Unit 8: Political Parties Flashcards
(41 cards)
When did political parties emerge? Why?
-emerged after the great reform act 1832 as the franchise was extended
-there was a need to organise and mobilise the growing electorate
-these groups were brought together as they shared a common ideology - their ideas later became manifestos
What are the 5 functions of parties? Explain them?
- Representation - articulate and express public opinion developing policies to appeal to public - they are catch all so try to appeal to as many people as possible but parties may not represent well as governing parties usually only win support of 35% of electorate
- Recruitment - recruit politicians to enter politics and become MPs and then part of gov but they come from a limited pool of talent and usually are career politicians
- Participation - give opportunity to participate and being involved in campaigns but members of parties have declined
- Governing - they form governments and ensure that they are stable as well as providing an opposition but party unity has declined so it’s difficult to govern well now
- Policy formulation - parties come up with programmes for the gov creating policy ideas which are in the mangesto and they think of ways they can be implemented but they have less interest in larger goals today and are usually reactive not proactive
What are the activities of parties?
-Canvassing
-Delivering leaflets
-Fundraising dinners
-Selecting candidates
-Local party meetings
-Get out the vote activities
-Organising conferences
What are the origins of the conservative party?
-Emerged from the Tory party in the 1830s dating it to Tamworth manifesto in 1834
-They had two extended periods in office - 1951-64 under Churchill and 79-97 under thatcher and major and more recently had 2010-2024 under sunak, Cameron, Johnson, may etc.
What are the 6 developments of the Conservatives Party?
- One nation conservatism In the 20th century
- Thatcherism
- Intra party squabbles in the 1990s
- Cons under David Cameron
- 2015 election and beyond
- Cons under badenoch
What did one nation conservatism in the 20th century believe in? What were they committed to?
-Paternalist conservatism - rooted in pragmatism and gradual improvements founded on existing institutions - power and authority are central but the state cares for the neediest favouring social inclusion
-Believed in the paternalist form of conservatism (an ideology favouring pragmatic approach to dealing with problems and improving upon what already exists)
-Slow and gradual change - evolution
-A Keynesian mixed economy - state intervention where necessary but free trade
-Support for universal welfare state
-Internationalism and European integration
What did Thatcherism believe in? What were they committed to?
-Liberal or libertarian conservatism
-‘New right’ - combination of monetarism (economic theory which advocates controlling money supply as a means of keeping inflation in check), free market and neo liberalism (limited gov with free market)
-More conservative approach to social policy such as in traditional fam and law and order
-Ended postwar consensus - agreement between Labour and cons over domestic and foreign policy - agreed on welfare state and initiation adversarial poltics (opposite parties)
-Deregulation
-Privatisation - British Gas and British airways
-Limits on the power of trade unions
-Smaller state and more limited state intervention in the economy
-Naitonal sovereignty
-Limited state welfare
What did Intra party squabbles in the 1990s believe in? What were they committed to?
-Conflicts in the party under thatcher which meant that people challenged her leadership e.g. 1990 Michael heselfine and 1989 Anthony Meyer which meant that all of the conservative leaders that followed couldn’t have full control over the party and by 2013 there were 3 strands:
1. One nation Tory - Tory reform group - Kenneth Clarke
2. Thatcherite - conservative voice bruges group - John redwood
3. Post Thatcherite - Red Tory like ResPublics - Iain Duncan Smithand Liberal conservativism- bright blue - boris Johnson
Each branch committed to different things
What did the cons under Cameron believe in? What were they committed to?
-Wanted to lead cons away from areas that divided the party like Europe and go towards where they could have an electoral advantage like the climate
-Wanted to detoxify the party
-Liberal conservatives - similar to new Labour, subtle Thatcherism and shameless opportunism e.g. Brexit referendum
-neo liberal
-Wanted to fix broken Britain
-Wanted to replace the human rights act with a UK bill of rights
-Wanted to be a liberal but this conflicted with his policy of rolling back the frontiers of the state
What did the cons from 2015 eleciton and beyond believe in? What were they committed to?
-Didn’t make radical changes even after becoming a single party gov
-EU referendum so early on meant that cabinet was divided and Cameron resigned
-may claimed she was a one nation conservative
May in 2017 was committed to:
-Cut corporation tax
-Means test winter fuel allowances using houses as a way to consider who would receive them and removed triple lock on pensioners
-Reintroduction of grammar schools - controversial
-Fracking continued
-Abolition of department of energy and climate change
What do the cons under badenoch believe in? What were they committed to?
-Economic liberalism (free markets, low tax)
-Social conservatism (anti-“woke”, patriotic)
-Limited government intervention
-Brexit: Rule out rejoining anything like the single market or customs union
-Immigration: Deportation-first approach to illegal entry; tighter border controls
-Culture: Crack down on “woke” politics, uphold British values
-Economy: Low regulation, pro-business, cut public spending
-NHS: Maintain funding, but favour reform and efficiency over expansion
-Education: Promote discipline and academic rigour, resist identity-based content
What are the origins of the Labour Party?
Set up in 1900 - influenced by unions and the trade union congress, the fabians, the independent Labour Party and social democratic foundation and was set up to represent the working classes when the franchise hadn’t yet extended to them
What are the 7 developments of the Labour Party?
