The UK is a multi-party system

Question 1

Question

Answer 1

Evaluate the view that the UK is a multi-party system.

Question 2

Factors

Answer 2

• In Westminster
• Outside Westminster
• In the media

Question 3

Judgement

Answer 3

The UK is not a multi-party system.

Question 4

Weaker argument general elections

Answer 4

→ Between 1974 and 2015 the Liberal Democrats secured around 20% of votes case and held a significant number of seats in the House of Commons
→ In 2010 the Lib Dems helped form government - the “Quad”.
→ In two of the four election between 2010 and 2019 the elections did not deliver a majority government for one of the two “main” parties (COUNTER - the issue of Brexit played a role).

Question 5

Stronger argument general elections

Answer 5

→ All governments since 1945 have either been led by a Labour or Tory PM.
→ Since 1970 the combined Tory and Labour vote has never fallen beneath 67%.
→ FPTP clearly favours the two main parties - 2024 Labour only received 34% of the national vote share but gained 411 seats (Reform had 14% of the vote and only gained 5 seats in Westminster).
→ The funding that the two main parties get means they are much more likely to be able to dominate in UK GEs: In 2024 Labour had £9.5 million donated to the campaign, in 2019 the Tories had £19.4 million donated.

Question 6

Weaker argument outside of Westminster.

Answer 6

→ Since the discussion of independence the SNP have dominated - in 2010 Labour had 41/59 seats but in 2015 SNP had 56/59 seats.
→ In Northern Ireland Sinn Fein and the DUP are the only parties that have formed a government since devolution in 1998 (COUNTER - it had to be this way because of power sharing agreement to end the conflict in Northern Ireland).
→ 2025 local election Reform have more councillors than Labour and Conservative combined - 677 Vs 319+98.

Question 7

Stronger argument outside of Westminster.

Answer 7

→ Whilst Reform did gain seats in the 2025 local election the highest turnout at any location was 41%.
→ In the Welsh Senedd Labour has always been part of the Welsh government whether that been as a majority, minority or coalition government.
→ In Scotland prior to independence discussions Labour was part of the Scottish government twice - forming coalitions.
→ There has only ever been Conservative or Labour Mayors of London: Ken Livingstone (elected independent but joined Labour), Boris Johnson (Conservative) and Sadiq Khan (Labour).

Question 8

Weaker argument media attention

Answer 8

→ Nigel Farage is a key public figure and whichever party he is campaigning for often receives much media coverage: the Brexit Party and Reform UK - both received a lot of coverage with Farage as the leader.
→ Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davies received much media coverage in the run up to the 2024 General Election because of the publicity stunt he was pulling - bungee jumping, paddleboarding.
→ In 2010 the first TV debate culminated in the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg getting a lot of media attention - “I agree with Nick” and Cleggmania.

Question 9

Stronger argument media attention

Answer 9

→ When smaller parties receive attention it is usually to do with the leader rather than the party itself - Farage, Clegg, Davies.
→ Labour and Conservative are the ones getting attention even if it is scrutiny - Liz Truss and the lettuce, Partygate, the Iraq War and financial crash.
→ The only leader who appear on TV debates tend to be Labour and Conservative - sometimes smaller parties such as the Lib Dems (recently Reform) get on the debate but it mainly to two main parties who can speak.
→ Print media only focuses on the two main parties and have strong political affiliations - The Sun, Mail and Times (Tory), Guardian and Telegraph (Labour).