Political Parties Flashcards
(13 cards)
What are the functions and feature of political parties in a representative democracy?
Representation
Participation
Recruiting office holders
Formulating policy: Create policy for ideas which they stand for
Providing government
Political Parites, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
Independent electoral commission set up to supervise party spending on campaigns
Amount of spending capped at £30,000 in a constituency
Donations of more than £5,000 nationally had to be declared
Donations from individuals not on UK electoral roll were banned
Argument for state funding in parties
Parties play important role in representative democracy
Would remove the great disparity in resources available to different sized parties
Encourage participation and recruitment to parties
Curb possibly corrupt influence of private backers on party policy
Arguments against state funding
Isolate parties from the wishes of the voter
Taxpayers would resent compulsory contributions to parties of which they disapprove
Hard to decide how much support a party should have to qualify for funding
Lead for calls for greater state regulation, possibly reducing parties independance
Thatcherism and the New Right
Control of public spending
Tough approach to law and order, with increased police and judicial powers
Legal limits on the power of trade unions to deter industrialisation
Desire to protect national sovereignty against growth of EU Community
Assertion of British interests abroad
Cameron Policies Conservative
Economic Policy: Reduce budget deficit inherited from the previous Labour government
Welfare Policy: Coalitions policies were intended to cut costs and encourage those receiving benefits to be more self-reliant
Law and Order: Liberal attitude to towards law and order
Foreign Policy: Consistent with Thatcherism in most important respects, featuring strong links with USA, support for air strikes against Islamic terror groups in Syria and Iraq
Key Features of New Labour
Emphasis on wealth creation rather than redistribution
Responsibility in handling the national finances
Enlisting the public sector to deliver public services
Influence of liberal ideology on Labour thinking
People being aware of responsibilities to community and rights
Labour policies that in Corbyn era
Economic policy: Increased investment in the economy further. Important aim was to reduce regional inequalities
Welfare policy: Opposed benefit cuts, use of private sector to deliver public services
Law and order policy: Opposed more hard line New Labour era such as combat terrorism and introducting to identity cards
Foreign policy: Voted against use of force and favoured withdrawal from NATO military structure and Trident
What do Liberal Democrats stand for?
Economic policy: Emphasised their continued commitment to eliminating the budget deficit
Welfare policy: Shared Conservative objective in controlling benefit spending, up rating pensions and extending free childcare
Law and order: More powers to fight crime
Foreign policy: Most enthusiastic being members of the EU.
UKIP features (EU)
Membership of EU damages interests by subjecting to rule of an unaccountable European bureaucracy
Take back control of policies on trade, fisheries and other areas of national sovereignty
Negotiated at quick as possible with no backsliding on defending UK interests
Key Features of New Labour
Emphasis on wealth creation rather than redistribution
Responsibility in handling the national finances
Enlisting the public sector to deliver public services
Influence of liberal ideology on Labour thinking
People being aware of responsibilities to community and rights
Labour policies that in Corbyn era
Economic policy: Increased investment in the economy further. Important aim was to reduce regional inequalities
Welfare policy: Opposed benefit cuts, use of private sector to deliver public services
Law and order policy: Opposed more hard line New Labour era such as combat terrorism and introducting to identity cards
Foreign policy: Voted against use of force and favoured withdrawal from NATO military structure and Trident
Factors that affect party success?
Strength of a party’s leadership
United or divided between different party factions
Role of the media in projecting a particular image of a party
