Political Parties Flashcards

Question

What was the financial crash?

Answer 1

-labours first 2yrs gov spending increased considerably and there was a fall in tax receipts + bailout stimulus package failing -led to enormous national debt -ruined Labour’s economic credibility -Cameron caused Brown of ‘failing to fix the roof which the sun was still shining’

Answer 2

-originated in the US -prior to the crisis gov spending of GDP had been lower than under the previous conservative government -labour claimed that they had to invest in the infrastructure that the conservatives had neglected -UK economy’s over reliance on the hosing market and financial sector had begun under the previous conservative government

Answer 3

-sided with liberal economist view (deficit has to be reduced at a rapid pace) -would be achieved through cutting gov spending (austerity)

Answer 4

-argued austerity would lead to a double dip recession -sided with Keynesian economic view —> gov should no invest large sums of money to stimulate economic recovery (national deficits would be reduced when the economy recovered)

Answer 5

-all major parties resounded to the crash by pledging to reduce deficit -pledged to do this at different extent and by differing speeds and methods

Answer 6

-by 1990 the party was divided between ‘wets’ (one nation tories) and ‘dries’ (Thatcherites favouring dogmatism, radical change and free market economy)

Answer 7

-elected in 2006 as leader -seen as a renewing and modernising force following a series of election defeats -wanted to lead the party away from divisive policy areas like Europe and towards those where it could gain and electoral advantage (environment)

Answer 8

-wanted to blend fiscal conservatism and socially liberal values -sought to end the ‘nasty party’ image -focused on tackling the causes of crimes -supported same sex marriage

Answer 9

-identified herself as a one-nation Tory -pledged to focus on JAMs (just about managing) -pledged to cut-taxes -make reductions in public spending and grammar school expansions -premiership was dominated and ended by Brexit

Answer 10

-identified as a one-nation Tory -pledged to level up -critics argued he had no ideology but was an opportunist -committed large amounts of public spending to the NHS, education and infrastructure -response to the pandemic can be seen as one-nation

Answer 11

-brief return to neoliberalism -supported free trade and ‘trussonomics’ (major tax cuts she thought would stimulate the market and trigger growth) -resembled one-nation -safeguarded families from the cost of living crisis + introduced energy price guarantee (10s of billions cost)

Answer 12

-Brown’s era was defined by the 2008 financial crash -gov was forced to nationalise a number of high street banks and -returned to the ‘tax and spend’ approach of ‘old labour’

Answer 13

-struggled to unite the party or the electorate -2015 saw sweeping defeat for the Labour Party -right of the party felt that Labours failure was due to the party abandoning Blair’s formula -left felt that Miliband’s failure was a symptom of the failure of the New Labour project and that the party needed to embrace socialism

Answer 14

-Corbyn was committed socialist -was a serial backbench rebel -moved the party back to old labour principles (increased tax for the wealthy + great investment in public services + nationalisation of key industries) -2017 the party did well and gained additional seats -suffered badly in 2019 (criticised for his failure to deal with anti-semitism + weak Brexit policy + left wing manifesto)

Answer 15

-ideology described as being ‘soft left’ -guiding labour toward more centrist policies -supported investment in the UKs public services using tax hikes for the wealthy -distanced himself from corbyn’s talk of denationalisations + Blair era interventionist foreign policy positions

Answer 16

-formed in 1988 out of a coaltion between the Liberals and Social Democrat party -placed high emphasis on civil liberties and historically help pro European stance -parties 2 main factions: social liberals + orange book liberals

Answer 17

-draw on modern Liberlaism -rejected Thatcherite economics -during New Labour they were viewed as a left-wing alternative to Labour -favoured economic policies that reduced inequality -more liberal on issues like defence spending, antiterror laws, Iraq war + ID cards

Answer 18

-2004 senior MPs (Nick Clegg, Vince Cable + Ed Davies) contributed to the ‘Orange Book’ -set out more classically liberal approaches for the party + stressed the importance of Thatcherite economics

Answer 19

-tensions between Orange book Liberals who led the party + grassroots liberals -social liberals opposed welfare cuts and the increase to tuition fees

Answer 20

-Jo Swindon won only 11 seats in 2019 (due to their manifesto promise to revoke Article 50) -2020 Ed Davey elected leader of the party (orange book liberal + promoted investment in transition to net zero, childcare, schools and adult education)

Answer 21

-all parties pledged extra funding for the NHS and social care -all parties pledged to recruit more police officers -all pledged to build new homes + make them energy efficient -support immigration that benefits UK economy -pledged major investment in the rail infrastructure and bus services -all opposed IndyRef2

