political parties evidence

how do parties make government more clear and effective

they are united around one ideology and provide a clear alternative

how was the tory and Lib Dem coalition unsuccessful

the tory and lib dem coalition wasnt very successful and made unpopular compromises. For example, the tories wanted fptp and the lib dems wanted pr, so they held a referendum on av, a majoritarian system, and it lost by 68%. The lib dems also promised not to raise tuition fees but the coalition tripled them. The coalition wasnt very popular - it only lasted one term and the lib dems lost most of their seats in the next election

which states don’t have parties

states that are either tiny (micronesia, tuvalu, palau) or resemble one party states where the legislature can only advise the head of state (kuwait, oman)

what has happened to party unity

declined since the 70s

example of ineffective single party governments

theresa may’s government started with a majority but faced many defeats over brexit and was unable to reach a deal

tories poor party unity

John major’s government was divided by the eu and was weakened by allegations of sleaze.

candidate that was successful electorally but failed

boris johnson appealed to the electorate but was incompetent as a politician, handled covid poorly

party leader not reflecting public opinion

Jeremy Corbyn - just elected by party

how do parties represent groups of society

the tories represent business owners and middle class and labour emerged from trade unions and working class. As politics and the economy have evolved, parties have moved to represent different groups across more classes as catch all parties.

how has labour changed from its traditional role

Under tony blair, labour reduced ties with trade unions, their traditional supporting groups, to attract undecided voters. 

how have the two parties become more similar

both parties have adopted more socially liberal views, like supporting same sex marriage, which would have been unpopular with their traditional voters, both parties now have similar stances on many areas, including immigration (both aim to reduce it), tolerance and discrimination (both oppose discrimination), and the nhs (both parties support the existence of the nhs)

how do parties educate the electorate

they canvas, distribute leaflets, advertise, and give speeches. parties make it easier for people to learn about politics and decide who to vote for - there is a lot of news around elections about the stances of parties overall, and little about individual candidates.

how do parties encourage participation

parties also provide an opportunity for regular citizens to participate in politics and form policy with like minded people

how much do people feel attached to main parties

In 1964, 44% said they had a ‘very strong’ attachment to a party. In 2015 it was only 9%.

what percentage of the country is a member of a party

only about 1.5% of the country is a member of one of the 3 main parties, compared to 4% in the 1950s

how are parties funded

parties are funded by membership fees, donations from individuals, corporations and trade unions, and grants, including short money for the parliamentary business of opposition parties in the hoc, cranborne for the two largest opposition parties in the hol, and money from the electoral commission for parties with at least two sitting mps to develop policies

what does ppera do

the political parties, elections and referenda act 2000 (updated 2009) attempted to manage party finance - established electoral commission to look at finances, increased party grants, and capped election spending at £30,000 per constituency

where do tory donations come from

in 2019 conservative donations were £13m from individuals, £6m from companies, £150,000 other

where do labour donations come from

Labour 2019 - £200,000 from individuals, £200,000 from companies, £5m from trade unions, £10,000 other.

example of a risk from party funding as it is

elon musk, who is not from the uk and has no real connection to the uk, wanted to make a donation of up to £100m to reform, a far right party who would undermine human rights and be bad for democracy. It undermines representation to let someone who has nothing to do with the uk influence the country's politics so significantly

how have parties attracted more donations from membership

tony blair looked to end reliance on trade unions by attracting more donors, jeremy corbyn created more income from membership. Tories increased membership from 124,000 in march 2018 to 160,000 in 2019. Of Labour's £10.4m in donations in q1 of 2023, £4.6m were individual and £1.5m from trade unions.

how many Green Party members

54,000

how many Lib Dem councillors

over 3100

how is reform bad for democracy

bad for human rights - banning transgender ideology, like section 28

how many seats did labour and the tories win between them 2024

532

how is opera outdated

The rules are outdated due to the rise of social media - there needs to be more rules regarding transparency, foreign interference and disinformation. It should be required to report who has produced political ads, as it already is for printed campaign literature.

why are more regulations unlikely

labour and tories couldn’t agree whether caps of £10,000 for donations should apply to trade unions

how much would state funding cost

£25m a year

party funding scandal

the tories failed to fully report a donation of £67,800 from huntswood associates limited in oct 2000

how does the public feel about state funding

they don’t like the idea of their money going to other parties, could be argued that making individual donations is part of freedom of expression, and that the answer is tighter regulations rather than state funding

what did the tories pledge with the civil service

pledged to cut the civil service headcount to save £3.9bn in 2024 manifesto

what did the tories pledge on borrowing

pledged to keep public sector borrowing below 3% of gdp - reducing debt

what did the tories pledge on tax

Pledges tax cuts of £17bn by 2030, including abolishing national insurance for the self employed and national insurance for employers by 2p by 2027 - to encourage business. Paid for by reducing benefits

what did the tories do in covid

they took a pragmatic approach to covid - created a furlough scheme for people who couldn't work, in 2021 committed to increasing corporate tax from 19% to 25% in 2023 to pay for costs

