Summary
Summary Political Parties Essay Plans
- Module
- UK Politics
- Institution
- PEARSON (PEARSON)
Essay Plans for political parties.
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Potential 30 Markers for Political PartiesShould UK parties receive full state funding?
YES NO
End opportunities for corrupt use of donations- Taxpayers might object to funding parties whose views
Ecclestone scandal. He gave $1 million and labour they might find offensive- people have begun to not
party postponed the ban on tobacco ads in formula one trust the government due to their countless false
racing. promises (lib dems and their rise in university fees
despite their promise to scrap them is an example of
this mistrust)
It would end the possibilities of hidden forms of Parties may lose some of their independence and
influence through funding- Lord Sainsbury gave $2 would see themselves as organs of the state- this is
million in 1998 and then became a government something which many parties do not agree with as
minister. Cash for honours shows how people can they believe in the separation of politics from the state.
demand things from the parties. They would then be influenced by the state, so the
problem is not solved, it has just shifted to another side
of the spectrum
It would reduce the huge financial advantage that large It would be difficult to know how to distribute the
parties have and give smaller parties a chance to funding. Should it be based on past performance
progress. Labour received $5,400,000 and (Favours large parties) or future aspirations (vague)?
conservatives had $5,700,000. They received the most
in 2019 and not a coincidence they were the most
successful-allows them to have more electoral
campaigns.
It would improve democracy by ensuring wider State funding might lead to excessive state regulation
participation from groups who have no source of funds of parties
How influential is the media in determining party success?
VERY INFLUENTIAL NOT INFLUENTIAL
The media is the prism through which public Influential media tends to reflect rather than lead
perceptions of the parties are created. It is the only attitudes to the parties. In 1997, the sun switched from
source of information for many members of the public. conservatives to labour so the tory voters felt more
Callaghan + Winter of discontent inclined to vote for him but this is because labour was
due for a large victory anyways, the media was
reflecting it. (179 seat majority)
The winning party usually has the support of the most Despite nearly all print newspapers opposing him
print newspapers. In the 1992 general election the because the owners of the newspapers opposed him,
conservatives had a victory after a labour predicted win. Jeremy Corbyn performed well in the 2017 general
“it was the sun wot won it” as they made a relentless elections and got 40% of the national vote (only the
campaign against them and opinion polls changed on mirror supported him)
the election date. valence
Since 2010, the leadership debates have become key There is little evidence to suggest leadership debates
moments in general elections campaign. It is part of the have affected public perceptions or changed minds. In
reason why the lib dems went into the coalition with the 2015 debate, Ed Miliband narrowly won but
conservatives and the fact that May did not want to be Cameron did not take part. Miliband and his party still
, part of the debate and Corbyn performed well made the lost the election and voting polls still showed Cameron
media’s perspective on the two shift. to be the favourite. Leadership debates are only used to
get their message across and don’t want to gain
anything
Parties are increasingly developing resources to use Social media tends to act as an echo chamber and
social media and influence voters. They also collect rarely changes opinions or attitudes towards parties.
data and target people in sophisticated ways.
Leaders spend time cultivating positive media images. Other factors, like leaderships and policies, may be
more influential.
How well do parties enhance representative democracy?
POSITIVE NEGATIVE
They provide open opportunities for people to become Adversarial party politics is negative as it denies the
active in politics- inclusive and need members. An creation of consensus and reduces issues to false,
example of this is in 2015, Ed Miliband made it possible simplistic choices
to join the party for 3 pounds to enable a wider Becomes commercialised through PMQT (2021)
selection of people to vote in leadership elections.
Make political issues coherent and hold government to Parties claim legitimacy through their electoral mandate
account- In opposition they must speak out against the even when they are elected to power with a minority of
government and ensure that they are being fair. Recent a popular vote- this goes against representative
times- Starmer had advised Boris Johnson to resign democracy as those who lead the country should be
amid the situation where public found Johnson had chosen by majority of the public- the 2019 election
broken lockdown rules. “lying through his teeth” found the conservatives with a hung parliament (supply
and demand deal with DUP saved them)
Help to make elections and the operation of parliament Parties can become elitist so that small leadership
effective and understandable to the public- at election groups dominate policymaking and detriment internal
time, they play the role of persuading people to vote. democracy- this goes against entire idea of
Without this our turnout would be low. Labour- zero representative democracy as there are no public
hour contracts and low pay. members- no social representation Brexit party.
They identify, recruit and train people for political office They limit the pool of talent for political leadership to
and leadership- this is important as if it is the ruling members only
party, the PM controls the appointment of ministers
while the opposition leaders choose the frontbench
spokespersons. The leader of the party can have a
huge effect- 1997 election won by labour as Blair was
seen as young and charismatic compared to Major
Evaluate the view that the only political parties that matter in our political system are the Labour and Conservative
parties.
AGREE DISAGREE
Remains major parties who dominate the parliament This continued dominance may be coming to an end as
and only ones who have been in government. The May needed the smaller party DUP after getting hung
smaller parties may have chances in by-elections like parliament. They signed a supply and demand deal for
liberal democrats winning a safe seat of Tories in North this to occur. This shows that other party's matter.
Shropshire but never have chance for Westminster. Vote share of main parties went from 77% in 1992 to
Tories are the main right wing party. 66% in 2015.
They have a lot of funding, wealth and organisation Ideas from minor parties shape the political agenda.
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