ETVT many political parties in the UK improve the health of its representative democracy

ETVT many political parties in the UK improve the health of its representative democracy

• Representation

• Participation

• Electorate alignment

Representation

The weaker argument posits that the political parties in the UK do not improve the health of its representative democracy due to the nature of the two-party system that erodes representation in a democracy

• Nature of FPTP

• Historical government assumption of Labour/Conservative

• Since 1918, Labour and the Conservative Party have been the dominant forces in British elections, with Labour winning most seats in 10 elections and the Conservatives winning in 18

The stronger argument understands that this is changing due to the growth of minor parties that reflects the increased appetite for greater representation

• Reform UK: winning 4 seats and local elections in Durham

• Green Party: record high in the GE24, held 28 seats, gained 48

Participation

The weaker argument outlines the idea that UK Political Parties do not improve the health of a representative democracy due to low levels of participation in general outcomes/party membership

• Disillusionment

• Partisanship

• Labour membership down 11% since election as Labour loses a member every 10 minutes, according to the Labour List

• Conservative membership

  2024: 130k

  2022: 172k

The stronger argument focuses on the increased membership in other minority parties, magnified in age/ethnicity

Green: 60k

Reform UK: 230k

Electorate alignment

The weaker argument suggests that political parties are failing to meet their electorate’s views, harming the health of democracy

• Labour moving to the right

• Labour and Palestine

• 5 new independents

The stronger argument advocates for the changing partisanship that attributes to the electorate exercising their ability to shift allegiance

• Youth for Green Party

• Changing voting behaviour