Party Success Flashcards
(24 cards)
What is the definition of Partisan?
A strong supporter of a party, cause, or person.
What does Bipartisan mean?
Two parties that normally oppose each other come into agreement.
What is Canvassing?
When supporters of a party ask voters who they will vote for and try to drum up support for their own candidates.
What is the post-war consensus period in UK history?
1950s-1970s, where Conservatives dropped their opposition to the welfare state and largely agreed on the mixed economy.
What characterizes Adversary politics in the UK?
1979-1990, where the Conservatives moved to the right under Thatcher and Labour moved to the left under Foot.
What is the post-Thatcher consensus period?
1997-2015, a more fragile consensus period where New Labour embraced business, market forces, and privatisation.
What is a One-party system?
A system where only one party is allowed to operate, associated with authoritarian regimes.
Define a Dominant-party system.
Democratic systems which allow parties to operate freely, but only one party has a chance at winning elections.
What is a Two-party system?
A system where only two parties have a realistic chance of forming a government.
What defines a Three-party system?
Usually two parties dominate, but often not enough to govern alone, leaving a third, smaller party in a pivotal position.
What is a Multi-party system?
A system where several or multiple parties are competing for power.
Fill in the blank: First Past the Post tends towards _______.
two-party systems.
What electoral system tends towards multi-party systems?
Proportional Representation.
What are Hybrid systems in the context of electoral systems?
Systems like the additional member system that can be unpredictable.
What is the effect of the electoral system on party systems?
It can give a clue about what party system a country will produce, but certainty is not guaranteed.
What has varied over the long term in the Westminster party system?
The dominance of the two major parties in the UK.
What was notable about the 2005-2015 decline in party dominance?
It was not matched by a very big drop in terms of the number of seats.
What factors affect party success related to Leadership?
Voters respond to qualities such as:
* Experience
* Decisiveness
* Ability to lead
* Media image
* Intelligence
* (Apparent) honesty
What does a disunited party indicate about its chance of election?
A disunited party has little chance of being elected.
What was a consequence of Labour splits under Michael Foot and Jeremy Corbyn?
It negatively impacted their chances of being elected.
How did unity within parties affect their success?
A united party reflects well on the leadership abilities of its leader.
What impact does the media have on party perception?
The image of the party as portrayed by the media can be more important than the true politics of a party.
True or False: Newspapers generally succeed in telling people what to think.
False.
What correlation exists between the political views of readership and newspapers?
There is a close correlation between political views of the readership and the political stance of the papers.
