Key Terms

• Political Party


  A group of individuals with broad common interests who aspire (for the most part) to be in government
• Party Functions


  • A political party's key roles, primarily contesting elections and seeking to hold power
• Ideology


  Long term, coherent set of connected fundamental beliefs, values and principles underlying an idealised vision of what society should look like which guides one's action
• Conservatism


  A political or theological orientation advocating the preservation of the best in society and opposing radical changes
• One Nation Conservatism

  A principle of conservative reformism born out of a belief in paternal duty, fear of social equality and values paternalism and pragmatism
• Butskellite Conservatism


  The postwar consensus between Labour and the conservatives that endured until the 70s. Named after Rab Butler (Tory) and Hugh Gaitskell (Labour Leader) it focussed around welfare provision
• Traditionalist Conservatism


  For monarchy, religion, and nationalism, in particular emphasizing the importance of custom, culture, tradition, and the welfare of "British Values" as the standard for political policies
• Thatcherite Conservatism

  Conviction based policy of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Reducing state economic power and introduced free market and privatization with certain constraints. Deregulated the UK's market
• Socialism


  A system in which society, usually in the form of the government, owns and controls the means of production
• Trade Unionism


  The idea of workers of a common trade organizing and working together to improve something about their job, raising from wages to hours to working conditions
• Globalist Internationalism


  Collective sense that the world should work as one community for the best interests of all involved
• Third Way Socialism


  A branch of socialism that accepts capitalism and aims to harness it to achieve equality of result
• Democratic Socialism


  The idea that capitalism could be gradually reformed via democratic means to achieve a socialist state
• Social Democracy


  Favours Greater government intervention to reduce gap between rich and poor within a free market system
• Party Structure


  • Party organisation at a local and national level
• Federalism


  A system in which power is divided between the national and devolved nations
• Factionalism


  Party members forming a cohesive group within a political party representing a thread of thought
• Hustings


  A set of speeches amongst the people
• One Member, One Vote


  Casting a ballot with one vote per member producing a percentage for each candidate
• Alternative Vote


  Voters mark in order of preference, where the bottom candidate is eliminated if no candidate wins outright and the process is repeated
• Party funding


  • Methods that a political party uses to raise money for campaign and routine activities