Party Funding, Minor Parties and Success of Parties Flashcards
(21 cards)
Evaluate the view that the funding of political parties should be reformed- Themes
Potential for corruption
Party System
Democracy
Potental for corruption- AGAINST reform of party funding
Donations not the only source of party funding- Membership subscriptions, Trade Unions (Labour) and some public funding
eg Labour in 2023-24 received 13% of income from state funding in Short Money and 10% from TUs
Donations are regulated by the Electoral Commission which ensures all large donations are transparent and come from individuals or businesses on the electoral roll
Potential for corruption- FOR reform of party funding
Donations from rich individuals and businesses main source of funding
In 2023 Conservatives received £44.5M in donations
Major concerns over rich donors buying political influence, which is highly undemocratic
Also a number of scandals related to party funding
eg Under Johnson, over £2M in donations linked to Russia raising security concerns
eg Labour- ‘freebiegate’, donor Lord Alli granted temporary security pass to Downing Street following the election
Party funding should be reformed to reduce reliance on donations from rich businesses and individuals
Party System- AGAINST reform of party funding
Current 2-party system seen as reflecting public support
Labour and Conservative receiving of most funding reflects the fact they get the most votes
If state funding was based on performance, it would do little to tackle the current party system
BUT Reform UK have significant success since election, with Nick Candy becoming treasurer in Decemberand donating £1M
Suggests dominance of main 2 parties in terms of party funding may be declining
Party System- FOR reform of party funding
Current system of funding favours Labour and Conservatives and uphold 2-party system
Allows them to outcompete in terms of spending on elections, hiring staff and advertising
Short Money- only available to opposition parties who have won either 2 Commons seats or 1 seat and over 150,000 votes
Funding granted in relation to numbr of seats and therefore favour parties succeeding under FPTP
Reform is needed by either moving to a fully state funded system or matching small public donations- any funding would reflect public support
Democracy- AGAINST reform of party funding
Limited state funding ensures parties are independent of the state and therefore the party currently in power
It would cost taxpayers a significant amount per year and many taxpayers wouldn’t want to fund parties they don’t support- especically since party memberships are at an all-time low
Democracy- FOR reform of party funding
Parties are key to representing public and upholding effective democracy
Stable funding delivered through state funding
Overseen by Electoral Commission and done through matching small public donations to ensure funding remains democratic and isn’t manipulated
Would prevent governments from passing laws that seek to limit opposition funding
eg Trade Union Act 2016 harmed Labour by obliging new TU members to opt into paying Labour rather than the previous automatic opting in
Labour have pledged to repeal this act however
Evaluate the view that Labour and Conservatives are the only parties that matter- Themes
(Lib Dems considered minor)
Sucess in Elections
Ability to play a role in government
Influence over policy
Success in Elections- only Cons and Lab matter
FPTP reduces power and relevance of smaller parties
Cons and Lab have been in gov since end of WW2, either alone or a majority partner in coalition/confidence supply
2024- 2 parties won 57.4% of vote adn 81.8% of seats
2017 and 2019- 82.4% and 75.7% of vote
Reform UK clear example of a party harmed by FPTP- 2024 came 3rd in terms of vote share of 14% but only won 5 seats
FPTP creates 2-party system and gives winners bonus eg 63% on 33.7% of vote Labour 2024
Success in elections- minors do matter
2025 Local Elections- Reform UK made huge gains winning the most seats of any party (677), control of 10 councils and representation in all 23 where elections were held
Lib Dems made gains of 163 and Greens 45 at the expense of the 2 major parties who lost over 850 seats combined
2024- clear return to multi-party system in terms of vote share- parties other than Lab and Cons won 42% of vote and gained significant number of seats
Any marginal increase in support could gain huge numbers of seats eg Reform UK came 2nd in 98 constituencies
Minor parties can influence election outcome through the spoiler effect- Reform took votes away from Labour and Cons in particular
By splitting right wing vote in Leave constituencies, Reform stopped Cons from winning a large number of seats which were then won by Labour
Ability to play role in gov- only Lab and Cons matter
In last 2 elections, either party has won a significant majority, enabling them to dominate parliament eg 2024 174 seat majority, 2019 80 seat majority
