politics 1.3

Two-party system (duopoly)

Means power is shared between two leading political parties

Left wing typical views

• Positive view of the state

• Govt should reduce inequality

• Provide an extensive welfare state

• Wealthier in society should pay a higher share through redistributive taxation

• Nationalisation

• Closer relationships w/ trade unions

• Embraces multiculturalism and alternative lifestyles

• Globalistic

Right-wing political ideas

• Rights of the individual

• Believe free market operates best w/ little govt interference

• Low taxation

• Low trade union influence

• Privatisation for increased competition

• Traditional lifestyles and shared national identity

Examples of factions in political parties

One-Nation conservatives are likely to be less economically libertarian and more socially liberal than those on the “new right”

Groups like “momentum” within labour are far more strongly in favour of nationalism than Blairite New Labour

Adversary politics

Used to denote a period where there’s vast ideological differences between the two main parties

Opposition will routinely oppose the policies of govt.

Early 1980s- Labour’s Michael Foot (socialist) was at odds with free market Margaret Thatcher

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pursued socialist policies that placed Labour in direct conflict with the Conservative Party

Consensus politics

Many philosophical and policy similarities between main political parties

Opposition likely to support some govt policies

1950s Shared commitment of Labour chancellor of the exchequer and the Conservative chancellor of the exchequer to full employment and a mixed economy led to the invention of “Butskellism”

Tony Blair embraced traditionally conservative principles like the free market and low taxation under the 3rd way

Functions of political parties

Selecting candidates

Providing the personnel of govt

Electing a leader

Policy formulation

Selecting candidates function of PPs

Choose candidates to be elected at all levels

Applicants have to be a member of the party and then go through national selection process

Can then apply to constituency party

Candidate then has an electoral mandate to represent that seat in the electoral mandate, but local party doesn’t have to automatically endorse that MP as the candidate for the next general election

2022 Labour MP Sam Tarry was deselected by his constituency after being sacked as a shadow minister by Sir Kier Starmer

Electing a leader function of PPs

Members of a party can vote on the leader

Parliamentary party for conservative choose 2 candidates who will be voted on by the whole membership

2022 Party members voted for Liz Truss (57%) over Rishi Sunak(43%). Once Liz Truss stepped down the MPs united behind Rishi Sunak to prevent party members from electing another leader

Influence of party members can be sidestepped- Andrea Leadsom withdrew from the contest, ensuring Theresa May became conservative leader unopposed

Ed Miliband led the labour party to adopt one member, one vote (if an MOPcan secure the backing of 10% of the parliamentary Labour party), their name goes to the party membership to vote on

Policy formulation function of PPs

Political parties determine the policy commitments that will be put in the party manifesto

Labour Party, a National Policy Forum consults w. party members over the development of policy

Before 2017 general election, NPF and elected National executive council worked closely w/ leadership of the party to “aggregate” a manifesto

Conservative party encourages consultation and discussion amongst members but ultimately usually drawn up by senior members

Decentralised parties e.g. green and labour give party membership final decision over what appears in manifesto

Manifesto vs mandate

Manifesto sets out what it seeks to achieve if able to form a govt. and can claim legitimacy if it wins the govt. to carry out general manifesto commitments

Manifesto promises form the core of monarch’s address at the beginning of the new parliament

Mandate- party that wins the election has the authority to try to enact its manifesto commitments

Having won a majority in 2019 general election, BoJo’s govt had the mandate to fulfil manifesto commitment to withdraw from EU

If no party achieves a majority, a coalition govt will be established but the govt can’t rely on an unequivocal electoral mandate from the public

Govt can claim a “doctor’s mandate” to propose measures not included in its manifesto in response to changing political circumstances e.g. Johnson govt introduced legislation to respond to Covid-19 pandemic in 2019

Camopaigning function of PPs

Party activists deliver leaflets and canvass voters and arrange political events

Political parties are increasingly using the internet and social media to engage w/ voters

Representation function of PPs

Ensure everyone in society can have their say

2019 general election- 76% of those who voted felt their interests were represented by LAB or CON

There’s the opportunity to vote for a range of political parties

devolved govt uses more proportional representation which gives minority/nationalist parties a greater opportunity to achieve representative influence

Quotes about parties

John Adams- “there is nothing which i dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader and concerting measures in opposition to each other”

Benjamin Disraeli “damn your principles, stick to your party”

Mobilising govt function of PPs

Combine elected politicians into recognisable groups which creates favourable conditions for the establishment and survival of govt.

