Political party system

party system

Table of contents

Introduction

. The two-party system in the UK

.1 The nature of the two party system

.2 The third political party in Britain

.3 Recent general election results

. The Conservative party

.1 Policies of the Conservative party

.1.1 Economic, social and justice policies

.1.2 Foreign and European union policies

.1.3 Welfare, health and drug policies

.1.4 Education and job policies

.2 The structure of the party

. The Labour party

.1 Party constitution and structure

.2 Policies of the Labour party

Two-party system constitution political party

Introduction

It is a common knowledge that a political party is an organisation of people which seeks to achieve goals common to its members through the acquisition and exercise of political power. While there is some international commonality in the way Political Parties are recognised, and in how they operate, there are often many differences, and some are significant. Many political parties have an ideological core, but some do not, and many represent very different ideologies than they did when first founded.

All political parties in a country form a political party system of this country. In general, a party system is a concept in comparative political science <#"center">1. The two-party system in the UK

The political party system is an essential element in the working of the British constitution. The present system depends upon the existence of organized political parties, each of which presents its policies to the electorate for approval. The parties are not registered or formally recognized in law, but in practice most candidates in elections, and almost all winning candidates, belong to one of the main parties [1, p. 59].

1.1 The nature of the two party system

Great Britain has had two alignments: Conservative <#"center">1.2 The third political party in Britain

In electoral politics, a third party is any party contending for votes that failed to outpoll either of its two strongest rivals (or, in the context of an impending election, is considered highly unlikely to do so). The distinction is particularly significant in two-party systems <#"justify">·built around a particular ideology or interest group

·split off from one of the major parties or

·focused on a charismatic individual <#"justify">When third parties are built around an ideology which is at odds with the majority mindset, many members belong to such a party not for the purpose of expecting electoral success but rather for personal or psychological reasons [2, p. 348].

A so-called third party in the United Kingdom <#"center">1.3 Recent general election results

Recent general election in the United Kingdom was held on Thursday 6 May 2010 to elect members to the House of Commons <#"justify">Table 1. 3

First partySecond partyThird partyPartyConservativeLabourLiberal DemocratLast election198 32.4%355 , 35.2%62 , 22.0%Seats before21034962Seats won30625857Seat change97915Popular vote10,703,6548,606,5176,836,248Percentage36.1%29.0%23.0%Swing3.7%6. 2%1. 0%it became clear that no party would achieve an overall majority the three main party leaders made public statements offering to discuss the options for forming the next government with the other parties.

On 11 May 2010, as coalition talks between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats seemed to be drawing to a successful conclusion, Gordon Brown <#"center">2. The Conservative party

The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and colloquially referred to as the Tory Party or the Tories, is a centre-right <#"center">2.1 Policies of the Conservative party

2.1.1 Economic, social and justice policies

The party's reputation for economic stewardship was dealt a blow by Black Wednesday <#"center">2.1.2 Foreign and European union policies

For much of the 20th century, the Conservative party took a broadly Atlanticist <#"center">2.1.3 Welfare, health and drug policies

Improving the welfare of Britain's military service personnel is a priority for the Conservative Party. One of their main goals is to repair the Military Covenant <#"center">2.1.4 Education and job policies

In education, the Conservatives have pledged to review the National Curriculum <#"center">2.2 The structure of the party

In the organisation of the Conservative Party, constituency <#"justify">According to its members, the CWO is

·The grassroots network that provides support and focus for women in the Conservative Party

·Reaching out to women in all parts of the community

·Campaigning on issues of particular concern to women both nationally and internationally

·Encouraging women to be politically active and to get elected at all levels

·Ensuring that the women's perspective is taken into account because women see things differently to men

·Helping the Conservative Party capture the women's vote

3. The Labour party

The Labour Party is a centre-left <#"center">3.1 Party constitution and structure

The Labour Party is a membership organisation consisting of Constituency Labour Parties <#"center">3.2 Policies of the Labour party

Economic policy. The party insisted it would be relentless in getting value for money from the public sector for every pound spent, finding efficiency savings and eliminating waste.said it would overhaul the way government runs by cutting back-office costs, getting rid of unnecessary quangos, and by sharply reducing consultancy fees and marketing expenditure., the manifesto ducks the reality that real cuts in public services must be made in order to reduce the government deficit, which will reach £167?billion this year.

Specific economic promises <#"justify">·Building a high-tech economy and modernising of infrastructure

·Supporting business and industry to create one million more skilled jobs.

·Creating UK Finance for Growth, bringing £4 billion together to provide capital for growing businesses

No stamp duty for first-time buyers on all house purchases below £250,000 for two years, paid for by a five per cent rate on homes worth more than £1 million.

A National Minimum Wage rising at least in line with average earnings.

As for the health care, Labour believes the NHS is its "greatest achievement":

·Key health promises <#"justify">·A major expansion of diagnostic testing.

·The right to choose a GP in your area open at evenings and weekends.

Education policy. Every primary schoolchild needing one-to-one tuition would receive it under Labour plans and Teach First, a scheme that recruits top graduates into teaching in secondary schools, would be extended to posts at primary schools.parents are unhappy with a schools performance, they would get the power to bring in new school leadership teams through mergers and takeovers., promises to let the best schools take over the worst have been around for several years, and teachers unions have dismissed a plan for parental ballots as an impractical and unworkable gimmick.

