Political party essay plans ALREADY PASSED

Evaluate the view that the only parties which matter in the UK's political system are the Conservative and Labour parties- themes - ANS Westminster Local elections Devolved bodies 1. Judgement - ANS As a whole- yes- however when looking at a more local level their power is weakening Westminster - ANS Lab and Cons formed government for over 100 years FPTP use in Westminster elections mean that Lab and Cons will be favored and inevitably form the executive or opposition 87% huge majority of the votes SNP only appoints candidates in 59/650 seats Only ones that matter as only ones can be influential- PAC committee, PMQs, select committee, forming the government itself Westminster counter-argument - ANS SNP has concentrated support and is quickly increasing its vote share Lab and Cons vote together decreased- was 96% in 1979- suggests they aren't as important as they once were Local - ANS 2022- third parties made significant gains- 25% of the seats available went to third parties Conservatives lost 330+ seats Lib Dems gained 192 and the Greens doubled their seats