Consensus politics Flashcards

1
Q

Define political consensus

A

A wide level of general agreement within the political community before decisions are made. It can be defined as a period where there is little difference between party policies

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What two values does consensus politics embrace?

A

Stability and continuity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

When can political consensus be said to be occuring?

A

When government policy does not alter when different parties are in power and multiple parties may have similar policies

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

List some of the things that the major political parties broadly agree upon currently

A
  • They all accept Brexit
  • They all accept the need for high quality public services and a welfare state
  • They all believe in responsible economic management
  • They all support free markets
  • There is support for atalanticism
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is adversarial politics?

A

This suggests ideological conflicts between parties

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What was the title of the book Daniel Bell wrote about consensus politics in 1960?

A

The end of ideology

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

When was the first real period of consensus politics in the UK?

A

During the postwar period, where a consensus formed around the social democratic model

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What type of change to parties advocate for during a period of consensus politics?

A

Peacemeal, incremental changes, rather than a fundamental reordering of society

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Describe Butskellism/postwar politics

A
  • Commitment to full employment
  • State management of the economy
  • The welfare state
  • A mixed economy
  • Named after conservative chancellor Rab Butler and labour leader Hugh Gaitskell
  • Originated from the wartime coalition
  • The consensus was unique in that both parties agreed on policy while pursuing different ends
  • A mixture of social democracy and one nation conservatism
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Describe the period of Thatcherism in the UK

A
  • Thatcher was given a mandate because people thought the old consensus had failed
  • Neo-liberal free market
  • Deregulation
  • Rolling back the frontiers of the state
  • Decreasing TU power
  • Labour and liberals both fought against this
  • Other parties would eventually have to follow her lead and move to the right in order to gain power later
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Describe the period of Blairism in the UK

A
  • The ‘third way’
  • Synthesis between neo-liberalism and the planned economy
  • Combined commitments to a market economy with the pursuit of social justice
  • Accepted the free market economy in order to be elected
  • Centrist, liberal philosophy
  • All parties were pro-EU
  • Lib Dems were the only party that stood out due to their opposition to the Iraq war
  • Cameron had to copy Blair’s style and move to the centre; polishing the presentation in order to detoxify his party
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Describe the period where the ‘liberal elite’ dominated British politics

A
  • In 2010, the three main parties had a similar image; Cameron, Clegg and Miliband were all Oxbridge educated, white, middle class, middle aged men
  • During the 2015 election, Labour, Lib Dems, Plaid, Greens and SNP all claimed they wanted to end austerity. But when pushed, their policies showed that they all valued the economic prudence
  • They all agreed that it was important to bring down the deficit through responsible spending
  • They all agreed on the importance of a Brexit referendum to appease immigration concerns
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Describe British politics during the post Brexit period

A
  • The consensus was so overbearing that UKIP gained 4 million votes
  • Labour veered left under Corbyn, creating space in the centre
  • Tim Farron’s Lib Dems tried to find their own niche
  • SNP created their own electoral space in Scotland
  • Conservatives moved right under May
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Describe UK politics since the 2019 general election

A
  • Corbyn lost and was replaced by Starmer
  • Swinson was decapitated after her attempt to revoke Brexit
  • UKIP were without a seat
  • Johnson gained red wall seats and a Brexit mandate
  • SNP gained ground for indyref2
  • Johnson’s Thatcherite replacement lasted only 44 days
  • Rishi Sunak has since come in and calmed the markets
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Describe the Conservative policy on Brexit in 2019

A
  • Introduce a withdrawal agreement bill by christmas 2019
  • Leave EU in January 2020
  • Negotiate EU trade agreement without extension to ‘transition period’
  • Legislatively guarantee enviromental protection and worker and consumer right in place of the EU
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Describe the Labour policy on Brexit in 2019

A
  • Drop tory Brexit deal and negotiate a new one with the EU
  • Align with single market and ensure worker rights are still protected
  • Holder a referdum to give voters the choice between labour’s deal and remain
17
Q

