail

The Brexit deal was a hard Brexit, and involved leaving the European Economic Area as well as the EU.

tory relations with the us

Foreign policy prioritises relations with the US - created defence partnership AUKUS with australia and the us, pledged to maintain the special relationship with the US, pledged to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence and to push for a 2.5% goal for all of NATO

tories ECHR

They support leaving the ECHR, with Kemi Badenoch saying that the UK will leave if they win the next election.

tories division on foreign policy

many conservative MPs, including David Cameron, opposed Brexit (56%). The One Nation caucus within the party argues for closer relationships with the EU. Pledged to build on post brexit relations with europe, creating a joint expeditionary force and defence deals with germany and poland

tories paternalistic foreign policy

Some paternalistic foreign policy - pledged to return to spending 0.7% of GNI on international development when possible

current labour tax policy

 in their manifesto for 2024, they promised not to raise taxes on working people, which included not raising the basic, higher or additional rate of income tax, vat or national insurance paid by workers. The income tax rates are much closer to those of the new labour governments and the highest rate is far from the 86% of the 70s under old labour

current labour business policy

The party pledged to incentivise businesses to invest in the uk - capping corporate tax at 25%, lower than most G7 countries, investing £7.3 billion into industries like steel and cars to encourage private investment and create jobs

current labour environmental policy

They link climate justice to economic justice, pledging to spend £24bn on green initiatives, including £1.7bn a year on great British energy to accelerate rollout of renewable and nuclear energy. They also pledged to create 500,000 new green jobs in industrial heartlands. 

labour nationalisation

nationalisation of the rails, starting with south western rails in 2025

recent old labour tax policy

They have pledged to increase tax on the wealthy in other ways, by ending the exception of VAT on private schools and abolishing the non-dom tax status for the wealthy.

recent labour workers rights

They pledged to work with trade unions to improve conditions for workers, including banning zero hour contracts and fire and rehire and introducing rights from day one to parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal. They also pledged to make the minimum wage the living wage and remove pay bands, so minimum wage is the same for all adult workers. They increased minimum wage in April 2025 - an example of them aiming to improve working conditions.

labour youth unemployment pledge

They also pledged to guarantee training, apprenticeships, or help to find work to people aged 18 to 21 to reduce the number of young people not in education or work.

labour crime policy

Their approach to crime is also more aligned with that of new labour, being tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime - they pledged to have 13,000 more neighbourhood police officers and to be tougher on knife crime, including immediately referring young people caught with knives to a Youth Offending Team. They also pledged to require teaching about consent and healthy relationships in schools to tackle misogyny, and to create a Young Futures program with hubs around the country with youth workers, mental health support workers and carers advisers, to prevent young people from committing crimes. 

labour nhs policy private

They pledged to use spare capacity in the private sector to reduce NHS waiting times for diagnosis and treatment

labour commitment to nhs

They pledged to improve the NHS, including meeting performance standards of less than 18 week waits for treatment for non urgent conditions and 40,000 new appointments every week

labour social care

They pledged to create a National Care Service to provide social care.

labour state schools

They pledged to improve state school services, through free breakfast clubs in every primary school and 6,500 new teachers in key areas. 

labour nuclear weapons

they support the nuclear deterrent, with Keir Starmer pledging a ‘triple lock’ on the UK’s Trident nuclear weapon system.

labour eu

They pledged to improve relations with the EU by seeking new trade and security deals. The majority of the labour party supported the EU, with 95% of labour MPs supporting remain in 2016, including prominent politicians like Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.

labour rights

They are also committed to the ECHR and preserving the HRA, while old labour were more sceptical.

labour us

They are less sceptical of the US and committed to the ‘special relationship’. In their manifesto, they pledged to continue to work with the US on economic cooperation, defence and intelligence.

labour eu scepticism

in their manifesto, they pledged not to seek reentry into the EU. Some prominent labour politicians, like Jeremy Corbyn, have been more sceptical of the EU, with him opposing the EEC in the 1975 referendum and the Maastricht treaty in 2008.

labour approach to international issues

They take a more diplomatic than militaristic approach to conflicts - they have pushed for a ceasefire and a peaceful two state solution in Palestine, without military intervention. They have given diplomatic and political support to Ukraine, creating a 100 year partnership and letting Zelenskyy address the cabinet, without intervening militarily. 

Lib Dem taxes on wealth

in 2024 they pledged to focus tax changes on reversing tax cuts for big banks and imposing a windfall tax on the huge profits of oil and gas producers and traders - raising taxes to pay for public spending. 

lib dems cost of living

They pledged to provide long term help with the cost of living by cutting energy bills through an emergency Home Energy Upgrade programme, tackling high food prices with a National Food Strategy, and getting mortgage rates under control through careful economic management. 

lib dems environment

They also pledged to invest in green infrastructure to boost economic growth and create jobs, while tackling the climate crisis. They pledged an aviation duty to punish frequent flyers.

lib dems tax cuts

They pledged to cut income tax by raising the tax free allowance and taking the most low paid workers out of paying income tax, when public finances allow

lib dems nationalisation

They have opposed further nationalisation of industries, with Jo Swinson in 2019 criticising Jeremy Corbyn’s plans to renationalise more industries.

