Booklet 2: Political Parties

• Manifesto 


  A pre-election policy document made by a party outlining its intentions of elected to form the next government
• Mandate

  The right of the government to peruse its manifesto policies. Consent granted by the electorate, giving legitimacy to winning party
• Short money 


  Funds given to opposition parties to facilitate their parliamentary work. Based on how many seats were won at previous election. Named after introducer Ted Short
• Policy

  A political programme developed by a party which reflects their political viewpoint
• status quo


  the existing state of affairs, usually regarding political issues
• Populism

  A political movement rhat appeals to people’s emotions and finds support by those who feel unrepresented by conventional politics
• Salisbury Doctrine 


  The convention that the House of Lords does not block or wreck legislation promised in the manifesto of the governing parties
• Cranbourne Money

  Funds paid to opposition parties in House of Lords so that they can cover their costs and provide proper scrutiny of government
• Conservative advantage

  • The left wing is divided between Labour, SNP and the Lib Dem’s
  • Easier for right wing to win because there’s only one main party: Conservatives
• Political parties create a list of intentions that reflect their political stance.
• Main parties represent a section of society: Labour representing the working class and the Conservatives representing the aristocracy.
• Political parties educate the electorate about key issues outside of elections, for example, The Green Party on environmentalism.
• Which features of liberal democracy do parties strengthen?

  Help free and fair elections because they provide representation through candidates
• Where parties get funding from:

  • public donations
  • taxes
  • membership subscriptions
  • fundraising events
  • loans from wealthy individuals or banks
  • policy development grants
  • self-financing
  • short money
• Parties and their funding:

  • Conservatives generally receive funds from wealthy individuals or businesses
  • Labour generally funded by Trade Unions although it was 60% of their funding in 2015 and 11% in 2017
  • Lib Dems mostly rely on funds via subscriptions and donations provided by its members
• Criticisms of funding

  • Funding for major parties is much larger than smaller parties which limits fairness of elections.
  • Smaller parties don’t get any state funding whereas Labour accept huge amounts
  • Funding by donors is arguably illegitimate and unaccountable, and affects fair elections
• Party funding reforms-

  Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000:

  • people not on the electoral roll can no longer make donations (reduces foreign influence)
  • limits to spending on parliamentary elections
  • donations over £500 have to be declared
  • donations over £7500 have to be permanently placed on a register
• It was recommended that parties be state-funded by taxpayers based on vote share and membership size, as it would make the system more democratic
• The main features of 2009 Political Parties and Elections Act-

  • Electoral commission can investigate and restrict donations from non-UK residents and impose fines
• Donation scandals: Conservatives and the Leader’s Group 2019

  The Tories received £130 million+ since 2010 which was spent on private dinners, access to ministers, honours.
• Cash for Honours 2006-2007


  In March 2006, Blair nominated several men for life peerages but were rejected by the House of Lords because they’d loaned large sums of money to Labour party, which they had to repay. Basically they tried to pay to be members of the House of Lords
• Tony Blair and Bernie Ecclestone 1997


  Ecclestone is head of Formula 1 and he gave £1 million to Labour because they agreed to ban cigarettes in sport
• Pandora Papers 2021 


  12 million documents were leaked by news companies in attempt to uncover secrets of 35 world leaders, and 100 billionaires, celebrities and business leaders. Offshore total money was about $6 trillion US dollars
• Arguments for state funding of political parties

  • Reduces reliance on ‘big money interests‘. Fairer method as all parties get a share
  • Focus on state funding already exists, wouldn’t be too difficult to enforce
  • state funding is needed to remove the outdated ‘two-party system’ gives smaller parties a change to grow, stops elitism
  • price of a stamp: doesn’t use up a lot of money
• Arguments against state funding of parties:

  • We shouldn’t be banned from donating to causes we agree with. If public want to support a certain party they should be permitted to do so
  • Not as democratic because your money goes to parties you might not like
  • State funding would entrench existing party strengths
  • State-funded parties would be less independent
• Left view on economy

  • redistribution of income
  • strong trade Union rights, workers rights
  • relaxed approach to borrowing money
  • state nationalism of major industries
• Right- view on economy:

  • low levels of taxation
  • reject government intervention
  • free market
• Left- view on society:

  • strong support for welfare state
  • progressive approach to social issues such as same sex marriage
  • equal rights and protection of minority groups
  • focus on causes of crime
  • anti-immigration
  • stress on national interest
• Right- view on society:

  • anti-immigration
  • tougher criteria for claiming benefits
  • traditional attitudes to morals
  • tough sentences for crime
  • stress on National interest
• Modern Liberalism

  Emerged as a reaction against free-market capitalism, believing this led to many individuals not being free. It advocates for expanding the role of the state, particularity in the areas of social justice and equality of opportunity
• Socialism

  A political ideology advocating equality and the redistribution of wealth. Suspicious of capitalism. In favour of greater government intervention
• Faction

  A tendency within parties to split into different internal groups who hold views that are varied from the main beliefs of the party
• Classical liberalism

  A philosophy developed by early liberals who believed that individual freedom would best be achieved with the state playing a minimal role
• Liberalism

  • Freedoms and rights are key
  • positive view of human nature
  • The Liberal Democrats
• One Nation

  A paternalistic approach introduced under leadership of Benjamin Disraeli in 19th Century, continued by Cameron and May in 21st Century, where the rich should help the poor
• Pragmatism

  A flexible approach to politics and rejection of strongly held ideology and dogma
• New Right

  There are 2 elements: the neo (new) Conservatives who want the state to take an authoritarian approach to law and order, and the neo-liberals who favour the free-market approach and the limited role of the state in people’s lives
• Thatcherism

  An ideological approach combining a neo-liberal economic policy and a more traditional conservative social policy, commonly associated with New Right
• 1642 - 1651 Parliament fought the king and killed Charles I. Tories supported the King
• Two key ideas regarding Parliament and the Monarchy:

  • Thomas Paine said regimes couldn’t be mended and needed to be replaced (Tories)
  • Edmund Burke thought the monarchy should be reformed and can be saved (Whigs)