Answer 22

-conservative favoured Brexit -labour favoured a second referendum -Lib Dem’s favoured revoking Article 50

Answer 23

-Lab and Libdem pledged to reduce prison sentences for less serious prison offence + improve access to legal aid -LidDems pledged to legalise cannabis

Answer 24

-Lab and LibDem pledged to expand FSM -Lab pledged to scrap tuition fees for all -LibDems wanted to restore grants for poor pupils

Answer 25

-Cons largely promised to maintain status quo and pledge no income tax or NI rises -Lab and LibDems pledged to scrap a range of unpopular benefits (universal credit)

Answer 26

-Con pledged modest investment -LibDems pledged significant investment -Lab pledged massive investment and re nationalisation of key industries

Answer 27

-Lab and LibDems pledged to end rough sleeping -Lab pledge to abolish right to buy + pledged to build council houses

Answer 28

-targets for net zero on carbon emissions varied -Lab pledges to phase out petrol and diesel cars by 2050

Answer 29

-Con pledged to a point-asked immigration system -Lab and LibDem immigration policies more flexible

Answer 30

-Lab pledged to renationalise railways -Lib Dem Pledge to freeze rail fares

Answer 31

-considerable ideological breadth with each party (one nation v Thatcherism, Old v New Labour, Social Liberals v Orange Bookers) -there is a socially democratic consensus on high limit of spending on public services -significant overlap between the parties manifestos in 2019 -rise of centrist politics (Blair and New Labour + Cameron) -increased importance of party leaders -tendency of Conservatives and labour to focus on appealing to the centre ground

Answer 32

-all main parties are rooted in distinct ideologies -motivation and scale of parties investment to public services varies -major parties still vary ideologically at times: Euroscepticism, Corbynism, Trussonomics -increased importance of issues -minor parties tend to be more ideological (SNP + UKIP)

Answer 33

Executive Level: -The Conservative Party board acts as the ultimate decision making body -has representatives from each section of the party -the parties head office (Conservative Campaign Headquarters) is overseen + leads all administrative matters (finance, drafting policy and election campaigns) National level: -national convention meets 3 times a year and is attended by representatives of each constituency association Local Level: -Constituency associations for every constituency

Answer 34

Local level: -local constituency parties feed into 3 state parties in England, Scotland and Wales State Level: -state parties report to the federal party and its Government body, the federal executive Federal level: -federal party is responsible for policy drafting, election campaigns and fundraising Executive level: -members elect representatives to three federal committees -the federal executive, the federal policy committee and the federal conference committee -the federal conference is composed of members from each local party and its the final decision-making body

Answer 35

Local level: -the party has local branches with community led organisations (youth clubs, sports clubs and trade unions) -constituency Labour parties (CLP) brings together party members within each constituency -Labour also runs several local and regional policy forums each year -the party then operates 8 different policy commission to carry out detailed policy work National level: -the party hosts a national policy forum several times a year -theoretical ensures that the party policy represents the views of all members Executive level: -national executive committee sets out the party’s objectives and oversees the party nationally -in theory the ultimate decision-making authority resides with the party’s annual conference -delegates vote on the policy framework that the party’s manifesto will be drawn on

Answer 36

Governing and electioneering: -provide choice at election -parties provide a united and coherent opposition to hold government accountable Fund-raising: -party structures enable the parties to raise money efficiently and effectively -easier for party to raise money under one banner than through individuals -enables parties to hire staff, undertake research, run election campaigns and grow the party Policy Development and Integration: -parties help to form a wide range of policies -enable a clear ideology to be developed and communicated -National level party organisations help bring together representatives from every level of the party Representation: parties connect parliament and the people through MPs

Answer 37

-conservatives -labour -LibDem

Answer 38

-Nationalist parties -Single Issue parties

Answer 39

-look to nurture a shared cultural identity -some nationalists campaigning for full independence such as SNP whilst other have more modest goals (Plaid Cymru)

Answer 40

-some of the parties offer a comprehensive policy programme rooted in a particularly ideological perspective —>e.x Green Party -sometimes they campaign for a particular issue (UKIP + Brexit Party)

Answer 41

-campaigns for Scottish Independence -held power in Scottish parliament since 2007 -won majority in 2011 -had new mandate in 2019 with IndyRef2 -3rd largest party in commons -Sturgeon has a pro-Europe perspective during Brexit