- 1918 constitution
- Labour factions
- Old labour vs new labour
- Labour under Gordon brown
- Labour under ed Miliband
- Labour under Jeremy Corbyn
- Labour under Keir starmer
What did the 1918 Labour Party constitution believe in? What were they committed to?
-Socialism - political ideology advocating greater equality and redistribution of wealth, suspicious of capitalism and want gov intervention
-Either believed in abolishing capitalism (revolutionary or fundamentalist socialism) or improving it by distributing wealth (reformist or revisionist socialism)
-Public ownership of key industries
-Redistribution of wealth
-^^ this was in Clause IV
What did the Labour Party factions believe in? What were they committed to?
-split into 2 factions - social dems and fundamentalist socialists
-Those on the right e.g. PM James Callaghan said public sector pay demands had to be resisted - believed the 1983 manigesto was a ‘suicide note’
-Those on the left e.g. Tony Benn or Michael Foot believed in greater wealth redistribution
-After winter of discontent, the left gained control of the party under Foot - most left wing manifesto in 1983 with state control of majority industries, more workers rigths, withdrawal from NATO and nuclear disarmament - led to being accused of communism
What did the old labour vs new labour believe in? What were they committed to?
-New Labour - third way position which was between conventional socialism and mainstream capitalism and involved melding core Labour Party principles like social justice with some aspects of Thatcherism in the 1990s
-Wanted to broaden the type of people who would vote for them
-New Labour - modernisation of the Labour Party with the phrase used under Blair from 1994 onwards which began under Neil kinnock following party’s landslide defeat
-Less power to unions
-campaigned for public private partnerships and greater involvement of businesses, social inclusion and target welfare (not universal)
-Old Labour committed to og policies in clause IV that was in the 1918 constitution
What did labour under Gordon brown believe in? What were they committed to?
-Deregulation, light touch approach to economic management
-promoted and believed in social justice
-Forced to nationalise high street banks and returned to the tax and spend approach of old labour
-Wanted to fight for a reputation of economic competence but couldnt due to these pressure
-wanted to provide equal outcomes and wealth distribution
What did labour under ed Miliband believe in? What were they committed to?
-More on the left than they were before - opposed Iraq war and ties to businesses but didn’t return to socialism
-Believed in a highly regulated capitalism
-“One Nation Labour” - unity and social justice to appeal beyond Labour’s traditional base
-wanted to follow socialist democrat ideology
-The next labour not new labour
-Public ownership of railways
-Repeal NHS privatisation and increase funding
-Stop tax evasion
-Cap welfare spending
What did labour under Jeremy Corbyn believe in? What were they committed to?
-Corbyn was committed social and a rebel - opposed Iraq war
-The party itself was extremely divided due to Corbyn’s hard left stance and his rebelliousness
-Return to old labour and socialism
-Security at work
-Secure NHS
-National education service open to all
-Nationalisation
-Cut income and wealth inequality and secure an equal society
-Peace and justice at the heart of foregin policy - nuclear disarmament
What do labour under Keir Starmer believe in? What were they committed to?
-more centrist and pragmatic approach than under Corbyn
-Modernised social democracy
-Pro-NHS and welfare
-Fiscally responsible
-Socially liberal
-Pro-European (but not in favour of rejoining)
-Economy: “Securonomics” — invest in growth while keeping borrowing under control and promised to not increase taxes
-Green energy: Great British Energy company; net-zero plans (scaled back from earlier pledges)
-NHS: More staff, cut waiting lists, reform general practice
-Education: Recruit more teachers, update curriculum, improve standards
-Workers’ rights: Ban zero-hours contracts, end fire-and-rehire but less immigration
-Crime: Community policing, antisocial behaviour crackdown
-Brexit: Improve EU relations without rejoining
What are the origins of the Lib Dem’s?
-They were the merger of the liberal party and the social Democratic Party in 1988
-There was the SDP-liberal alliance but got only 23 seats in 1983 so they merged ^^
What are the 3 developments of the Lib Dem’s?
- The Gang of Four
- Lib Dem’s under Nick Clegg
- Lib Dem’s under ed davey
What did the the ‘gang of four’ believe in? What were they committed to?
-1981 Limehouse declaration meant that the Gang of Four who left the Labour Party after it became left wing after Callaghan’s defeat set up the SDP
-Liberalism - ideology associated with personal liberty
-A free society full of autonomous individuals of equal wealth
-Moderate social democracy
-Pro-European integration - support for the EEC (EU)
-Electoral reform
-Criticised Labour’s nationalisation agenda and unilateral nuclear disarmament
What did the the Lib Dem’s under Nick Clegg believe in? What were they committed to?
-Orthodox Liberal Democrat policies
-Orange book liberal (classic liberalism endorsing -Thatcherite economics (e.g. clegg and ed davey) NOT social liberals (progressive liberalism of Keynes rejecting Thatcherism e.g. Tim Farron) which made the coalition more possible in 2010
-Constitutional reform and protection of civil liberations
-Tax cuts - challenge the roots of the party
-Political Reform - proportional representation & reform of the HoL
-Increase funding for disadvantaged pupils via the Pupil Premium
-Introduce a “mansion tax” on homes over £2 million
-Strongly pro-EU
