Political parties - consolidation
Mini-quiz!
Answer the following five questions about the
Conservative Party.
1. Which Conservative leader secured the biggest
Conservative majority in the last 50 years?
2. Which high-profile Conservative will be running
as the candidate for Uxbridge and South Ruislip
in May 2015, with the hope of returning to
Parliament after an absence of some years?
3. What proportion of Conservative MPs are
female?
4. What have Conservative MPs done more times
in the 2010–15 parliament than in any other?
5. Iain Duncan Smith has been responsible for
which controversial set of reforms?
Answers
1. Which Conservative leader secured the biggest Conservative majority in the last 50
years?
Margaret Thatcher, with a majority of 144 in 1983
2. Which high-profile Conservative will be running as the candidate for Uxbridge and
South Ruislip in May 2015, with the hope of returning to Parliament after an
absence of some years?
Boris Johnson
3. What proportion of Conservative MPs are female?
16%
4. What have Conservative MPs done more times in the 2010–15 parliament than in
any other?
Rebelled against the party whip
5. Which controversial reforms has Conservative minister Iain Duncan Smith been
responsible for?
Welfare reforms, including a cap on total benefits of £26,000 p.a. for families,
changing the benefits system for disabled people, introducing Universal Credit.
Reflection
• Thinking back to Tuesday’s examination,
identify 2-3 key concepts that you
struggled to explain. Be prepared to share
those concepts with the class
• As a reminder, your three key topics were:
− Participation and voting behaviour
− Electoral Systems
− Political Parties
Learning objectives
• To consolidate our understanding of
political parties
Consolidation
• Each table group has:
− a topic to research related to UK political parties;
and
− an article from Politics Review to get them
started
• Everyone has 15 mins to prepare an effective
summary of the article, supplementing what you
learn their with your group’s own knowledge
• Each group will have 5 mins to provide detailed
feedback to the class as a whole on their topic
The Party System
Read through the Politics Review article on the UK party
system and prepare an answer to the following question:
How far do you agree that “only FPTP now maintains the
dominance of Labour and the Conservatives”.
Evidence in
support
Evidence
against
Overall
conclusion
The Party System - response
How far do you agree that “only FPTP now
maintains the dominance of Labour and the
Conservatives”.
FPTP does favour Labour and the Conservative
Parties for various reasons.
Party funding
Read through the Politics Review article on the UK party
funding and prepare an answer to the following question:
How far do you agree that “state-funded political parties
would be less independent”.
Evidence in
support
Evidence
against
Overall
conclusion
Party funding - response
How far do you agree that “state-funded
political parties would be less independent”.
Political parties are not independent.
Party dealignment
Read through the Politics Review article on the UK party
‘dealignment’ and prepare an answer to the following
question:
How far do you agree that “geography is now more important
than social class” in determining voting behaviour.
Evidence in
support
Evidence
against
Overall
conclusion
Party dealignment - response
How far do you agree that “geography is now
more important than social class” in determining
voting behaviour.
Party conferences
Read through the Politics Review article on the UK party
conferences and prepare an answer to the following
question:
How far do you agree that “party conferences are more
media spectacles than forums for genuine discussion”.
Evidence in
support
Evidence
against
Overall
conclusion
Party conferences - response
How far do you agree that “party conferences
are more media spectacles than forums for
genuine discussion”.
‘Power within modern UK political parties is held by the party leaders and other senior figures
as opposed to individual members.’ Discuss. (25)
This question clearly focuses on the issue of internal party democracy—that is, precisely where power rests within the
main UK parties: with grassroots members or with party leaders.
In terms of making party policy, it is probably fair to say that ultimate power now rests with the party leaders. It would
be hard for a party to head up policies which they themselves didn’t believe in. In the Conservative Party, the leader
has always had the key role in formulating policy, though (s)he is expected to take into account the views of others, e.g.
the front bench, the 1922 Committee, the party grassroots, etc. In the 1990s, William Hague sought to democratise the
party’s policy-making process with his ‘Fresh Future’ initiative. Even so, the bodies he created were little more than
advisory. Under Blair, the Labour Party has also seen a shift in policy-making power to the centre. In the 1970s, the
‘conference was king’ in terms of making policy. Under Blair, the party adopted a two year policy making cycle, during
which policy commissions make proposals to the National Executive Committee before being passed to conference for
final approval. These arrangements helped avoid the bitter arguments that characterised the party conferences of the
1980s.
In terms of selecting parliamentary candidates, all three major a similar three stage process: first, those wanting to be
candidates must get themselves onto a centrally-vetted list; second, they must be shortlisted by the constituency party;
and third, they must be chosen by local party members, either at constituency meetings or by secret ballot. Even then,
the central party can step in and reject local candidates in favour of its own, e.g. the Labour Party’s imposition of Shaun
Woodward on St Helens in 2001 or UKIPs adoption of the renegade Tories Mark Reckless and Douglass Carswell.
All three main parties give individual members a say in choosing the party leader. Liberal Democracts and Conservatives
can both vote for candidates after a short list has been officially selected. In the case of the Conservative Party, this has
led to official ‘coronations’, as when Michael Howard was the only candidate selected to stand for party leader. Labour
Party members form one-third of the electoral college responsible for choosing between the candidates for party
leader.
In a sense, one could argue that internal party democracy is probably not a good idea anyway. When party membership
was far higher, the views of party members may well have offered a fair insight into the views of the public at large. In
the modern era, however, party membership is often not representative of the wider voting population. Allowing
individual members too much power could therefore amount to electoral suicide—arguably the situation faced by the
Labour Party in the 1980s and the Conservative Party found in the early 2000s.
Generic mark scheme – 25 mark questions
Characteristics of a L4 response (20-25 marks)
AO1 (10-11 marks)
AO2 (7-8 marks)
AO3 (5-6 marks)
The student successfully
demonstrates accurate and
relevant knowledge and
understanding of political
concepts/theories/ institutions
and processes and the
relationship between them, to
produce an answer that
addresses the focus of the
question and that
demonstrates significant
contextual awareness. The
student’s answer includes
relevant examples to
substantiate and illustrate
points made.
The student evaluates political
institutions, processes and
behaviour, applying
appropriate concepts and
theories. The student provides
analysis which displays sound
awareness of differing
viewpoints and a clear
recognition of issues.
The student communicates
clear, structured and
sustained arguments and
explanations making excellent
use of appropriate political
vocabulary.
Parallels and connections are
identified, together with valid
and precise comparisons. The
answer includes relevant and
convincing interpretations or
explanations.
The student produces answers
with a clear sense of direction
leading towards a coherent
conclusion.
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