Lib Dem public spending

they pledged to increase public spending to £27bn a year by 2029. 

lib dems health and social care

This spending includes free personal care for everyone who needs help with daily tasks. They also pledged to improve nhs services, with 8000 more gps and a right to see a gp within seven days, or 24 hours if it is urgent. Additionally, 85% of cancer patients would begin treatment within 62 days.

lib dems benefits

They also pledged to scrap the two child benefit cap and to increase the carers allowance benefit, giving more money to support disadvantaged people.

lib dems lgbtq+ rights

They have pledged to legally recognise non binary identities and simplify the gender recognition process, giving people more freedom to legally change their gender.

They also pledged to ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ people.

lib dems voting

They pledged to allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote, increasing the freedom of young people by giving them more control over their government.

lib dems protest

They pledged to scrap the conservatives anti protest laws, restoring the protections for peaceful assembly and public safety, and ending use of facial recognition surveillance by police and private companies, increasing peoples’ freedom to protest

lib dems international organisations

their manifesto included support for international organisations such as the UN, the Commonwealth, the International Criminal Court, and NATO. They also pledged to remain in the ECHR.

lib dems international development

They pledged to reestablish an international development department and spend 0.7% of GNI on development. 

lib dems international crises

They pledged to intervene with human rights abuses and support democracy around the world, providing safe legal routes for refugees, increasing humanitarian aid to sudan, advocating for a ceasefire in gaza, and recognising the uyghur genocide in china. 

lib dems eu

They pledge to improve relations with the EU by rejoining EU partnerships and agencies like Erasmus Plus and climate and defence agreements. They then plan to increase trade with the EU and negotiate new veterinary and plant health agreements, and finally seek to rejoin the single market.

lib dems international trade

They also promise to give parliament a bigger role in making trade deals.

main parties tax on people

Labour maintained the conservatives levels of income tax, vat and national insurance on employers after coming to power in 2024. These levels are far from the income tax rates under labour in the 70s, when the top rate of income tax was 86%

main parties corporation tax

Both pledged to keep corporation tax at 25%, one of the lowest rates in the g7, to incentivise investment

main parties spending and debt

Both parties aim to have public debt falling as a share of gdp in the fifth year based on official targets and to limit borrowing to 3% of gdp in the fifth year.

main parties minimum wage

Both have pledged to improve workers' conditions in different ways. The Tories pledged to maintain the national living wage as two thirds of the median wage, and to make it apply to all workers over 21 rather than 25. Labour pledged to make the national minimum wage a wage that is possible to live on, and to make it apply to all adults

main parties differences on tax

The Conservatives pledged to cut tax in their 2024 manifesto by £17bn, including reducing national insurance by 2p and abolishing national insurance for the self-employed. Labour, on the other hand, pledged to increase some taxes, by abolishing the non-dom tax status for wealthy people and by abolishing the vat exemption on private schools.

main parties benefits

Both parties pledged to change disability benefits to encourage more disabled people into work where possible, especially people who don't work due to mental health problems. Labour cut disability benefits when in government.

main parties trans rights

Both parties have become more opposed to trans rights. Keir Starmer said that trans women aren’t women and the labour government banned puberty blockers for trans kids under 18, and the tories in their manifesto supported banning trans women from single sex spaces and banning teaching of ‘gender ideology’ in schools.

main parties immigration

Both parties have become more anti immigration. Labour has made it harder to immigrate while in government, including by raising English language and qualification requirements, and tories pledged to reduce illegal immigration and increase the wait times for indefinite leave to remain and citizenship.

main parties pensions

Both parties are committed to maintaining the triple lock on pensions, ensuring that state pensions rise with the highest out of wages, inflation or 2.5%.

main parties nhs

They both pledged to improve the NHS, with labour promising 40,000 more appointments, scans and operations a week and to recruit more dentists. The Tories promised 120,000 new nurses and doctors and to require newly qualified dentists to work for the NHS for a number of years. 

labour benefits division

Labour was forced to u-turn on some aspects of their benefits cuts, which would have made it harder to qualify. 42 mps said in a letter to the guardian that their proposed cuts to pip and uc had caused a significant amount of distress for disabled people and their families. 120 backbench labour MPs, including Diane Abbott and Nadia Whittome rebelled. 

parties differences on social care

The conservatives promised an £86,000 cap on social care, and labour went further, promising to create a national care service

differences in public services under main parties

While new labour was in power, wait times for the nhs appointments and A&E decreased. Under the tories they increased. Since winning the election, the NHS has done better under Labour, with them meeting their goal of 2 million more appointments and operations in the first year. Money spent per pupil in education increased under labour and mostly decreased under the tories.

main parties differences on ECHR

The Tories are more opposed to the ECHR - kemi badenoch began a commission to investigate whether the uk should leave the ECHR, while labour was committed to it in their manifesto.

Rishi Sunak tax policy

rishi sunak pledged tax cuts of £17bn by 2030, including abolishing national insurance for the self employed and decreasing national insurance for employers by 2p by 2027 - to encourage business

liz truss tax policy

Liz truss’ mini budget involved £45 billion of tax cuts incl abolishing the top rate of income tax, scrapping the planned increase of corporation tax from 19% to 25%, and reversing the 1.25% increase in national insurance from april 2022.

boris Johnson tax policy

Boris johnson planned to increase the point at which people started paying the higher income tax rate from £50,000 to £80,000 and to raise the point at which people start paying national insurance

Rishi sunak civil service pledge

rishi sunak pledged to cut the civil service headcount to save £3.9bn