L+C only parties that matter Flashcards
(4 cards)
3) IMPACT OVER POLICY AGAINST
AGAINST-
Minor parties exert significant indirect influence on policy by threatening the two main parties with the ‘spoiler effect,’ where they siphon votes away, potentially causing a major party to lose. This can push the major parties to adapt their policies to secure these votes. For example, Nigel Farage and UKIP’s electoral threat led to David Cameron calling the Brexit referendum, and the Brexit Party helped shift the Conservative Party to a more right-wing, populist stance in 2019. Without this shift, the Tories might have lost key voters to the Brexit Party.
Even with a small number of MPs, minor parties can use their platform to highlight important issues. Caroline Lucas of the Green Party, with just one MP, pushed environmental issues onto the national agenda, forcing Labour and the Conservatives to take notice and support them. In this way, minor parties act like pressure groups, using the electoral process to push their agendas.
3) IMPACT OVER POLICY FOR
The two main parties have dominated UK politics since WWII, shaping policy and government. Thatcher, for example, implemented her New Right philosophy, transforming economic policy, while Blair made significant changes, especially in constitutional reform and foreign policy.
The major parties act as broad coalitions, representing a wide range of voters and policy positions, which helps them maintain substantial support. Even when minor parties influence policy, their impact is usually temporary, and the major parties often regain control. Moreover, even when minor parties influence policy, the main parties tend to shape or dilute these policies to align with their own agendas.
2) ABILITY TO PLAY A ROLE IN GOVT DEBATE SECTION
FOR -
Labour or the Conservative Party have always been in government since the end of WWII, either on their own or as a major partner in a coalition.
In the last two elections, either party has won a significant majority that has enabled them to dominate Parliament and easily pass significant legislative changes.
In the Welsh Parliament, also, the Labour Party has dominated and always been in government since devolution.
Even when in a coalition, the major parties dominate government and policy.
In the 2010 coalition government, for example, the Conservative Partyʼs austerity policies dominated and the Lib Dems werenʼt able to keep their key promise of not raising university tuition fees.
AGAINST -
Minor parties have found more electoral success in devolved bodies, gaining significant influence over policy. For example, the Scottish National Party (SNP) has been in power in Scotland since 2007, implementing key policies like abolishing prescription charges and tuition fees. Minor parties have also shaped policy as junior partners in coalitions or through confidence and supply agreements.
The Lib Dems, for instance, pushed through policies like increasing the personal allowance and introducing the 2015 Recall of MPs Act. Similarly, the DUP had a major impact on Brexit policy through its Confidence and Supply Arrangement with the Conservative Party after the 2017 election, playing a key role in steering the UK toward a hard Brexit.
1) SUCCESS IN ELECTIONS
FOR-
FPTP uphold 2 party system - one of whom been in power since end of WW2.
- 2024 L+C won 81.8% seats
- reform hurt most by this as a smaller party = 14.35% VS but 0.8% seats
- it also gives the winner a major ‘winnerʼs bonusʼ, where their seats share significantly outstrips their vote share —> 2024, Labour won just 33.7% of the vote, but 63.2% of the seats.
AGAINST -
2024 Election Shift: Return to a multi-party system, with non-Labour and non-Conservative parties winning 42% of the vote and a significant number of seats.
Reform UK Impact: Reform UK finished second in 98 seats, with potential for greater seat gains if their support increases.
Lib Dems: In 2024, won a record 72 seats with 12.2% of the vote, increasing MPs by 61 with just a 0.6% vote rise.
Growing Threat: Reform UK (14.3% vote) and the Green Party (6.4% vote) pose significant threats to Labour and Conservatives.
Spoiler Effect: Minor parties, by drawing votes away from major parties, can influence election outcomes, particularly by splitting the vote.
In 2024, Reform UK primarily hurt the Conservatives by splitting the right-wing vote, helping Labour win seats that would have otherwise gone to the Tories.