Even when in coalition, Conservatives were able to dominate government- eg austerity policies dominated and Lib Dems unable to keep promise of not raising tuition fees
Ability to play role in gov- minors do matter
Minor parties have had more electoral success in devolved bodies and wield sig amount of power
SNP in power since 2007 and made sig changes eg abolishing prescription charges and tuition fees
Sig influence as junior partners in coalitions/ confidence supply agreements
eg 2010- Lib Dems pushed policies through- increasing personal allowance and Recall of MPs Act 2015
eg 2017- DUP sig role in move towards hard Brexit
Early 2025 polling suggests Reform have good chance of challenging to win in next GE
Impact over policy- only Cons and Lab matter
2 main parties major impact over politics and policies for many decades
Thatcher able to implement New Right philosophy and massively change economy + Blair had huge impact in constitutional reform and foreign poicy
Major parties are broad churches that represent a range of voters and policy positions
Impact over policy- minors do matter
Minors have indirect influence over policy through threatening main parties with the spoiler effect
eg Electoral threat that Farage and UKIP posed to Cons in 2015 was major reasong for Cameron calling referendum, whilst his Brexit Party played major role in shifting Tories in more right wing populist direction
SInce 2024 election, Reform UK threatening Labour on immigration policy has influenced government to adopt tougher approach eg Feb 2025- making it impossible for refugees entering illegally to gain citizenship
eg Nov 2024- Red Wall Caucus formed by Labour MPs threatened by Reform to pressure tougher immigration policy as to not lose their seats
Even small numbers of MPs can use their platform to raise issues and put on poltical agenda- eg Caroline Lucas only Green MP from 2010-2024, raised profile of environmental issues
Evaluate the view that leadership is the most important factor in determining success of failure of political parties- Themes
Electoral System
Media
Policy and Competence
Electoral System- Leadership more important
Party leaders highly important in success of parties, particularly since rise of TV and social media
Leaders provide a clear direction to their party, charismatic leaders have potential to reach beyond a party’s core voters
eg Johnson 2019- personal popularity and difference from traditional Cons image won votes from Red Wall
Unpopular leaders have detrimental impact on electoral success- eg 2019- Corbyn, worst election result since 1935
Electoral System- Leadership less important
FPTP benefits parties with geographically concentrated support- Labour, Cons, SNP, DUP and Sinn Fein
Farage’s leadership and popularity major factor in UKIP winning 3.9M votes in 2015 but this only translated to 1 seat
Similarly, Reform won 14% vote but 5 seats
In devolved body elections with proportional systems, smaller parties have more success eg Scottish Greens have 7 MSPs and formed coalition with SNP in 2021
Media- Leadership more important
Since rise of TV and social media, a great deal of focus is on party leaders
Especially in TV debates and interviews at elections
In run up to 2010 election, Lib Dems had a boost in polls following Nick Clegg performing well in a TV debate
Series of disastrous local radio interviews key in exposing failures of Truss’ economic policy
Media- Leadership less important
How favourable the media presents a party is an important success factor
Media plays key role in shaping views and electoral behaviour of voters, especially newspapers and social media which present opinonated, biased views
Significant majority of press right-leaning, factor in Cons dominance from 2010-24
Media break key scandals through Freedom of Info requests
Policy and competence- Leadership more important
Leaders are crucial to determining policy and communicating a clear vision to public
Can decide which policies to focus on and therefore which are known to public and discussed by media
2019- Johnson important in shifting to hard Brexit under ‘Get Brexit Done’
Leaders crucial to whether party are seen as competent or not eg Truss
Policy and Competence- Leadership less important
Range of policies presented to electorate key in success
Reform UK’s support in 2024 reflects fact that significant portion of population unhappy with increasing migration
Rise in support for SNP due to increased calls for independence
Competence in government also affects succes eg Lib Dem drop in support folliwng 2010 coalition and failing to keep promise over not raising tuition fees
Incompetence of Cons huge factor in Labour’s landslide 2024- many Labour voters did so to get Tories out rather or because they wanted change, rather than supporting Labour’s platforms/ Strong leadership by Starmer
