Politics review

Question 1

What characteristics does UK politics possess that makes it a democracy

Answer 1

Free, fair and regular elections

Universal suffrage

Electoral choice via a range of political parties

Govt accountability

High standards in public life

Pluralism within the media

Pressure groups

Individual rights

Question 2

Give some statistics to demonstrate the process of democratic backsliding that has occurred since 2019

Answer 2

The 2021 Democracy Index ranked the UK 18th with a score of 8.1/10 and noted that the country was ‘edging closer to a flawed democracy classification’. In 2019 the UK was in 14th on a score of 8.52. Recent 2023 reports by Unlock Democracy and The Constitution Unit have concluded UK democracy is not functioning properly

Question 3

Integrity of elections

Answer 3

Critics have argued that three features of the 2022 Elections Act threatened to damange the integrity of elections

1) Photographic voter ID now compulsory for UK general and English local elections. Opponents say this is deliberate voter suppression since personation at the ballot box is virtually non existent in the UK and those most likely to not meet this requirement come from social groups who typically don’t vote tory

2) Permits govt ministers to provide the EC with a ‘strategy and policy statement’. Numerous individuals and bodies, including the EC chair and the Public Admin and Constitutional Affairs Committee have argued that this change subjects the EC to political interference, undermining its role as an indepedent regulator of the electoral process

3) Permanently enfranchised UK citizens living abroad, removing a 15 year cap on overseas voting. Many are concerned that by allowing overseas UK citizens to vote, the problem of dark money is likely to increase

Question 4

What is dark money

Answer 4

Electoral campaign funds that are not properly declared

Question 5

Standards in public life

Answer 5

One of the key signs of democratic backsliding between 2019-2024. Many high profile cases involving senior govt members and tory MPs. Most prominent was the collapse of the Johnson premiership in July 2022 because of his dishonest conduct concerning the Partygate and Pinchergate scandals. A number of other cabinet ministers were either sacked or forced to resign during these years due to inappropriate behaviour, notably Health Minister Matt Hancock for breaking COVID rules in June 2021, Minister of State Gavin Williamson for sending abusive texts to a colleague (Nov 2022), Conservative Party Chair Nadhim Zahawi for breaching the ministerial code over his tax affairs (Jan 2023) and Deputy PM and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab for behaving aggressively towards officials (Apr 2023). Some have also argued that the govt awarding process for medical supply contracts during the COVID crisis lacked transparency and often resulted in substandard products. In particular, the use of govt VIP lanes to fast track procurement has led to accusations that companies (such as the one connected to Conservative peer Baroness Michelle Mone) with links to ministers and former ministers were favoured with highly lucrative deals

Question 6

Political rights

Answer 6

Political rights regarding protesting have been undermined and this is further evidence of democratic backsliding. Two measures introduced by govt - the 2022 Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act and the 2023 Public Order Act. The 2022 measure empowered the police to curtail protests which have a ‘significant impact on people or cause serious disruption to the activities of organisations in the vicinity’. Opponents say this law constrains the right to protest. The 2023 Act was passed shortly before the Coronation and introduced new offences (like locking on and interfering with key national infrastructure) which prompted the Parliamentary Joint Committee on HR to conclude that the govt was establishing a ‘hostile environment’ for those wishing to protest. On Coronation day, this law was controversially used to arrest and temporarily detain several anti monarchy campaigners, notably Graham Smith, the chief executive of Republic

Question 7

Central govt control

Answer 7

Several commentators maintain that since 2019 govt has been engaged in an undemocratic power grab to strengthen its position within the political system. 2022 Judicial Review amd Courts Act limits the use of judicial review, evidence the conservatives want to alter the judiciary/executive balance of power in their favour. Repeal of the 2011 Fixed Term Parliament Act through the 2022 Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act removed restrictions on the PMs ability to call a snap election when conditions favoured the govt. In 2021 the Commissioner for Public Appointments criticised the ‘campaign led from the top of govt’ to secure the ‘appointment of political allies’ to senior public offices. Questions have been raised about the nature of UK democracy following a 2021 investigation which revealed that since 1967 the monarch has been secretely exempted from the provisions of over 160 laws to give Elizabeth II unique protected status as the owner of landed estates

