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Unit 1 Topic 2: Political PartiesEvaluate the view that the major parties are still the dominant force in UK
politics.
Evaluate the view that the UK still has a two-party system.
Evaluate the view that two-party dominance has declined in the UK
Paragraph 1:
Funding favours the two parties
• Short money heavily favours large parties because it depends upon how
many seats parties have won at previous elections as well as how many votes
they received. Thus in 2019, Labour received more than £8 million, while the
SNP only received £825k. UKIP refused over half a million pounds in short
money after winning one seat in 2015. The party’s one MP suggested it was
corrupt and designed to favour established parties.
• PDG grants are significantly higher for established parties. This could be seen
as unfair PDG DEVELOPMENT GRANTS 2018-19; £476,554 for C, £476,554
for L, £201,613 for SNP
• Only £2 million is available for PDG grants, not enough.
• Larger parties have better access to funds than their smaller counterparts.
• The Conservatives attract large donations from wealthy individuals and
businesses.
• 5.3 million donations accepted by C in 2019
• Labour receives contributions from trade unions.
o 2.8 million donations accepted by L in 2019
o TU donations to Labour amounted to nearly 60% of the party’s total
income in 2014-15.
• Individual donors are less likely to donate to smaller parties as they are less
likely to give money to parties whose prospects of ever being in power are
remote. Donations to small parties tend to be out of idealism, rather than the
prospects of gaining influence.
Funding does not enable two-partyism
• It is a free country and people should choose who to politically support.
• Funding of parties regulated in 2000 by the Political parties, Elections and
Referendum Act. This regulation stressed transparency and thus was open to
scrutiny.
• These regulations were further developed in the wake of the MPs expenses
scandal with the 2009 Political parties and Elections Act, which gave the
electoral commission the power to investigate and impose fines, restricted
donations from non-UK residents and imposed tighter regulations in the run-
up to elections.
• Small parties also get donations and thus there is not as much unfairness as
suggested above.
o 3.4 million donations accepted by Brexit Party in 2019
, o Brexit strongly encouraged multi-partyism as it allowed for the
emergence of insurgent parties, like the Brexit Party, caused internal
party splits and greatly weakened the Tories.
§ During the height of Brexit, Theresa May called a general
election. The election ended in a hung parliament in which May
was forced to establish a minority government with a confidence
and supply agreement with the DUP. This is directly evident of
the presence of multi-partyism during Brexit and also alludes to
a weakening of support towards May’s Conservative party which
subsequently suggests the tories’ loss of votes going towards
other parties which further reinforces a multipartyism as well as
Conservative fraction.
§ The 2017 election directly saw a minor party in power; it's a
pivotal contrast between the majority government reign of
Labour and the conservatives from 1945-2010 and thus
highlights post-2010 multi-partyism in Parliament.
§ Furthermore, during May’s government, many of her ministers
such as Boris Johnson, publicly denounced her leadership. This
highlights internal party splits which suggest the weakening of
Toryism and subsequently two-partyism.
• The rules for union donations are changing, making it easier for individual
union members to opt out of contributing to the Labour party.
o In 2017, L saw its share of funds from TU drop to just over 11% of its
total income. They haven't been in government since pre-2010.
Paragraph 2:
FPTP allows the two major parties to dominate.
• Despite a decline in the percentage of the electorate voting for the main two
parties since 1970, this decline has not been paralleled in the house of
commons; the main two parties have retained a high number of seats in the
commons irrelevant of the raw percentage of votes they receive due to FPTP.
FPTP allows for the two main parties to dominate Parliament, irrelevant of the
percentage of vote from the electorate they receive
• FOR EXAMPLE: 2019 - in the 2019 general election the Liberal Democrats
won 11.5% of the vote and only won 11. Major two parties dominate.
• FPTP discriminates against smaller parties and prevents new parties breaking
into the system - produces a political ‘inertia’.
• In 2005, Labour won a comfortable majority of seats under FPTP but only had
the support of 35% of those who had voted, given the low turnout, there were
far more non-voters than Labour voters.
• “the actual share of the votes (in 2017) for the two main parties dramatically
increased during that election”; the main two parties took over “82 per cent of
the popular vote and (gained) nearly 90 percent of parliamentary seats”
suggesting a contrasting retainment of two partyism.
o Brexit caused a minority and coalition government to be formed in
2017, indicating a rise in multipartyism. However, one can argue that
this multipartyism was limited due to the FPTP voting system of
Parliament; the main two parties still won 90% of the common’s seats
and subsequently two-partyism was somewhat retained during Brexit.
