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Evaluate the view that the only political parties that matter in our political system are the Labour and Conservative parties - Example Answer £8.49
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This is a 27/ 30 example answer for the question 'Evaluate the view that the only political parties that matter in our political system are the Labour and Conservative parties.'
From 2019, Edexcel Government and politics paper 1
Marked by the exam board
Evaluate the view that the only political parties that matter in our political system are the
Labour and Conservative parties.
Marked by Edexcel and got 27/ 30
The two main parties in the UK are Labour and Conservative but their dominance is
decreasing which has led to the debate on whether the only political parties that matter are
Labour and Conservative. In this case matters means being able to gain enough electoral
representation to form a government. to a large extent, the most compelling argument is
that only Labour and Conservative matter as only those two parties can do so even though
over time it is decreasing.
To a large extent, the Labour and Conservative party are the only ones that matter in our
political system through FPTP allocating seats disproportionally. This is because it gives
Labour and Conservatives bonuses as they are the only parties that can manipulate it. This
manipulation is concentrating support as FPTP is a simple plurality system where parties
need to concentrate support in constituencies in order to win. The fact that in 2015,
Conservatives won 51% of the seat share on 36.9% of the vote while UKIP won seat on
12.6% of the vote share shows that only the major parties are able to manipulate FPTP to
gain extensive representation. Therefore, Labour and Conservatives are the only party that
matter in the political system.
This argument however is flawed by SNP being able to gain key representatives where in
2015 they won 56 out of 59 available seats in Scotland. This implies that now three parties’
matter in our political system as now a third party is able to successfully manipulate FPTP in
their favour. This is significant as it suggests that over time the dominance of the two parties
in diminishing especially in the Labour heartland of Scotland. Therefore, it can be argued
that Labour and Conservatives are not the only political parties that matter. Despite, this
however, SNP are unable to win government power with their seat share while Labour and
Conservative can show that the most compelling argument is that Labour and Conservatives
are the only party that matter.
Furthermore, Labour and Conservatives are the only party that matter due to both parties
dominating legislation. This is because the Conservative government is strong enough to
implement legislation and the Labour opposition party is large enough to provide extensive
scrutiny suggesting that only two parties are needed for the functioning of government and
parliament. this can be true to say about the Brexit proposal while neglecting the smaller
parties. This suggests that there is no role for smaller parties as they are supressed by the
views of the larger parties and as they do not have the representation to do so. Therefore, it
can be argued that Labour and Conservatives are the only party that matter as only their
views are taken to account when passing legislation.
However, this argument is undermined by UKIP pressuring the Conservative party to have
an EU referendum in the first place. This argues that through policy co-optation, smaller
parties still have a role in legislation. This was the case as many Eurosceptic voters were
leaving to UKIP from the Conservative party and to stop that from happening, the
Conservatives had to adopt a Eurosceptic stance arguing that through electoral motivation
smaller parties’ matter in the political system. Furthermore, through the Conservative party
following a hard-line Eurosceptic stance it may suggest that smaller parties also have a
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