Question 8

Conclusion on democratic backsliding

Answer 8

Perceptions of the UK political system have become more negative as a result of perceptions of democratic backsliding. A YouGov survey of over 4000 people (sep 2022) found that 52% were either not very satisfied or at all satisfied with UK democracy (38% were either fairly or very satisfied). Some 66% felt that the UK political system could be improved ‘quite alot’ or ‘a great deal’. Only 27% considered that it ‘could not be improved’ or ‘mainly worked well’

Question 9

Describe Old Labour

Answer 9

Been a divided party ever since its creation in 1900 because it was founded by a diverse range of organisations - inlcuding moderate TUs and socialist groups like the Fabians - with different aims. Early figures like Sidney and Beatrice Webb were democratic socialists who advocated clause IV of the 1918 Constitution with its commitment to common ownership and wealth redistribution. The first majority Labour govt (1945-51) was perhaps the most socialist one, nationalising a range of industries and creating the NHS and welfare state. However, in the post war economic boom and period of consensus politics of the 1950s to 1970s, Labour pursued mroe moderate social democracy (promoted by cabinet minister Crosland), seeking to reform capitalism through Keynesian mixed economics rather than remove it altogether. After the winter of discontent and Labour’s 1979 defeat, they elected radical left winger Michael Foot - whose 1983 manifesto was described by fellow MP Gerald Kaufman as ‘the longest suicide note in history’

Question 10

New Labour

Answer 10

After 4 successive electoral defeats, Blair’s new labour marked an ideological shift right in pursuit of middle class voters who were by then the largest socio economic group in the UK. Blair removed clause IV, and the 1997 manifesto, of which Giddens was a leading architect, declared ‘ New Labour is a party of ideas and ideals but not of outdated ideology. What counts is what works. The objectives are radical. This means we will be modern’. After a huge 1997 win, the third way shunned radical economic redistribution but did enact radical constitutional reform such as the HRA, devolution and Lords reform. Blair won three consecutive GEs by far the most successful period for Labour, but mired by Iraq controversy. After being in opposition following 2010 and 2015 they elected radical socialist Corbyn as leader. Gains in 2017 but suffered in 2019, losing over 40 traditional red wall seats

Question 11

Starmer’s Labour Party

Answer 11

Became leader in 2020 and seen as moving the party right, perhaps beyond post war social democracy and towards the third way, substantial success in by elections and opinion polls

Has moved against the left of the party, removing the whip from Corbyn and barring him from standing as a labour candidate at the next election due to antisemitism accusations. Other left wing candidates also barred; labour frontbenchers forbidden from joining public service strikers on the picket line in 2023, angering many TU allies. Former Blair adviser Pat McFadden is now shadow Cabinet Office minister and national campaign coordinator, crucial roles for the GE

Question 12

Characteristics of social democracy

Answer 12

Revisionism

Collectivism

Progressive reform

Mixed economy

Tax and redistribution

Equal opportunities

Enabling state

Welfare

Pro TUs

Question 13

Characteristics of third way

Answer 13

Neo revisionism

Social inclusion

Innovation and modernisation

Market capitalism

Public-private partnerships

Educational opportunities

Market state

Workfare - hand up, not a hand out

Pro business

Question 14

Starmer policy U turns

Answer 14

Numerous u turns from the 10 pledges he made during his 2020 leadership campaign based on ‘the moral case for socialism’

Policy shifts have angered the left of the party, including socialist factions like Momentum. Starmer is pragmatic rather than ideological, less concerned about accusations of flip flopping and more concerned with neutralising conservative attack lines of high tax and spend

