Student Resources - Chapter eight
Chapter 8: The Three Main Political Parties in the UK
SETTING THE SCENE
The last chapter looked at political parties in general and how they operate within the wider political system. It was said there that Britain has, arguably, a two-party system with a strong third party. This chapter now examines the three principal political parties in the UK in more depth: Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat. The main focus will be on their ideologies, or core beliefs and values (which was discussed briefly in the previous chapter). There will also be a brief analysis here of the key policy proposals made by each party in the run-up to the 2005 general election.
KEY TOPICS
- Left, right and centre
- A brief history of the Labour Party
- Labour Party ideology
- Policy: Labour's manifesto proposals, 2005
- A brief history of the Conservative Party
- Conservative Party ideology
- Policy: Conservative manifesto proposals, 2005
- A brief history of the Liberal Democrat Party
- Liberal Democrat Party ideology
- Policy: Liberal Democrat manifesto proposals, 2005
Are any of the terms below unclear to you; If so, perhaps you should look over this chapter or use the searchable glossary to familiarise yourself with these terms.
- Socialism
- Social democracy
- The Third Way
- Traditional conservatism
- One-nation Toryism
- Liberalism
- Economic liberalism
Matching Exercise: Chapter Eight
| Socialism | The ideology which seeks to gain gradual and moderate social improvements for the people through democratic processes, and which is based on a belief in the value of social cooperation, but not necessarily state ownership. |
| Social democracy | The view, founded on a strong belief in human equality, that private property should be replaced by 'social ownership'. |
| The Third Way | A view that supports capitalism, the free market and laissez-faire economics. |
| Traditional conservatism | A broad array of related ideas and theories of government that emphasizes individual liberty, individual rights and equality of opportunity. |
| One-nation Toryism | The idea, derived from Disraeli, that the Conservative Party should aim to reunite the country by working to reduce the gap between rich and poor and by developing a strong sense of patriotism. |
| Liberalism | An ideology whose values are based on a love of the past, a respect for tradition and desire for stability. |
| Economic liberalism | New Labour’s ideology, which is an attempt to steer a centre path between old-fashioned socialism and Thatcherite conservatism, but one based on Labour principles of community and social justice. |
Further reading for Chapter Eight
R. Blake, The Conservative Party from Peel to Thatcher (Fontana, 1998): the classic study of the history of the Tory party.
D. Coates, Prolonged Labour: The Slow Birth of New Labour Britain (Palgrave, 2005): links Labour ideology and policy well.
D. Coates and P. Lawler, New Labour in Power (Manchester University Press, 2000): an attempt to interpret the phenomenon of New Labour.
S. Driver and L. Martell, New Labour: Politics after Thatcherism (Polity, 1998): early attempt to sum up the nature of New Labour aims and intentions.
A. Gamble, The Free Market and the Strong State: The Politics of Thatcherism (Macmillan, 1994): classic summary of Thatcherism.
A. Giddens, The Third Way and its Critics (Polity, 2006): brilliant academic analysis of that fragile ideology, the Third Way, by the man who more or less invented it.
A. Heywood, Political Ideologies (Macmillan, 1998): remarkably clear and sensible analysis of all the major ideologies of modern politics.
Greg Hurst, Charles Kennedy: A Tragic Flaw (2006): biography of a recent Liberal Democrat leader.
S. Ludlum and M. Smith (eds), New Labour in Government (Palgrave, 2001): detailed analysis of the politics of the early Blair government.
S. Ludlum and M. Smith, Governing as New Labour (Palgrave, 2004): academic essays bringing the previous book up to date.
Kieron O’Hara, After Blair: David Cameron and the Conservative Tradition (Icon, 2007): sets the new leader in the context of the ideological traditions of the party.
H. Pelling and A. J. Reid, A Short History of the Labour Party (Macmillan, 1997): classic study of Labour history.
A. Seldon and D. Kavanagh (eds), The Blair Effect 2001–5 (Cambridge University Press, 2005): fascinating series of essays by the leading experts in the field on various aspects of Blair’s second government.
Websites
- www.labour.org.uk (Labour Party)
- www.conservative-party.org.uk (Conservative Party)
- http://www.libdems.org.uk (Liberal Democrats)
Multiple Choice Quiz 8
Click here to access the Multiple Choice Quiz for this Chapter.
Worksheet 1
Download Worksheet 1 Main political parties - handout