Describe the Lib Dem policy on Brexit in 2019

A
  • Promised to revoke article 50 if elected
  • If not elected, they promised to campaign for a confirmatory referendum
  • Give EU citizens who have lived in the UK for atleast five years the right to vote in elections and referendums`
18
Q

Describe the conservative policy on law and order in 2019

A
  • 20,000 more police officers
  • 10,000 more prison places
  • Tougher sentences for violent and sexual crime
  • End automatic release at half sentence for serious crimes
  • Limit UK entry for overseas offenders
  • More stop and search for those convicted of knife crime
19
Q

Desccribe the labour policy on law and order in 2019

A
  • Recruit 2,000 more police officers than the tories
  • Restore prisoner officer numbers
  • Stop private prison construction
  • Approach drugs from a public health perspective
  • Make stop and search proportional by eliminating racial bias
20
Q

What was the Lib Dem policy on law and order in 2019?

A
  • Develop a public health approach towards youth violence
  • Ring fence £500 million for youth services
  • Abandon custodial sentences for drug possession for personal use
  • Make stop and search proportionate
21
Q

Describe the conservative economic policy in 2019

A
  • Target NI threshold of £12,500, with an initial move to £9,500
  • No increase to income tax, NI or VAT
  • Fund everyday government spending through taxation
  • ## Increase borrowing to responsibly invest in infrastructure
22
Q

Describe the economic policy of Labour in 2019

A
  • Establish a £400bn national transformation fund to invest in infrastructure and low-carbon energy
  • Issue government bonds to fund the nationalisation of the railways, broadband infrastructue, postal servives and utilities
23
Q

Describe the economic policy of the Lib Dems in 2019

A
  • Use the £50bn remain bonus to invest in public services
  • £63bn more on government spending and £130bn for investment in infrastructure
  • 1p rise in income tax, along with a rise to corporation tax, capital gains taxes, aswell as scrapping the marraige allowance
24
Q

Describe the conservative policy on education in 2019

A
  • Increase spending on schools to guarantee £5,000 per pupil
  • Support school discipline by backing staff and supporting the use of exclusions
  • Expand ‘alternative provision’ schools for children who have been excluded
  • Teachers starting salaries to raise to £30,000
  • New £1bn fund for childcare
25
Q

Describe the labour policy on education in 2019

A
  • Scrap tuition fees
  • Return free schools and academies to local authority control
  • Get rid of OFSTED and tests with important consequences
  • Close tax loopholes for private schools
  • Up to 6 years free learning and training for adults
  • 30 hours free nusery care each week for 2-4 year olds
  • Paid maternity leave for 1 year
26
Q

Describe the Lib Dem education policy in 2019

A
  • Reinstate maintenance grants for the poorest students
  • Replace SATs
  • Reverse school funding cuts
  • Teachers’ starting salaries to rise to £30,000
  • £10,000 ‘skills wallet’ for people on retraining
  • Free childcare from 9 months for all working parents, and age 2 for the rest
27
Q

Describe conservative environmental policy in 2019

A
  • £9.2bn on insulation to make homes more energy-efficient, with similar measures schools and hospitals
  • Increase offshore wind capacity to 40GW by 2030
  • Invest £500 million pounds to help energy-intensive industries reduce carbon
  • £800 million in carbon capture and storage
  • Stop the export of plastic waste to developing countries
28
Q

Describe the environmental policy of labour in 2019

A
  • Green new deal to achieve most of the UK’s carbon emission goals by 2030
  • Create 1 million green jobs in the energy sector and through home refurbishments
  • A clean air act and vehicle scrapping scheme to improve pollution levels
  • An extra £5.6bn for flood defences
  • Producers will be required to pay for the waste they produce
29
Q

Describe the environmental policy of the Lib Dems in 2019

A
  • Invest in renewable power so that it can generate 80% of UK power by 2030
  • Plant atleast 60 million trees per year
  • All new cars to be electric by 2030
  • All UK homes to be insulated by 2030
  • 70% target for waste recycling
  • £4.5bn on restoring bus routes