Question 15

List some of the promises Starmer has abandoned

Answer 15

£28 billion a year green investment

Restoring the cap on bankers’ bonuses

Raising the 45p top income tax rate to 50p

Abolish and replace universal credit

Abolish the 2 child benefit cap

Scrap private school charitable status

Abolish student tuition fees

Lords reform

Social care reform

Re enter the single market and customs union

Question 16

Divisions over economy

Answer 16

The 2019 manifesto pledged to nationalise energy, water, railways, Royal Mail and other key industries. Party now plans to only renationalise the railways. Plans to replace the National Minimum Wage with a ‘genuine living wage’ that takes the real cost of living into account. Still committed to scrapping non dom tax status - pleasing all wings of the party by addressing a perceived injustice and bringing in more tax revenue. Promises to offer all workers basic employment rights regardless of their employment status, end fire and rehire practises, ban zero hour contracts and boost collective bargaining rights. However, at a 2024 conference packed with business leaders, Starmer said ‘we are the party of business’

Question 17

Divisions over law and order

Answer 17

2019 manifesto opposed the austerity cuts in police numbers and pledged to reverse them. Starmer, former director of public prosecutions - pledged to get 13,000 more police on the streets, halve knife crime, halve levels of violence against women and girls, unblock the courts and bring in a proper victims law

Question 18

Welfare

Answer 18

In line with the U turns, party is now arguing for more rather than less private NHS provision. The 2019 manifesto promised to freeze the state pension age at 66, Starmer has not reaffirmed this position

Question 19

Foreign policy

Answer 19

Left wing MPs largely pro-Palestinian, while the leadership backs US/UK support for Israel over the 2023 Hamas attacks and has angered some MPs by refusing to call for a ceasefire. One Labour MP had the whip removed for saying Gaza should be remembered as a genocide on Holocaust Memorial Day; another had to apologise for saying Sunak had ‘the blood of thousands of innocent people on his hands’ over Gaza. Labour had already been losing significant support from formerly loyal British Muslim voters due to its perceived inaction on Islamophobia. Attitudes to Israel are now hardening on all sides over the scale of deaths and hardship in Gaza

Question 20

Conclusion on Labour

Answer 20

Keenly aware that many voters mistrust them on fiscal responsibility, and they also remember leader Neil Kinnock’s misplaced hubris on the eve of the 1992 election; hence Reeves’ discipline on spending pledges and Starmer’s repeated message to his MPs to avoid any complacency about the upcoming election

This strategy seems to be working; the polls have put Labour ahead by about 20% for over a year, and they have had huge by election wins in former conservative safe seats. Even traditionally solid conservative voters in the over 65 group are drifting labour. Former Tory donors like millionaire entrepreneur Richard Walker and property tycoon Nick Candy are now backing Labour. The shift to the right has angered the left, but Starmer’s sees this as an acceptable price for electoral success

Question 21

Trad cons

Answer 21

The party used to seeks to conservative traditional institutions, property ownership, ways of life, and the organic hierarchy in society on the grounds that humans prefer familiarity to the risky unknown (Oakeshott)

Question 22

One nation

Answer 22

Said to be the pragmatic response of traditional conservatism to threats of social instability when inequality in society becomes too great and creates what Disraeli described as two nations. Form of paternalist welfarism, whether from church, charity or state. Prominent in the post war consensus when cons pragmatically accepted the keynesian mixed economy, Labour’s natioanlisations, welfare reforms and the new NHS. The one nation group in the party today is probably the largest faction, with over 100 MPs, but it usually less vocal and vigorous than the smaller new right factions

Question 23

New right neo conservatives

Answer 23

The rise of the new right has divided conservative thought. Like trad con, neo con is organic, mistrustful of human nature and keen to maintain the sovereignty of the state and the stability of society. Its response to social unrest is not paternal but authoritarian. This entails punitive law and order, combative foreign policy, Euroscepticism and unease at multiculturalism. These MPs have been the most enthusiatic about Brexit and often want to leave the ECHR. As strong advocates of ‘traditional victorian family values’ they opposed the socially liberal reforms of Cameron, like the legalisation of gay marriage. Current leadership frontrunner Badenoch described by the BBC as the ‘anti woke darling of the right’ is a supporter of a hard Brexit, opposes net zero, identity politics and gender neutral toilets. Denies moving against Sunak behind the scenes, but part of a WhatsApp group of fellow MPs called ‘Evil Plotters’