Answer 42

-campaigns for hard Brexit and against immigration -won 2014 European Parliament election -won 12.6% of the vote share in 2015 with 1 seat -used influence to push the Conservative to have an EU referendum -since 2016 referendum the party has lost its influence

Answer 43

-campaigns for Welsh devolution and increased investment in Wales -won 4 seats in 2019

Answer 44

-campaigned for a hard Brexit -won the 2019 European Parliament elections (gained 2019 seats) -helped the Conservatives win in 2019 by standing down candidates in constituency’s the conservatives had won in previous elections -didn’t win seats in 2019

Answer 45

-campaigns for NI to remain the UK -largest unionist party in NI -in government with Sinn Fein -2017 formed a confidence and supply agreement with Mat

Answer 46

-limited direct influence over policy because of its size -1 seat in the 2019 election -encourages other progressive parties to develop environmental policies

Answer 47

-2 fairly equally matched parties compete for power at elections -other parties have little chance of breaking their duopoly -Britain has traditionally operated under this system

Answer 48

-many parties compete for power at elections+ gov consists of a series of coalitions -rise of LibDem and other smaller parties (21st century) led some to suggest the UK was morphing into a multiparty system

Answer 49

-despite the rise of smaller parties (UK remain a 2 party system) -conservatives and labour dominate in elections -2017 Labour and conservative won 580/650 seats

Answer 50

-there has been a move away from single party gov in the UK (2010-15 coalition + minority gov in 2017) -smaller parties played a role in coaltion and minority governments -smaller parties have significant impact on UK politics (SNP dominance in Scotland from 2015 + UKIPs rise resulted in the 2016 ref) -2015: 61% of voter backed parties other than the big 2 in Scotland -multiple parties hold power across the UK and developed nations (SNP dominate in Scotland)

Answer 51

-either conservative or labour have been in gov since 1945 -coalition and minority govs are rare (2 major parties have provided every PM) -FPTP presents smaller parties winning a proportional number of seats -in 2019 2 main parties won a combined 76% of seats -success of minor parties is fleeting (BNP enjoyed brief success in local election but has no faded +LibDems now hold 11 seats)

Answer 52

Stage 1: since 2018 to qualify for the ballot candidates must firstly secure the nomination of 10% of labour MPs +5% of constituency labour parties or at least 3 affiliated groups Stage 2: since 2014 its members, registered supporters and affiliated members vote under the OMOV basis under AV system *2014 saw a change from the electoral college in which Labour MPs help 1/3 of the vote. New system = more democratic + votes are weighted equally 2019, 5 candidates received the required number of votes from MPs and 3 received the required support from constituency labour parties and affiliated organisations. Starmer went on to win the election in the first round with 56.2% of the vote

Answer 53

Stage 1: -candidates must be nominated from 20MPs -MPs then vote in a series of ballots, where the candidate with the least number of votes is eliminated -process repeats until just 2 candidates remain Stage 2: -party members vote on a OMOV basis to decide which of the 2 becomes leader 2019, Johnson was selected as leader over Hunt 2022, Truss chosen over Sunak however Truss only lasted 50 days - party leadership decided to raise the threshold for nomination to 100 and Sunak was chosen (members did not have a say)

Answer 54

Stage 1: candidates must receive the support from 10% of MPs and at least 200 party members from at least 20 local parties Stage 2: Members vote on a OMOV basis under the AV system Party members were denied a vote in 2017 when Vince Cable was unopposed 2020, saw a competition between Ed Davey and Layla Moran

Answer 55

1. Hopefuls must get their name on the list of prospective candidates- list is vetted and approved by party leadership 2. Local party draws up a shortlist from those approved candidates 3. Constituency party members vote for their preferred candidate

Answer 56

Have experimented with public hustings- meetings at which prospective candidate’s can address constituency party members and local voters Open primaries- popular ballot in which registered voters can vote to select a candidate (2 held in 2020 with Caroline Dineage selected as the candidate for Gosport + 1 cost £40,000) Priority lists (a lists)- lists of candidates which prioritises female and ethnic minority candidates

Answer 57

-use of all women shortlists (1997 elections saw 101 female Labour MPs elected to Parliament ‘Blair’s Babes’ -some argue all women shortlists are discriminatory -under Labour Party policy all women shortlists can only be imposed when fewer than half of Labour MPs are women

Answer 58

-policy traditionally largely determined by the leader + leader expected to canvass the views of front bench (1922 committee + party elders and grass roots membership) -in theory grassroots memebrs have a greater influence since the establishment of the conservative policy from 1998 (advisory rather than binding + top down) -John Major 1992 ‘it was all me’ -May along with aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill said to have dominated the formulation of the party’s 2017 manifesto