, o Other parties may have new ideas but the main cauldron of ideas rests
with Labour and Conservtaive. l
FPTP allows small parties with concentrated support to dominate. Nationalism
encourages people to vote for small parties.
• The Scottish National Party won a lower percentage of the votes (3.9%) but
won 48 seats. 2019 ge.
• FOR EXAMPLE: Green party support is widely dispersed - 2.7% of the vote
with only 1 seat won, but plaid cymru (only contest seats in Wales - very
concentrated) won 4 seats with only 0.5% of the vote won.
• Devolution has made nationalist parties more prominent in Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland.
o The SNP held 56 out of 59 seats at Holyrood in 2015, suggesting
previously minor parties becoming more prominent and threatening the
UK’s two-partyism. The SNP became so prominent that in the 2019
general elections, it won 48 seats.
Paragraph 3:
The two major parties have produced dominant majorities
• From 1945 to 2010, the conservatives and labour parties dominated UK
politics, so much so that they were the only two parties elected to government
during that period.
• between 1945 and 1970, Conservative and Labour parties consistently won
over 90% of the vote and also dominated the commons with over 90% of
MPs.
• at “the 2015 general election, the Conservatives were able to return to power
with a majority government, (albeit with a slender majority)” and the Lib dems
suffered a severe blow to their support,
• In 2019 BJ had a massive majority of 365
• Despite recent coalitions, the nation is in its 13th year of Conservative party
government, in one form or another, which contradicts suggestions of
multipartyism and rather argues that in terms of seats in the commons, two-
partyism continues to dominate.
The two major parties have declined in support and therefore their majorities
are weakening
• Post-2010, the Conservatives and Labour parties lost major support in the
commons; votes were casted towards previously minor parties such as the Lib
Dems who won 23% of the national vote in 2010 and subsequently a minority
conservative government was formed.
• Between 1970 and 2005, the share of the national vote secured by Labour
and the Conservatives declined from over 90% to under 70%. It suggests that
Britain was turning into a multi-party system prior to 2010; in 1983 the Liberal
democrats reached 25.4% of the vote and the Labour party only 27.6%. The
, Lib dems peaked at 62 seats in 2005, suggesting that Britain has always had
an element of multi-partyism.
• a rise in multipartyism with the “introduction of proportional representation
voting systems” (outside of the General election) and how it has allowed
parties such as “UKIP, the SNP” and the “Brexit Party” to excel in elections
outside of the GE.
o The use of proportional electoral systems for newly created bodies
since 1997 has improved minor party representation; new issues have
emerged that cut across traditional party-political battle lines such as
Europe, the environment and war which has given impetus to parties
such as UKIP who emerged as the largest party during the 2014
European Parliament elections;
o Proportional representation voting systems make voters feel less
constrained by a lack of realistic choice (it is typically assumed during
the General election that any vote against Labour or tory is wasted)
and thus free to choose a wider range of parties.
o For example, an election with proportional representation allowed UKIP
to receive 24/73 seats (the 2011 European Parliamentary elections)
whereas they only won one seat in the 2015 GE with FPTP.
Evaluate the extent to which political parties are effective in promoting
political participation.
Paragraph 1:
Many reforms have increased trust in MPs which have encouraged PP
• In 2000, the freedom of information act was passed in which anybody could
request information from the government. The act forces MPs and the overall
government to be held accountable for their actions and subsequently act in a
more trustworthy manner.
• Constituency meetings- anyone can meet w MP.
• For five years, MPs are responsible to the electorate. In this way they are held
accountable to them. If they fail to perform they can be removed by the people
of their constituency. The people exercise control over their representatives.
o This means that the voters ultimately retain sovereignty because they
decide whether or not to renew the mandate of their representatives.
• MPs are accountable through by-elections. A by-election is held when a seat
becomes vacant when an MP is convicted of a serious criminal offence, for
example.
o In North Shropshire, Owen Paterson, Dec 2021.
• MPs run constituency clinics and are very accessible to the public through
letters, the internet and emails.
• Representative democracy is based on the principle that elected politicians
should represent the interests of all their constituents. As a result of this, MPs
spend a significant amount of time in their constituencies listening to the
concerns of their constituents in public meetings and surgeries.
• In a representative democracy, elected politicians balance conflicting interests
when reaching decisions. This is important in protecting the rights of all
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