what did they pledge for pensioners

reducing tax for pensioners - ensuring that tax free allowance and state pensions both rise with the highest out of wages, inflation and 2.5%

what did they pledge on net zero

taking a pragmatic and cheaper approach to reaching net zero with no new green levies and faster rollout of renewable energy

what did the tories pledge on housing

in 2024 they pledged a return to the help to buy scheme, to help people buy homes - target of building 1.6m homes in england in 5 years, up to 20% equity loans for first time buyers

what did the tories pledge on prisons

tougher prison sentences, more spaces, and more policing - 4 new prisons, 8000 more community police officers

what did the tories pledge on benefits

to reduce certain benefits - reform disability benefits to reduce the number of people assessed as unfit to work, introduce tougher sanctions on people who refuse suitable employment after 12 months so they can be taken off benefits entirely

what policies did the tories have for children

30 hours of free childcare a week from when a child is 9 months old to when they start school. Moving to a household based child benefit system to save money for people benefitting

what did the tories pledge for the nos

92,000 more nhs nurses and 28,000 more doctors, new and modernised gps

what did the tories pledge for social care

a cap on social care costs of £86,000 over a lifetime

what policy did they have for society

mandatory national service for school leavers - less individualistic, wanting people to contribute to society.

what more socially liberal policies do the tories have

david cameron passed the marriage (same sex couples) act in 2013, legalising gay marriage, and the party continues to support it

how are the tories more socially conservative

opposing things like gender self identification and trans women using womens’ spaces

how are the tories more eurosceptic now

under the conservative party the uk left the eu. The Brexit deal was a hard Brexit, and involved leaving the European Economic Area as well as the EU

how did the tories pledge to be more focused on the US

created defence partnership AUKUS with australia and the us, pledged to maintain the special relationship with the US, pledged to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence and to push for a 2.5% goal for all of NATO

how do the tories support the UK’s international power

the modern conservative party opposes giving the chagos islands to mauritius, as it would mean paying mauritius to continue using a military base on one of the islands

what do the tories think about the ECHR

they want to leave it, kemi badenoch began a commission to investigate whether the uk should leave the echr

what elements of the tories are pro EU

56% of the tories in 2016 supported staying in the EU, the one nation caucus supports better relations with the EU

what did the tories pledge on relations with the EU

to build on post brexit relations with europe, creating a joint expeditionary force and defence deals with germany and poland

tories paternalistic foreign policy

pledged to return to spending 0.7% of GNI on international development when possible

what did labour pledge on taxes

in their manifesto for 2024, they promised not to raise taxes on working people, which included not raising the basic, higher or additional rate of income tax, vat or national insurance paid by workers. The income tax rates are much closer to those of the new labour governments and the highest rate is far from the 86% of the 70s under old labour

what did labour pledge to incentivise business investment

capping corporate tax at 25%, lower than most G7 countries, investing £7.3 billion into industries like steel and cars to encourage private investment and create jobs

what did labour pledge on the environment

they link climate justice to economic justice, pledging to spend £24bn on green initiatives, including £1.7bn a year on great british energy to accelerate rollout of renewable and nuclear energy. They also pledged to create 500,000 new green jobs in industrial heartlands.

what did labour pledge on nationalisation

nationalising the railways, starting with south western rails in may 2025

how did labour pledge to tax the wealthy

they have pledged to increase tax on the wealthy in other ways, by ending the exception of VAT on private schools and abolishing the non dom tax status for the wealthy.

what did labour pledge to do with trade unions

they pledged to work with trade unions to improve conditions for workers, including banning zero hour contracts and fire and rehire and introducing rights from day one to parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal. Old labour was the party of trade unions, new labour severed links with trade unions.

what did labour pledge on minimum wage

they also pledged to make the minimum wage the living wage and remove pay bands, so minimum wage is the same for all adult workers - improving working conditions.

how did labour pledge to create wealth

in their 2024 manifesto, they committed to wealth creation rather than redistribution by not raising most taxes on workers or businesses, and instead aiming to get more people into employment. This includes reforming disability benefits and the Work Capability Assessment to increase the number of disabled people working. They also pledged to guarantee training, apprenticeships, or help to find work to people aged 18 to 21 to reduce the number of young people not in education or work.

what is labour’s approach to crime

more aligned with that of new labour, being tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime - they pledged to have 13,000 more neighbourhood police officers and to be tougher on knife crime, including immediately referring young people caught with knives to a Youth Offending Team. They also pledged to require teaching about consent and healthy relationships in schools to tackle misogyny, and to create a Young Futures program with hubs around the country with youth workers, mental health support workers and carers advisers, to prevent young people from committing crimes. 

what did labour pledge on the nhs that was more new labour

to use spare capacity in the private sector to reduce NHS waiting times for diagnosis and treatment

what good thing did labour pledge on the nhs

to improve the NHS, including meeting performance standards of less than 18 week waits for treatment for non urgent conditions and 40,000 new appointments every week

what did labour pledge on social care

to create a national care service to improve social care

how did labour pledge to help state schools

free breakfast clubs in every primary school and 6,500 new teachers in key areas

what did labour pledge on international defence

absolute commitment to nato and the nuclear deterrent - some old labour politicians were more sceptical about the nuclear deterrent

what did labour pledge on the eu

to improve relations but not to reenter

how is labour less pro colonialism

they are giving control of the chagos islands, which were colonised by the british in 1814, to mauritius, part of decolonisation. Past old labour politicians have been more in favour of the british empire.