Answer 59

-conferences of the past were policy making events -from 1997 the party adopted a 2-year policy making cycle -party’s National Policy Forum appointed policy commissions to make proposals which were formalised in the National Executive Committeee -changes have made the party conference a rubber stamp for policy -Labour’s radical 2019 manifesto was seen as a clear reflection of leader Corbyn’s views

Answer 60

-local and national parties can submit motions to conference for debate -motions debated and passed at conference become official national party policy -motions must first be selected by the Federal Policy Committee -conference agenda is controlled by a Federal Conference Committee

Answer 61

-Labour Party and SNP -Labour party is now the largest political party in Western Europe (memberships surging to over half a million)

Answer 62

-incredibly low (raised 835,000 in membership fees in 2017 compared to Labour who raised 16 million)

Answer 63

-individual members -affiliated members and organisation -those who chose to pay one off fees to participate in the general election -Trade Union Act means that those in trade unions have to opt in to paying into the Labour Union

Answer 64

-Conservative and Labour Party receive the most -Conservatives received 33 million between 2006-15 -Labour received 21.5 million -Lib Dem received 6.5 million

Answer 65

-claims that small group of wealth individuals use donations to encourage the party to protect their interests -conservative leader club is a dining club which gives those who donate more than 50,000 a year regular access to the PM and ministers

Answer 66

-arguably dependent on the support of a small number of union bosses -2016 trade unions provided 55% of funds -starmer refused to bow to pressure from unite, who recently withdraw funding in protest to his decision to return the party to the centre

Answer 67

-1997 Bernie Ecclestone donated 1 million to the Labour Party + speculation it was linked to the labour govs decision to delay a ban on tobacco adverting in formula 1 -2006 Tony Blair ‘cash for honours’ scandal -2022 Conservative Party came under criticism for accepting donations from individuals who have made money from Russia or have alleged links to the Putin regime

Answer 68

-state funding -short money -Cranbourne Money -PDGs

Answer 69

-is made avaliable to opposition parties in the HoC (short money) and HoL (Cranborne money) to help them cover admin costs thereby provide proper scrutiny for gov

Answer 70

-introduced in 1975 (named after Edward short) -annual payment given to opposition parties in Commons -to qualify a party must have 2 seats or 1 seat and more than 150,000 votes at the previous general election -Labour recieved almost £6 million in Short Money in 2016-17

Answer 71

-introduced in 1996 (named after Lord Cranborne then leader of HoL) -annual payment given to the 2 main opposition parties in the Lords -governing party does not receive Short Money or Cranborne Money as it has the use of the civil service -Conservative gov was criticised for making changes to Short Money funding in 2016 (linking increases to CPI inflation)

Answer 72

-parties also receive funding through Policy Development Grants -£2 million annual budget for PDGs -parties must have at least 2 MPs -first £1 million is distributed equally among the eligible parties -second £1 million is divided based on the proportion of the registered electorate where the party contest election -3 main parties all received £432,000 PDGs in 2016-17

Answer 73

-reduced a parties reliance on donations made by wealthy individuals which breeds elitism -state funding would enable politicians to focus representing their constituency rather than courting wealthy donors -most political parties operate in deficit (spend more than they bring in) + without state funding the deficit would become unsustainable and parties would become even more reliant on donations from wealthy individuals and organisations -after LibDems took office in 2010 they had to make several redundancies due to loss of short-money (shows how vital state funding is for smaller parties

Answer 74

-taxpayers should not be expected o bankroll parties they oppose -state funding could cause politicians to be more isolated (pressure exerted by interest groups is a healthy sign of pluralist democracy) -parties will inevitably have equal resources even if state funding is introduced + there are differences on membership levels, human and material resources -both conservatives and labour were critical of 2011 proposal to cap donations and increases state funding

Answer 75

-the political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 -Political Parties and Elections Act 2009

Answer 76

-parties must declare all donation over a certain amount (£5,000) to the electoral Commission which publishes records of donation -act also place limits on campaign spending (£30,000 per party per consistency)

Answer 77

-raised the limit for declared donations -gave the Electoral Commission powers to investigation breaches of the aw and impose fines -declared donations must include documentation proving the origin of the money and UK residency of the donor

Answer 78

-wealthy individuals have circumvented the regulation of donation by instead offering long-term, low interest ‘loans’ -main source of funding for UK’s main political parties continues to be donations -Conservative party remains largely dependent on donations from wealthy backers

Political Parties Flashcards

(103 cards)