Specific schools policies <#"justify">·An expansion of free nursery places for two-year-olds and 15 hours a week of flexible, free nursery education for three and four-year-olds.

·Every child leaving primary school secure in the basics.

·Giving parents the power to bring in new school leadership teams, through mergers and takeovers, with up to 1,000 secondary schools part of an accredited schools group by 2015.

·Every young person guaranteed education or training until 18, with 75 per cent going on to higher education, or completing an advanced apprenticeship or technician level training, by the age of 30

·Spending increased on frontline Sure Start and free childcare, schools and 16-19 learning.

Tax. Labour promised not to raise the basic, higher and new top rates of tax during the next Parliament, as part of a plan to keep to fair tax increases while tackling the deficit.party also said it would not extend the application of VAT to food, childrens clothes, books, newspapers and public transport fares, as this would hurt families on lower incomes.the wording of the VAT pledge clearly leaves open the possibility that, if re-elected, a Labour government could raise more money by increasing the rate of the sales tax from the current 17.5 per cent, even if it does not impose it on new classes of goods.

Labour's specific tax policies <#"justify">·A new Toddler Tax Credit of £4 a week from 2012

·No stamp duty for first-time buyers on all house purchases below £250,000 for two years, paid for by a five per cent rate on homes worth more than £1 million

·More help for parents to balance work and family life, with a Fathers Month of flexible paid leave

·Link between the Basic State Pension and earnings re-established from 2012

·Help people to build up savings through new Personal Pension Accounts.

Environment. Labour's energy and climate-change policies <#"justify">·Achieving around 40 per cent low-carbon electricity by 2020

·Creating 400,000 new green jobs by 2015

·Making greener living easier and fairer through pay as you save home energy insulation

·Energy-bill discounts for pensioners

·Banning recyclable and biodegradable materials from landfill

Transport. Key transport policies <#"justify">·Building a new high-speed rail line linking North and South.

·Improving commuter services and electrifying new rail lines.

·Completing the east-west Crossrail line in London

·Targeted motorway widening, including the M25

·No road pricing

·Supporting a third runway for Heathrow

·Ensuring there are 100,000 electric vehicle charging points by end of next Parliament

Immigration. It will be controlled through an Australian-style points-based system to stop unskilled migration from outside the EU.

All public sector employees who have contact with the public must possess an appropriate level of English language competence, Labour promised.tests will be made compulsory for public sector migrant workers.

However, the new language requirement will apply only to people directly employed by local and central government, and not to agency or contract staff, who fill many front-line public service posts. Nor will employees of other public bodies be covered. Business. Labour's business policies <#"justify">·Building a high-tech economy

·Modernising Britain's infrastructure

·Supporting business and industry to create one million more skilled jobs

When selling off Northern Rock, the manifesto says Labour will encourage a mutual solution for the bank that had to be nationalised during the credit crisis.

This policy would give customers stakes in the lender instead of selling shares on the open market, returning it to its former status as a building society., it is not clear how this would lead to the repayment of the billions in public funds that were given to Northern Rock, whereas a straightforward privatisation would be more likely to generate a return for taxpayers.

Foreign policy. Using Britain's international reach to build security and stability - combating terrorism and extremism, curbing proliferation, preventing and resolving conflict, and tackling climate change. Re-energising the drive to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, supporting sustainable growth and combating poverty. Reforming the UN, International Financial Institutions, the G8 and G20, and NATO to adapt to the new global challenges.the agenda for a European Union that delivers jobs, prosperity and global influence.

Constitutional reform. The MPs expenses scandal <#"justify">Police. Failing police forces could be taken over by more effective neighbouring forces, the manifesto says.could see chief constables and commanders sacked for failing to meet required standards, and successful techniques shared to spread better policing around Britain.officers may face yet more oversight and monitoring from outside, the sort of bureaucracy that the rank and file say is already interfering with their ability to operate effectively.

Council Tax. There will be no council tax revaluation in the next Parliament, but a cross-party commission will review the future of local government finance.could go so far as to recommend a local income tax, which would see pensioners pay less tax and families in which several people work pay more.again delaying a revaluation, Labour will avoid penalising home owners whose property values have risen. But it is ducking a need to match values to tax bands.

Technology. The unveiling of the Labour Partys election manifesto included an accidental promise of nationwide broadband eight-times faster than it can deliver.Brown pledged, on page 1:6 of the manifesto, to roll out broadband at a speed of 2 megabytes - rather than megabits - to virtually every house by 2012. One megabyte is equivalent to eight megabits.speeds of 2 megabytes (16 megabits) would be a near-impossible undertaking as the average British broadband speed is only 4 megabits.s eight policy commissions are tasked with carrying out the detailed work developing our ideas within their specialist areas. They meet regularly to consider the submissions made through Your Britain and to hear evidence from experts, and are responsible for drafting the Challenge Papers and Policy Documents.membership of each of Labours policy commissions is drawn from our National Policy Forum, the Shadow Cabinet and our National Executive Committee, and reflects all parts of our movement, including grassroots Labour Party members, representatives of affiliates such as trade unions, and elected politicians.

Conclusion

In this research work was considered the political party system of the United Kingdom. Summing up the results of this work we can make some important conclusions.

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