party structures and functions

• what does the political party structure look like?

  Hierarchy

  
• what is the description of membership fees?

  a primary source of income but has fallen as membership numbers have fallen since the 1980s. this has put pressure on parties to look for other sources of funding
• what is the description of small donations (come individual members)?

  the slow fall in membership of political parties has resulted in fewer smaller one off donations
• what is the description of large donations?

  these are a significant source of income especially for conservatives. both major parties have been criticised for the influence these donors may have on policy
• what is the description of trade unions to the Labour party?

  donations from the trade unions are worth millions to Labour, but their value has been reduced due to political funding restrictions introduced under the Trade Union act 2016
• what is the description of state funding for campaigns?

  these are designed to counter the financial advantage enjoyed by the governing party or larger parties with more sources of income
• what has party funding always been controversial?

  • it’s alleged that peerages have been awarded to party fund contributors with benefactors becoming members of the HOL -> cash for peerage scandal
  • main parties have come under criticism for the influence big donors have over policy -> Eccleston
  • cost of elections is increasing
• what is Short and Cranborne money?

  state funds paid to opposition parties in the HOC and the HOL to cover essential administrative costs and to enable effective scrutiny of the government
• what are Policy development Grants (PDGs)?

  any party with two or more sitting MPs is allocated a share of £2 million annual funds to help it develop its policies
• what is Funding for Election Camaigns?

  state subsidies are given to parties during the election campaign to help with costs
• what is a disadvantage of Short and Cranborne money?

  potential abuse of power - money is set by the Treasury which gives the government too much power to limit the opposition’s capacity to hold it to account
• what is an advantage of Short and Cranborne money?

  strengthens democracy which is good for everyone, by enabling effective and thorough scrutiny of government and robust opposition
• what is a disadvantage of PDGs?

  money is only granted to minor parties after they gain two seats so it does not benefit them when they most need funding which is arguable when they’re trying to break in to parliament
• what is an advantage for PDGs?

  provides smaller parties with access to essential funding which they would otherwise be unable to have due to either their lack of parliamentary strength or not attracting enough members or donors. Creates greater representation
• what is a disadvantage for state funding for campaigns?

  this is based on numbers of votes and is still very low by international standards. In 2013 there were plans to raise this by £23 million but the government rejected it
• what is an advantage of state funding for parties?

  helps to tackle potential corruption where parties are tempted to rely more on private finance in return for influence
• what was the Political Parties, Elections and referendums Act (PPERA) 2000?

  • all parties much be registered with the Electoral Commission and give regular updates of income + expenditure
  • a party can only spend £30,000 per constituency for campaigning
  • parties have to declare all large donations (over £7,500)
• what was the Political parties and elections act 2009?

  • strengthens PPERA by increasing the powers of the electoral commission -> can impose fines on parties who dont accurately disclose finances
  • further requirements on parties and donors to clarify the source of donations to the Electoral Commission
  • major donations can only come from UK residents
• conservative stance on party funding-

  will seek agreement on a comprehensive package of party funding reform with other parties
• green party stance on party funding-

  want to introduce a system of state funding for all parties
• labour stance on party funding-

  committed to reform party funding and would cap donations even further
• Lib Dem stance on party funding-

  want a wide range of reforms to party funding and would cap donations at £10,000 per person per year
• what are some arguments for the state funding political parties?

  • state money is ‘clean’ without dependence on wealthy donors and interest groups
  • state funding would make it easier to limit overall spending on elections
  • it would enable politicians to focus on representing constituents and developing policies that benefit the nation as opposed to smaller groups
• what are some arguments against state funding of political parties?

  • parties would become isolated from the ‘real world’ as they would not have to interact and form links with interest groups
  • funding based on the existing share of the vote would strengthen the larger parties more
  • state funding would make parties too dependent on the state and less incentivised to actively recruit members. Funding could also be manipulated by the governing party for its own benefit
• relationship between political parties and the media:

  • UK terrestrial TV is governed by strict rules on political impartiality
  • all broadcast news is expected to be balanced and fair - GB news OFCOM investigation after they didn’t bring out an opposing political view after Rishi spoke
  • politicians from the left and right still label the BBC as biased
  • the main partisan campaigning takes place in the national press
• what are some features of Broadsheets?

  • serious coverage of world issues
  • complex vocabulary
  • greater use of statistics
  • readership mostly includes ABC1 income range
• what are the features of Mid-Market (black tops)?

  • serious and sensationalist coverage
• what are the features of tabloids (red tops)?

  • sensationalist stories
  • informal language
  • greater focus on lifestyle and celebrity news
  • slang
  • readership mostly includes EDC2 income range
• examples of tabloids

  • Daily Mirror
  • the sun
  • Sunday people
• examples of broadsheets

  • Daily express
  • the guardian
  • the times
• examples of black tops?

  Daily mail

  daily express
• where does the BBC get it’s funding from?

  license fees