Otherwise individual politicians w/ their own unique opinions would find it impossible to establish govts quickly and effectively

Ways in which political parties help democracy

• Representative democracy couldn’t function if politicians represented individual views as wouldn’t be united by one political ideology

• Political parties develop coherent political programmes through discussion to create manifestos, enabling voters across the whole country to make rational choices about their vote

• Without political parties, voting in elections would be more complicated as they couldn’t associate each candidate with a party manifesto

• Political parties select suitable candidates to stand for office. Without parties, wealthy individuals w/ populist agendas might find it easier to access power

• Opposition parties can hold a government accountable for its policies unlike an individual

• Vital for organising parliamentary business and preventing disorganisation

Ways in which PPs hinder democracy

• Reduce voter choice by requiring voters to associate themselves with a manifesto that doesn’t represent their political view

• Freedom of action of MPs reduced due to party whips

• Political parties encourage polarisation and encourages focusing on differences, not similarities between parties

• Give excessive power to party membership

• Main political parties benefit from disproportionate funding so can monopolise political decision making

Key factors for how a party system is determined

• Number of relevant parties

• Relative size and strength of relevant parties

• How ideologically divided the parties are

• Types of govt. that form

• Stability of party support over time

Clearest examples of two-party system in UK history

Conservative and Labour parties post 1945

-high levels of party identification

-low volatility elections (relatively few votes change parties)

-class-based political cleavage

Arguments for and against the UK being a 2-party system

For

-growing number of seats won by third parties

-elections become more volatile

-SNP won 56 of 59 seats in 2015

-Third parties had their most successful General election for over a century in 2024

-1951 97% of vote won by LAB and CON

-2024 won 57% of the vote

-Coalition govt. of 2010 and minority conservative govt. of 2017

Against

-Third parties still won under 20% of the available seats

-FPTP makes it harder for some parties to turn over a seat

-2024 election produced the most disproportionate seat allocation (LAB won 63% of seats w/ 34% of votes) and Reform won 5 seats w/ 3rd highest national vote share

How many votes for a seat in 2019

Conservatives 38,264

Labour 50,837

Lib Dem 336,038

Green MP 866,435

SNP MP 25,883.

Lib Dem vote share over years

In 2010 the party won 23% of the national vote and 57 seats

In 2024 the party won 72 seats with only 12.2% because support was concentrated across the south-west

Reform UK came second in how many constituencies in 2024

98, whereas Greens came second 40

Reasons for SNP downfall

Since 2019, 2 leaders have resigned, damaging police investigations into party finances, lack of progress on Scottish independence, devolved issues e.g healthcare and education

Class dealignment

Social class less of an indicator of party support in 2024

26% higher/intermediate professionals and 26% of unskilled workers or unemployed workers voted for conservatives

1964 62% of the non-manual middle class voted conservative and 64% of the manual working class voted labour

Causes of class dealignment

Decline of the working class

Improvements in education and social mobility blurred class boundaries

Parties trying to broaden their appeal and converging their economic policies

Changing values of workers (materialist vs post-materialist)

Green party history

1973 started as the PEOPLE party in Coventry

1975 re-branded as the Ecology party

1985 adopted its current name the Green Party

1990 the party split into separate parties for different countries in the UK

Aims to promote ecological sustainability, social justice, and urgent climate action

SNP history

Founded in 1934 and initially struggled to gain traction

Saw a surge in support during the 60s and 70s after oil in the north sea was discovered

Became a dominant political force in Scotland

Advocates for progressive policies in areas like health, welfare etc.

