uk political parties in context

dominant-party system definition

• System where only one party has a realistic chance of winning political power even though a number of parties stand in the election

  • E.g. the African National Congress has won every election in SA since 1994

single-party system definition

• System in which only one party exists and all other parties are banned

  • E.g. the Democratic People’s Republic of Korean (North Korea)

two-party system definition

• System where only two political parties have a chance of success at an election and so power shifts between those two parties

  • E.g. Conservatives and Labour have won every UK general election since 1922

• FTFP electoral system is more likely to result in a two-party system

two-and-a-half-party system definition

• Two main parties exist in this system, but a third, smaller party challenges the dominance of these two

• In the 2010-15 coalition, the Lib Dems could be argued to be a half party

multi-party system definition

• Systems where more than two parties have the possibility of winning an election or of being able to take up a role in power as part of a coalition

• Multi-party systems often form coalitions

• Proportional representation systems often form multi-party systems

dominant party system - UK party system

• Dominant party system under Conservatives: 1979-1997

• Dominant party under Labour: 1997-2010

two-party system

• Conservatives/Labour have been in power since 1922 and are the only ones that have a chance of forming government or being the leading power in a coalition

• However minor parties have been rising in popularity since the 2024 GE

  • Reform now has 8 seats in HoC and Greens have 4 seats - both populist parties opposing both Conservatives and Labour (2024 GE)

two-and-a-half party system - UK party system

• 2010-15 coalition government

• 2017 ‘confidence and supply agreement’ between Conservatives and DUP

multi-party system - UK party system

• Growing popularity for minor parties such as Reform and Greens

• Unlikely to be voted into power due to FTFP system

party leader - party factors affecting election success

• Charisma

  • A leader’s personality, charisma and popularity among voters is important

• Public opinion

  • Leader represents the party and many voters view the leader as the image of the party

  • Public opinion of the leader and their ability to offer an appealing brand to the electorate plays an important role in creating support for the party

• Uniting the party

  • Party leaders can unite factions within a party which is important as divided parties often struggle to win elections and appeal to voters

• Funding

  • Party leaders are able to gain funders through socialising with donors

    • E.g. Theresa may held dinners for donors to increase funding for the Conservatives

election campaigns - party factors affecting electoral success

• The election campaign tells the electorate about party policies, the personality of the leader, and how the party behaves under pressure

• But studies have shown that voters already know who they will choose before the election campaign, so the election may not always change minds

policies - party factors affecting electoral success

• Change in party policies can gather new voters

  • E.g. 1997, Labour’s ideological rebrand to New Labour ended in a landslide victory for Blair’s Labour

media - factors affecting electoral success

• The media allows the electorate to access information on parties

• Different media outlets support different parties and encourage readers to vote in certain ways

  • Daily Mail - right-wing paper, supported Brexit in the 2016 referendum

  • Guardian - centrist/left-leaning paper

  • BBC - funded by taxpayers, supposed to be unbiased

class - sociological factors affecting party success

• Historically Labour was the party of the working class

• However, voting has moved away from being class-related as classes have changed size and become less important

  • The number of workers in manual industries has fallen

  • The structure of the UK economy has changed - opportunities may be different and less class-related

  • Educational opportunities have increased

age - sociological factors affecting party success

• Younger voters tend to lean more left

• The Conservative vote increases with age

ethnicity - sociological factors affecting party success

• Some political parties are more diverse and representative of minority populations than others

region - sociological factors affecting party success

• Cities tend to have supported the Labour party and rural areas have tended to vote Conservative

• The north tends to vote Labour whereas the south tends to support the Conservatives

  • Historically the north was more industrial and has deeper trade union links so may be linked to historic Labour support