political parties 2.1

What is a political party?:

- Group of people that are organised for the purpose of winning power at national and local level

- Democratic system (candidates from party's put up to election)

- Want to gain political support and ultimately win and exercise power

Three main features of a political party:

1. Exercising power by winning political office

2. Adopting a broad issue focus

3. Members are usually united by shared political preferences and a general ideological identity

Exercising power by winning political office:

- Historically, only Labour and Conservative could expect to win at general election

- Smaller parties use general elections to gain political platform, rather than power

- e.g., Green (won 1 seat in 2019)

-80% seats 2024

Adopting a broad issue focus:

- Address each of major areas of government policy

- Manifesto before elections covers what they would implement if win

- Some smaller parties may have a narrower or single-issue focus (resembling pressure groups)

- e.g., BREXIT Party 2019

Members are usually united by shared political preferences and a general ideological identity:

- E.g., Labour is an ideologically socialist party (has a loose commitment to create a more equal society)

- Ideological identity allows parties to signpost to voters how to vote

- Expresses view in policy promises

Policy formulation:

- Coherent policy programme created

- Voters see programme so have effective choice

- Offer a manifesto at election and accept they will be judged on that platform (ensures accountability as are held responsible)

- Develop programmes for government when seeking power

- Major parties have clear ideological convictions and develop rival programmes of government

Reasons which state that parties are becoming less democratic (5):

- Major parties have moved away from larger societal goals in recent years

- Now a technocratic choice (which team will run country more effectively OR a choice between leaders' personalities)

- Parties more eager to follow public opinion than try shape it

- Without clear ideological identity, political apathy increases (look like an ineffective choice)

- Conservative and Labour dominate the seats

Recruitment for political leaders:

- Major politicians and political leaders must be party members - parties control who is chosen to stand for election

- Act as a training ground for future leaders (gain experience in canvassing, debating issues and running constituency until can become leader)

- Parties are likely to choose leaders who are most expert at winning elections (popularity>competency)

- Leader is chosen by party not voters - undemocratic (may not align with ideology of majority of their MPs)

Organisation of government:

- Parties help form governments

- Ensure they are stable (party members agree on many broad issues and a single party usually has majority of seats)

- Provide opposition (scrutiny of policy & 'government in waiting')

- HOWEVER, party unity has declined since 1970s (internal party splits)

Ways in which political parties foster political participation (5):

- Party membership

- Canvassing

- Public meetings

- Advertising and poster campaigns

- Party broadcasts

Partisan dealignment:

Process where individuals no longer identify themselves on a long-term basis as being associated with or having loyalty towards a certain party

- election campaigns have shifted to centralised messages via media led by party leadership

Who do Labour Party 'represent'?:

- Trade unions and socialist societies

- Working class

Representation:

- Articulate and express public opinion (policies appeal to public)

- Claim popular mandate if win

- Emergence of parties is tied to introduction of universal suffrage (working class, middle class etc.)

Who do Conservatives 'represent'?:

- Private businesses

- Middle class

'Catch all' parties:

Political party that plays down ideology in order to appeal to the widest range of voters

Statistics to prove partisan delaignment:

- 1964 - 44% of voters claimed to have a 'very strong' attachment to a party (fell to 9% by 2015)

Consequence of partisan dealignment:

Political apathy, lower voter turnout, falling party membership and unpredictable voting systems

Reasons as to why people believe parties are now less representative: (3):

- Many argue that 'catch-all' parties do not fully represent the electorate

- Many people pay more attention to personality of party leader instead of policy (not representative of their views)

- FPTP means governing parties only usually win 30% - 45% of electorate's vote

What is now seen as a more representative choice than political parties?:

Pressure groups

- more effective at representing interests to policymakers as are not attempting to gain political status

Three ways in which political parties are funded in UK:

1. Membership fees

2. Donations

3. Grants

In recent years, which parties have gained more party membership and which have reduced membership?:

Since 2015:

- Funding through membership has declined, especially for Tories

- Surge in membership for Labour, SNP and Green (matches or exceeds their donation income)