Question 24

New Right neo liberals

Answer 24

All of the above strands view society as a collective organic entity, but neo liberalism derives from classical laissez faire liberals and sees society as an individualist ladder of competitive economic meritocracy. Favours privatisation and dergulation, low tax, low public spend, low welfare, with market competition in health and education. In the 2024 launch of a new neo liberal faction called Popular Conservatives. Rees-Mogg wrongly said ‘what underpins every view of every conservative is that we put the individual first, not the collective’ . Other key member Truss called the govts plan to ban disposable vapes profoundly unconservative and an extension of the nanny state. Neo liberalism coexist with neo conservatism to create the new right paradox of a free economy with a strong state

Question 25

Sunak’s conservative policy

Answer 25

Became leader in 2022 and was the 5th conservative PM in 6 years. Despite a comfortable majority, he has struggled to keep the party unified and it has been lagging in the polls

Question 26

U turns

Answer 26

Lots, more than one on net zero, largely to appease the warring factions of backbenchers, especially those on the right

Question 27

List them

Answer 27

Delayed the ban on new fossil fuelled cars and boilers until 2035

Dropped plans to fine landlords who fail to upgrade their properties to energy efficient standards

Scrapped the northern leg of high speed HS2

Abandoned 2019 manifesto promise of no raises to any main taxes; this parliament had overseen the highest tax burden in 70 years

Ditched the promise of mandatory house building targets

Ditched the ban on onshore wind turbines

Ditched the Brexit bonfire promise to review or scrap all 2,400 EU laws in the UK

Ditched the promise to ban conversion therapy (which seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation)

Reduced the earnings threshold for British citizens to bring foreign dependents into the country. This will help keep skilled workers in the UK but has angered right wing neo conservative factions such as the New Conservatives and the Common Sense Group

Question 28

Economy

Answer 28

Costs of Brexit and COVID have necessitated more spending cuts and put big tax cuts in doubt according to party leadership. Council’s budgets have been cut and some are verging on bankrupcy. Big infrastructure projects planned by Johnson, like HS2 being scaled back. Neo liberals like the spending cuts in themselves but disliked the negative impact on business. One nation influence in raising the national minimum wage

Question 29

Law and order

Answer 29

Long been seen as the party of law and order, but public spending cuts since the age of austerity have caused police shortages, growing court backlogs and prison crowding. Raft on new neo conservative public order legislation, including more constraints on public protests and heavy penalties for pulling down, defacing or climbing on public statues

Question 30

Immigration

Answer 30

Neo cons in particular want big cuts to both legal and illegal immigration, despite its many economic benefits from a neo liberal perspective. Sunak therefore vigorously pursued Johnson’s plan for the permanent deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda and he unsuccessfully made stop the boats one of his five key policy pledges for 2023. Some one nation cons have criticised this for a lack of compassion, further dividing the party

Question 31

Welfare

Answer 31

NHS in a state of crisis with record waiting lists and staff shortages, govt blames the pandemic and striking staff. Johnson’s plan to fix the long term crisis in social care did not materialise. The Universal Credit payments for those on low incomes are regarded by some one nation tories as not enough to prevent poverty. They are happy that the govt maintained the triple lock on pensions, especially as this would please their most reliable voters

Question 32

Foreign affairs

Answer 32

Most conservatives think there is no going back on the hard Brexit and govt has been seeking new trade deals around the world. Strongly backed Ukraine - though costs are a concern to neo liberals here. Strongly backed Israel but are increasingly anxious about their strategy. Awaiting the outcome of the presidential election, with growing concerns about Biden and Trump

Question 33

Conservative conclusion

Answer 33

Sunak’s personal pop has fallen, from high as COVID chancellor with the furlough scheme, to a low of -40% in 2024. Many MPs on the right blame him personally for the party’s consistently low polling and some are quietly considering whether he should be replaced before GE. 60 Conservative MPs have declared they will be standing down at the next election. Predictions that if the conservatives lose the election, the party will move further right. Unity seems a distant prospect