Reform UK history

Brexit Party founded by Nigel Farage in Nov 2018

Campaigned for a “no-deal brexit”

Won most seats in the 2019 EU parliamentary elections

Rebranded as Reform UK in 2021

Policies include strict immigration controls, opposition to net-zero climate policies, tax cuts, NHS reform and leaving the ECHR

Workers Party of Britain

Established in 2019 by George Galloway, former Labour and Respect Party MP

Party combines left-wing economic policies (nationalisation and economic redistribution) with traditional values and national sovereignty

Won over 210,000 votes in 2024

Libertarian vs Authoritian

Libertarian

-individual freedom

-emphasis on personal freedom

-less govt interference

-support individual expression and diverse lifestyles

-globalism & multiculturalism

-strong support for free speech

Authoritarian

-strong regulation of personal behaviour & morality

-Emphasis on law & order

-support for traditional values

-preference for censorship

-nationalism

-cultural homogeneity

-strong military and defence

2019 voters moving to smaller parties

2019 24% of CON voters moved to REF

2019 9% of LAB voted GRE

Funding for each party

£44,601,000 Labour

£31,862,420 Reform

£30,942,000 Conservative and Unionist party

£8,444,842 Lib dems

£7,266,892 Greens 

£1,293,836 Sinn Fein

Spending cap for parties is based off of

how many seats a party has and whether those seats are in GB or NI

Unsolicited material and advertising make up what percent of all party spending in 2024

64%

Party spending on Facebook/Meta and Google (which includes advertising on YouTube) rose from 25% of total advertising spending in 2015 to 42% in 2017, 52% in 2019 and 54% in 2024

short money

money that can be claimed by opposition parties in the HoC to finance their business, travel and the Leader of the Opposition’s office costs. The quantity is based off of votes and seats for that specific party

Cranbourne money

same principle as short money but for the Lords, and set pre-approved amounts are allocated to parties by size. This helps them fund parliamentary and administrative costs.

How much do major parties get and what do they use it for?

Conservative Party receives £4,323,575.41 in general Short Money plus £1,064,739.30 for the Office of the Leader of the Opposition

Liberal Democrats were allocated £2,448,469.80 in general Short Money for the 2025/2026 financial year, alongside an additional £73,579.40 for travel expenses

Green Party of England and Wales receives £395,055.00 in main Short Money allocation per year, plus a separate travel allocation- this is the cap for parties with 5 or fewer MPs

Political parties, elections and referendums act (2000)

• created an independent Electoral Commission to regulate political parties and their funding arrangements. 

• It also required parties to submit statements of their accounts on a regular basis

• prohibited the receipt of funds from foreign or anonymous donors. 

• Restrictions on campaign expenditure were also put in place

Political parties and elections act 2009

• allows the Electoral Commission to question all donors individuals to companies

• The act allows for UK political parties to be required to only accept donations from individuals who pay tax in the UK.

  • As of 2022, provision has not come into force

• The act allowed for electoral local authorities to collect personal identifiers (such as date of birth, signature and national insurance number) alongside the existing process of household registration, in order for individual electoral registration to be implemented in the future

Individual donors to parties

September 2026 Reform 

Ben Delo (BitMEX co-founder): Donated £36 million.

Christopher Harborne (long-standing party donor): Donated a matching £36 million

Gary Lubner (former CEO of Belron / Autoglass) has been one of Labour’s most prominent individual financial backers, contributing over £1 million.

Corporate donors to parties

Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust- £2.78 million across 164 donations to the Liberal Democrats

Baringa Partners: Donated £30,062 to the Labour Party

Which party most benefits from corporate benefits?

Conservative Party has historically received the largest cumulative share of corporate donations in the UK totaling £23.25 million in 2024 as the biggest single recipient), though Labour experienced a dramatic 1,700% surge in corporate backing leading up to the 2024 general election to overtake trade union funding for the first time. (£13.3m)

Trade union donors

• Labour benefits the most: almost all fees/donations go to labour

• eg: UNISON: has donated £27 million in total plus quarterly donations

• Eg: unite the union: £24 million as of 2016

Trade-union act 2016

new union members were expected to opt-in to contribute to party funding (rather than previous opt-out)

2005-7 cash for honours scandal

raised concerns about democratic transparency and triggered criminal investigation into the labour/conservative parties.

During the 2005 election, particularly labour/conservative accepted funding from wealthy donors under loans- rather than donations, sparking suspicion and outrage that wealthy people were buying seats.

Selling peerages is illegal under what act?

Honours (prevention of abuses) act 1925

How many members does each of the major parties have?

Reform: 270,000

labour: 250,000-265,000

green: 180-200,000

conservative: 120,000-132,000

lib dems: 90,000

How much money do parties get from membership fees?

labour: £18,000,000

green: £1,500,000

conservative: £1,500,000

Lib Dem’s: £1,600,000