Which party has higher membership cost?:

Labour (£5.88/month) Conservative = (£3.50/month)

Who donates most money to Labour and what criticism does this lead to?:

- Trade unions

- Critics argue that this indicates that the party is under their control

Who donates to Tories?:

- Major business backers (finance, insurance, real estate companies)

- Said to exert undue influence over policy development

2019 General Election donations:

Tories - £19.4mil

Labour - £5.4mil

BREXIT party - £4.2mil

What is 'short money'?:

- A state provision to support the activities of the opposition in parliament

- Not for elections or campaigning

How much short money was Labour given in 2020?:

£7.8 mil

What is 'Cranbourne money'?:

Paid to opposition parties in the House of Lords

What are Electoral Commission grants?:

£2mil allocated to parties to develop policies for manifestos, as long as have at least 2 MPs

What has meant that political party donors can effectively buy influence and power and why?:

Partisan dealignment

- Party campaigning can no longer depend on work of local activists

- Moved towards centralised messaging via media (often expensive)

- General fall in membership income, therefore, more reliant on donations

- Puts democracy into question

What was the Lord Cruddas scandal?:

• 2020 - donated £500 000 to Conservative Party

• Johnson awarded peerage soon after

What was the Lloyd George 'cash for patronage' scandal?:

- 1922

- Created a 'price list for peerages'

- e.g., £50,000 for peerage

- Scandal as although peerage was legal, this was systematic and braze

What was created in response to 'cash for patronage' scandal?:

The Honours Act 1925

- Made sale of peerages or any other honours illegal

What was the Cash-for-Honours Scandal:

- 2006

- SNP MP Angus MacNeil complained that 4 wealthy businessmen were nominated by Blair for peerages and had allegedly lent the party a total of £5mil

- Investigation launched into whether offences under 1925 Act had been committed

- Crown Prosecution Service had insufficient evidence to press charges

What reccommended that UK parties should be state funded?:

Philips Review established by Labour after 2006 scandal

- Would create a fairer system

- Used in other representative democracies (e.g., Germany)

2019 general election funding statistics: Tory vs Green

- Tories got 63% (just under 2/3) of overall registered donations (£19.4 mil)

- Green only had £0.2 mil

What is the Electoral Commission and when was it established?:

Independent body that oversees elections and regulates political finance in UK

- Est. 2001 following the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000

How much funding did Labour and Lib Dems receive in 2022?:

Labour = £7.2 mil

Lib Dems = £1.4 mil

What was Lib Dems' vote share after 2015?:

Fell to 8%

What ensures party funding is transparent?:

Political Parties Election and Referendums Act

- any donation over 500 must be made public

- argument that state funding is therefore not needed

2 examples of impact of not remaining accountable through manifesto:

1. 2019 election result

• Labour were badly defeated

• Kept adding things to their manifesto - people felt as though they were adding unachievable goals merely to win the vote

2. Sunak and his 5 pledges

• Upon becoming PM in 2022 promised 5 pledges

• Whilst he has more than halved inflation, has failed to reduce NHS waiting lists, and most notably stopping small boats crossing the Channel

• opinion polls were predicting he will lose upcoming election- we did

state funding plan

P1: ppl don’t wanna pay membership fees - parties are not getting enough through membership - due to partisan dealignment 1964 44%, 9% 2015

BUT-weaken links to larger soc - Conservative - seek donations - listen + respond - 124k 2018, 160k 2019 paying memb -joined to have say in ldrshp election

P2: could allocated on measure of democratic engagement - equity - remove adv for wealthy parties e.g., Cons £19.4 mil, Green £0.2 mil - 2019 GE

BUT - could be done proportionately to votes in past - cons and lab - 80% seats 2024

P3: peerage, patronage e.g., Cruddas, Lloyd George 1922, cash-for-honours 2006 + look at Phillips review

BUT - Honours Act 1925, Political Parties Election and Referendum Act - £500 transparency, short money to opposition e.g., Labour £7.8 mil 2020, electoral commission grants £2 mil to each party (2 MPs) - IT WORKS RN