Political Parties Flashcards
Features of Political Parties
- organised
- present policies
- seek to gain public approval
- fairly select candidates
- effective leadership
Function of Representation
parties represent the views of people with a certain set of beliefs
Conservative - right wing
Labour - left wing
Function of Recruiting Office Holders
candidates can learn political skills as campaigners and organisers
for some, party membership leads to recruitment for public office
contributes to UK’s representative democracy
Function of Participation
in order to win power and influence, parties encourage people to get involved
e.g. to vote, join a party, funding a party
How did Labour increase its membership?
through an annual subscriptions of £3 which later increased to £25
Function of Providing Government
party who wins election controls business of parliament
goal is to pass their manifesto into law
When is a prime minister vulnerable? Give example.
if they lose the confidence of party
Thatcher lost support of a large number of Conservative MPs and failed to win a leadership contest outright
she resigned and John Major replaced her
Function of Formulating Policy
generate policies that embody the ideas they stand for
in a general election they put forward these proposals in a manifesto
What was the policy focus in 2015?
NHS
Conservatives - promised to give access to a GP 7 days a week
Labour - pledged that patients would be given an appointment within 48 hours
How are MPs paid?
through general taxation
How do most political parties receive income?
membership subscriptions
Historically how was the Labour party funded?
fees paid by trade unions
Historically how was the Conservative party funded?
bankrolled by wealthy business interests
How has the Labour party finances been adversely affected?
Blair reduced influence of trade unions which led to falling revenues
due to this there has been a development of wealthy individuals
How have party finances become a controversial issue? Give example.
Suspicion that powerful interest offer financial support in return for political influence
Tony Blair and Bernie Ecclestone 1997 - Ecclestone, motor racing boss, donated £1million to Labour. Alleged connection between this and a delay in implementing a ban on tobacco advertising in Formula one racing
What act did Blair government pass to help with party funding?
2000 act which created an independent electoral commission to supervise party spending on election campaigns
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
- amount a party could spend was capped at £30,000
- donations of more than £5,000 nationally/£1,000 to a constituency had to be declared
- donation from individuals not on the UK electoral roll were banned
Arguments for state funding
- if not funded by taxpayer would be funded by special interest groups
- parties play important role in representative democracy so deserve it
- allows politicians to focus on representing their constituents rather than on campaigns etc
- smaller parties can compete on equal financial terms
Arguments against state funding
- why should taxpayers bankroll parties that they may not support
- could lead to calls for greater state regulation possibly reducing party independence
- acceptable that parties will always have unequal resources
- public funding could isolate parties from the wishes of the voters
What are the basic principles of the conservative party?
- strong defence of country (military, navy etc)
- law and order
- protection of property
- respect for monarchy and church of england
- respect for institution of power (parliament, judiciary etc)
- love of tradition
Principles of One Nation Toryism
- paternalism and noblesse oblige
- social reform
- patriotic foreign policy (British Empire)
- national unity by uniting all social classes under patriotism
Principles of Thatcherism/NewRight
- control of public spending with tax cuts
- privatisation of state industries and services
- limits to trade union power
- strong british interest abroad
- protect loss of sovereignty to EU
- ‘roll back the state’ individuals to take more responsibility for themselves and their families
Explain monetarism
reducing the amount of money in the economy would ultimately benefit the economy because since there was less money it would hold more value
How did Thatcher government control public spending?
- government increased interest rate in order to get people to save more and spend less
- government destroyed million of paper cash
- cut public spending drastically
How did the conservative party change under Cameron and May?
became more socially liberal (legalisation of same sex marriage)
became more media friendly
