UK Political Parties in Context
The party system in the UK
Traditionally, the UK has had a two-party system (20th century- Conservative and Labour).
This was thought of as good, as voters had a clear choice between two governments, and there
would be strong opposition.
Both parties would also be drawn towards the centre ground, as they were fighting over the
same voters, so favoured moderation over extremism
However, there have been times where only one party has really dominated, with weakened
opposition (2019 collapse of the Labour Party).
The ‘two-party’ system started to break down in the 1970s, as support for a ‘third’ party grew
(the Liberal Democrats). The two-party system, therefore, became a ‘two and a half’ party
system. Voting behaviour started to change, as people felt less loyalty towards the
Conservatives or Labour.
Since 1997, things have become more complex.
The UK Parliament has still had a mostly two-party system because of FPTP, although the
formation of a coalition government in 2010 demonstrated the effects of partisan dealignment.
Devolution has given the SNP in Scotland major support, which was translated into winning 56
of the 59 Scottish seats in the 2015 election, making them the ‘third’ party in Westminster, and
48 seats in 2019.
Parties such as UKIP and the Green Party have also seen their support rise in recent years. Their
popularity has been masked by first past the post, meaning that at general elections they can
only expect to win 1-2 seats if any.
The 2017 general election saw a move back to more traditional two-party politics, with the
Conservatives and Labour securing 82.4% of the vote between them.
Where different voting systems are used, for example in European Parliament elections, support
for these parties can be more clearly seen. The use of proportional voting systems to devolved
governments leads to multi-party systems in these regions of the UK.
Factors determining the success of parties
The electoral system: this has traditionally benefitted the two major parties, by exaggerating their
support. Parties such as the Lib Dems and UKIP have been penalised for not having a concentration of
support in enough areas.
The SNP benefitted from the first-past-the-post system in 2015, winning 56 out of 59 seats with
1.45 million votes, whereas the Liberal Democrats won 8 seats with 2.42 million votes, the
Greens with 1 seat and 1.11 million votes and UKIP also with 1 seat but 3.88 million votes.
2019 ~ SNP won 48 seats with 1.24 million votes, whereas the Liberal Democrats won 11 seats
with 3.7 million votes, the Greens with 1 seat and 0.87 million votes and the BREXIT party with 0
seats and 0.64 million votes
