Political parties

How is Reform UK a threat to the major parties?

1. Reform has taken control of 10 councils, flipping several from conservative hands. Notable victories include Durham, Doncaster and Derbyshire

2. In Derbyshire, Reform secured 42/64, where Conservatives previously held 45 seats (now only TWELVE)

3. Officially the second largest party in the UK with its membership surpassing the Conservative Party’s in December 2024. Reform currently has over 230K members. Threatening as high membership can secure funding, media representation and boost momentum and political legitimacy.

4. You Gov poll indicated 43% of those asked believe Reform will remain significant over the next decade

Why is high party membership not a big deal?

Even if a party has millions of supporters nationally, they are not guaranteed an electoral win if these numbers are not concentrated, as success depends on a concentration of support due to our FPTP electoral system.

This ensures the major parties of Conservative and Labour, who have established deep roots of traditional support spanning decades and centuries, remain in regular power

How is Reform influencing the rhetoric of the Labour and Conservatives parties?

The rhetoric around immigration has become even more hostile than expected, particularly from Labour Party, in order not to lose any more electorate support.

One of Reform’s strongest core values is national identity and sovereignty, which has attracted the majority of voters. Rhetoric used by Badenoch (‘our country is our home, not a hotel’) and Starmer (warning of an ‘island of strangers’) is echoing that of Nigel Farage. To Starmer’s comment, Farage said he is ‘learning a very great deal from us’ but also called him out for his recent bipolar atittudes towards immigration: ‘Starmer has spent his whole career campaigning for free movement of people’.

How are minor parties gaining more electoral attention?

2024 GENERAL ELECTION: 42.6% of voters across UK supported parties other than the traditional Labour and Conservative choices.

In England, Labour won with only 34% of the vote whilst almost 40% voted for parties other than Lab or Con —> 13% voted Lib Dem and a historic 26.5% casted their vote for other parties (Reform, Green Party, Independents, etc)

How many seats were secured by the Lib Dems in 2024 General Election?

Secured 72 seats with a total of 3.5M votes, representing their best ever result in terms of seats —> Growing desire for change and a shift away from traditional two-party system.

What fraction of the electorate did NOT vote for Labour in 2024 GE?

TWO-THIRDS of voters did NOT vote for Labour in the 2024 GE, yet they ended up winning and having a majority of seats.

Reform UK has gotten a higher percentage of the vote than…?

The Lib Dems got in 2010 when they entered the COALITION.

Despite growing attention to minor parties, PARLIAMENTARY DOMINANCE still remains with…?

… the Labour and Conservatives, with the Labour Party securing around 63% of Parliamentary seats despite having HALF of that in votes (33%).

As of 2024, combined, the Con and Lab parties hold 82% of parliamentary seats, underscoring their continued dominance despite a lower combined voter share.

How was the 2019 general election an example of disproportionality within the electoral system?

Reinforced two parity system as Conservatives gained roughly 43% of votes which granted them 56% of seats, and a massive 80-seat majority with less than half the vote.

Labour, with only 32% of the vote, gained 202 seats.

In local election, which party tends to dominate huge councils?

The LID DEMSSSS

In Northern Ireland and Wales, multi-party systems thrive under …?

… Proportional Representation systems. In Scotland, the SNP has crushed both Tories and Labour for years, with the 2026 parliamentary election predicting a fifth consecutive term for SNP.