POLITICAL PARTIES Flashcards
(25 cards)
COMMUNISM?
FAR LEFT
Rule by people in committees
Collectivism
e.g. Russia, China etc.
SOCIALISM?
left week traditionally focuses on the working class values: - collectivism (part of a group) - nationalised industry (belonging to everyone), - social welfare and benefits, - negociable social rules, - distriubution of wealth
conservatism
centre right representing the bourgeoisie traditional gender roles free trade and enterprise accumulation of personal wealth strong law and order
Fascism
- rule by unelected leader
- cult of individuals - hitler, mussolini, stalin
- far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by:
- —>dictatorial power,
- —>forcible suppression of opposition
- —>strong regimentation of society and of the economy,
when was the Tory party created?
1678
when was the conservative party created?
1832
when was the labour party formed ?
1900
when was the labour party formed ?
1900
Liberal democrats formed?
1988
who was in power between 1979 and 1997?
the conservatives
who was in power between 1997 and 2010?
The labour party
birth of conservatism party?
- originally tory royalist party
- defended interests of land gentry and merchants
- main right wing party of the UK
formation of the liberal democrats?
formed in 1988: result of merging and political evolution
supported free trade, religious tolerance, power of parliament over monarch
until ww1, second major party but declined with emergence of labour party.
formation of labour party?
- born outside parliament in 1990
- trade unions and socialist groups
- party aimed to received representation of the working class in parliament.
conservative ideology:
- Mixed economy • Enterprise • Low taxation • Limited state intervention • Limited Welfare State • Law and order • Anti-European tendency • Brexit?
membership and organisation of conservative party?
- 2.5 million members in the 1950s, 124,000 members (March 2018)
• Constituency associations select local candidates
• the Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) leads in funding, organisation of elections and drafting of policy.
• Leadership election : - when the leader resigns or there is a motion of no confidence against him/her ( Cameron’s resignation after Brexit)
- If more than two candidates stand, then MPs first hold a series of
ballots to reduce the number to two (Theresa May vs Andrea
Leadsom)
• On each round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated.
When 2 candidates remain, all members are balloted and choose
between the two (Victory of Theresa May)
Margaret Thatcher:
Conservative Party Leader: 1974-1990, UK Prime Minister: 1979-1990.
ideology:
- Individualism
- Self-help
- Free-market
- Anti-inflation
- Home ownership
- Anti nanny-state
- De-taxation
david cameron years:
‘Big society’=
- Britain’s centralized state has become too big, too
bureaucratic and just too distant to support many of those
most in need of help, and that it deters people from playing a
more active role in public life
• Passing power to the lowest level possible: radical public
service reform, so that schools, social services, planning and
even prisons are more responsive to the needs of those using
them; and social action, to encourage more people to play a
role in society. Not just charities, but neighbourhood groups,
workers’ co-operatives, social enterprises and, yes, businesses.
• coalition with Lib-Dems (2010-2015)
• Referendum - voting system (5 May 2011)
• Referendum - Scottish Independence: 18 September
2014.
• Fixed-term Parliament Act (2011)
• ‘bedroom tax’
• Welfare cuts/austerity measures
• Gay marriage
• Brexit referendum
theresa may:
-longest serving secretary of state before PM.
-stood with cameron in opposing brexit
-became PM in july 2016, but resigned as Conservative Party leader on June 7.
…..Her Brexit plans were rejected three times, survived a no-confidence vote, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators
demanded that another referendum on Brexit be held,“Time’s Up, Theresa” the front page of The Sun newspaper advising May to announce that she would leave office as soon as her plan was approved and Britain was out of the EU.
• Calls for her resignation multiplied.
- Sixteen alternative proposals to May’s plan were advanced by MPs, of which Speaker of the House John Bercow chose eight to put to a vote.
- None of the proposals was able to command a
majority.
boris johnson:
- Became Conservative leader and PM in July 2018
upon May’s resignation.
-pledged to “deliver Brexit, unite the country, and defeat
Jeremy Corbyn”
-In snap election, the party increased its presence in the House of Commons by 47 seats and recorded its most commanding win in a parliamentary election since 1987 - 80 seat majority.
labour 1945
- The Labour Party won the General Election in 1945 with a
majority of 146
-the Attlee Government lay the foundations of what
became a post-war settlement - A lot of Attlee’s legacy still remains, and it was in this
post-war period that the whole framework for the future
was set up. - The Welfare State began during WW2
- In 1941, the British government appointed Sir William Beveridge to survey existing social insurance and allied services, and to make recommendations.
• He published his report in 1942
beveridge report?
Beveridge said there were five giants that had to be slain, and they were: • want = poverty • disease = health • ignorance = education • squalor = housing • idleness = unemployment
- For the first time, a connection was established between
them to tackle poverty - The report proposed a system of social security to be
operated by the state, to be implemented at war’s end. - this security would protect Britons ‘from the cradle to the
grave’ - He advocated that all people in work would pay a single
weekly flat rate contribution into the state insurance fund.
new labour under blair?
- removal of Clause IV of party constitution - Changes to way the party works: loosening ties with the unions =OMOV (One Man One Vote) - Changes in policies - move to centre-left - New Labour - Third Way - Spin /media: Alastair Campbell
elements of third way?
- A belief in the value of community
- A commitment to equality of opportunity
- An emphasis on responsibility
- A belief in accountability
- The Third Way is in favour of growth,
entrepreneurship, enterprise and wealth
creation but it is also in favour of greater social justice and it sees the state playing a major role in bringing this about.