what did labour pledge on the echr

to remain in it - clement attlee was more sceptical

how do labour approach foreign conflicts

they take a more diplomatic than militaristic approach to conflicts - they have pushed for a ceasefire and a peaceful two state solution in palestine, without military intervention, they have given diplomatic and political support to ukraine, creating a 100 year partnership and letting zelensky address the cabinet, without intervening militarily

how much of the Labour Party supports eu membership

95% in 2016, kier starter campaigned to stay

what tax things did the lib dems pledge

to focus tax changes on reversing tax cuts for big banks and imposing a windfall tax on the huge profits of oil and gas producers and traders - raising taxes to pay for public spending, to manage public spending responsibly, so spending doesn’t exceed revenue from taxes, to cut income tax by raising the tax free allowance and taking the most low paid workers out of paying income tax, when public finances allow

what did the lib dems pledge on cost of living

to provide long term help with the cost of living by cutting energy bills through an emergency Home Energy Upgrade programme, tackling high food prices with a National Food Strategy, and getting mortgage rates under control through careful economic management. 

what did the lib dems pledge on the environment

to invest in green infrastructure to boost economic growth and create jobs, while tackling the climate crisis

how much did the lib dems pledge to increase public spending to

£27bn a year by 2029

what did the lib dems pledge on social care

free personal care for everyone who needs help with daily tasks

what did the lib dems pledge on the nhs

8000 more gps and a right to see a gp within seven days, or 24 hours if it is urgent, 85% of cancer patients would begin treatment within 62 days

what did the lib dems pledge on benefits

to scrap the two child benefit cap and to increase the carers allowance benefit, giving more money to support disadvantaged people

what have the lib dems pledged on gender

to legally recognise non binary identities and simplify the gender recognition process, giving people more freedom to legally change their gender

what else did the lib dems pledge on LGBTQ+ issues

to ban conversion therapy

what did the lib dems pledge on voting

votes for 16 and 17 year olds

what did the lib dems pledge on protest

to scrap the conservatives anti protest laws, restoring the protections for peaceful assembly and public safety, and ending use of facial recognition surveillance by police and private companies, increasing peoples’ freedom to protest

what did the lib dems pledge on international organisations

Support for international organisations such as the UN, the Commonwealth, the International Criminal Court, and NATO. They also pledged to remain in the ECHR.

what did the lib dems pledge on international development

to reestablish an international development department and spend 0.7% of GNI on development

what did the lib dems pledge on human rights abuses around the world

human rights abuses and support democracy around the world, providing safe legal routes for refugees, increasing humanitarian aid to sudan, advocating for a ceasefire in gaza, and recognising the uyghur genocide in china

what did the lib dems pledge on the EU

to improve relations with the EU by rejoining EU partnerships and agencies like Erasmus Plus and climate and defence agreements. They then plan to increase trade with the EU and negotiate new veterinary and plant health agreements, and finally seek to rejoin the single market

what did the lib dems pledge on trade deals

to give parliament a bigger role in making trade deals

how do both main parties feel about debt and borrowing

both aim to have public debt falling as a share of gdp in the fifth year based on official targets and to limit borrowing to 3% of gdp in the fifth year

what have the tories pledged on minimum wage

to keep it at two thirds of the median wage and to make it apply to all workers over 21 rather than 25

what do both parties support for pensions

triple lock - every year they raise with the highest of wages, inflation and 2.5%

what did labour pledge on housing

300,000 more a year, 1.5 million in total

what did the tories pledge on housing

1.6 million more houses

what did the tories pledge for teachers

starting salaries of £30,000

how does nhs performance differ under the two main parties

While new labour was in power, wait times for the nhs appointments and a&e decreased. Under the tories they increased. Since winning the election, the nhs has done better under labour, with them meeting their goal of 2 million more appointments and operations in the first year

how does education funding vary under the two main parties

money spent per pupil in education increased under labour and mostly decreased under the tories

what changes has brexit caused

ended freedom of movement, reduced international trade, significantly increased non eu immigration. It cas also impacted political parties, making the conservatives more pro brexit - before david cameron, the pm, and 56% of tory mps were pro eu. Now most of the parliamentary tory party is pro brexit, including kemi badenoch

what has the impact been of the Scottish independence referendum

continued debate over independence, especially after brexit, increased support for the snp in scotland, especially from pro independence labour voters who didn't like seeing labour and tories campaign together against independence

what are some areas of policy devolved in scotland

health, education, some tax varying powers and justice

what important changes has the snp made while in power

abolishing tuition fees in 2008 and making prescriptions free in 2011

what are some reserved areas of policy

immigration, foreign policy, defence and most aspects of energy