2. POLITICAL PARTIES Manifesto Pledges 2009 2008 2007 GP1 People, Politics and Participation Political Parties in the UK and Wales UK Political Parties and Ideology AS Government and Politics

3. In this session We will examine what is meant by ideology How ideology differs across the political spectrum Downs model of ideology How ideology has been established in: Labour and New Labour The Conservatives – Thatcherite and Cameron Conservatism The Liberal Democrats and the Orange Bookers Examine how political ideas shape parties

4. Political Parties There are 3 major national parties in Britain 1. The Labour Party 2. The Conservative Party 3. The Liberal Democrats The first two main political parties dominate the political scene in the UK.

5. A Reminder of the Political Spectrum

6. What is ideology? What do you think ideology is? An ideology is a more or less coherent set of ideas that provides the basis for organised political action, whether this is intended to preserve, modify or overthrow the existing system of power. All ideologies therefore have the following features: They offer an account of the existing order, usually in the form of a ‘world view’. They advance a modal of a desired future, a vision of the ‘good society’. They explain how political change can and should be brought about – how to get from (a) to (b).’ Heywood 2007

7. What is ideology? Why do parties have ideologies? According to Anthony Downs (1957): Voters have limited information about politics Ideologies are informational-economising devices Tell voters where the party want to go and how it will get there.

8. Left, Right, Centre The origins come from the seating of the Estates General in revolutionary France: 1. Right – reactionary, monarchist 2. Left- radical, revolutionary, egalitarian 3. Reflect attitudes to social change – for and against the status quo Seymour Martin Lipset: ‘The Left support change in the direction of greater political, social and economic equality, whole the Right oppose change in the direction of greater political and economic equality’

9. Left, Right, Centre Contemporary usage: size and role of the state: Left wing = higher taxation and government spending (big state) Right wing = lower taxation and government spending (small state) Also - property ownership; individual responsibility; also law and order Related to competing demands for ‘equality’ and ‘freedom’

10. Left, Right, Centre Are two dimensions sufficient? Does the Right sill act as a force of conservatism? Thatcherism – the New Right, carried on by Cameron Does the Left still support change? Institutionalised privileges – opposition to public sector reform (Blair’s forces of conservatism’) Welsh Labour’s resistance to public sector reform

11. Left, Right, Centre What is the ‘Centre’? Genuine centrists – Lib Dems? People with mix of left wing and right wing opinions ‘Don’t know’s’ Are all political parties through consensus politics moving towards the centre? The Down’s model?

12. Ideology and Policy Ideology – vision of the ‘good society’ Ideological values – normative commitments: Tories – conservatism, order, tradition Labour – socialism: equality, solidarity Lib Dems – social liberalism: freedom, fairness

13. Ideology and Policy Policy (manifesto) means of attaining ideological goal Immediate way of expressing core values: Conservative policies: lower taxes, anti EU, tough on crime Socialist policies: redistributive taxes, universal welfare Socially – liberal policies: welfare states, mixed economy

14. Downsian Model - Assumptions A famous model of ideological/policy compeitition Appears to explain parties’s desire to move to the ‘centre ground’ That parties are unified teams agreeing on all their goals Parties are office-seekers, not policy-seekers ‘Parties formulate policies in order to win votes rather than win votes in order to formulate policies’ (Downs, 1957)

15. Downsian Model - Assumpotions Voters have fixed policy preferences mapped along a single left-right scale A positional model – voters/parties take positions on issues Proximity voting – voters support the party nearest to them in ideological space (in order to maximise their utility)

16. Downsian model

18. Exercise 1 – Try to think of three political policies that are popular with the voters and might bring the parties together in the Downsian model

19. Criticisms of the model Parties are not unified actors Politicians are not always office-seekers Voters don’t understand left-right politics How easy is for parties to change policy? Reputations and trust New entrants on radical flanks Voters preferences are not fixed Dunleavy and Ward, 1991 noted that parties can shape voters’ preferences (instead of merely accommodating them)

20. Downsian Model and British Politics Spatial metaphor regularly used in British party politics Capturing the ‘centre=ground’ New Labour Cameron’s Conservative Limitation: Lib Dems (and forerunners) Downsian model assumes single national constituency But there are hundred of constituencies and local contests Tactical voting

21. The Conservative Party The Conservative party developed out of the Tory Party. Tory Party was founded in 1679 when Parliament divided into two political groups over the dispute whether James II should be the heir to King Charles II. The supporters of James II formed the group known as “Tory”, while the opponents formed the “Whig”. The Tory Party changed its name into the Conservative party and Whig into Liberal Party in 1833.

22. The Conservative Party The Conservative party was the “Empire Party”or “Imperialist” party during the 19th century. It represented the interests of the landed gentry and aristocracy. Before WWI, the Conservative party and the Liberal party were two principal parties, taking turns in office. After 1922 the Labour Party ( formed in 1900) took the place of the Liberal Party as one of the 2 main parties.

23. The Conservative Party From 1979 to 1997, the Conservative Party won four elections in a row. Now the Conservative Party has about 170,000 members. It is seen as the party of the individual, supports private enterprise and is generally opposed to nationalization and extending social services. Exercise 2 - Listen to the short history of the Conservative Party and see how many of the ideological points you can pick outshort history of the Conservative Party

24. The Liberal Democrats The third biggest party. A party of the “middle”. It had some 57,000 members in 2015 Exercise 3 - Listen to the short history of the Liberal Party and see how many of the ideological points you can pick outshort history of the Liberal Party

25. Orange Book Liberalism At the time of its publication in 2004, The Orange Book had a significant impact. It was regarded as a major new development in the political thought of the Liberal Democrats. Many social liberals regarded the book as an attempt to move the Liberal Democrats to the right. The response was a thoroughgoing critique of The Orange Book by a group of self-professed social liberals such as Chris Huhne and Steve Webb The book was seen as moving the party away from Social Liberalism and towards a more market and rightward direction.

26. Orange Book Liberalism Nick Clegg used the Orange book to help modernise the Liberal Democrats ideologically. At an ideological level the significance of The Orange Book is that it shares the same scepticism to central government and a preference for localism and civil society as do the new Conservatives under Cameron Thus there is an ideological link between the parties despite obvious differences between the two parties over electoral reform and Europe.

27. Recent Political Trends The Conservative Party came to power under their leader Margaret Thatcher in 1979. Her political views: small government free-market economics less concerned with being “fatherly”

28. Thatcher’s Reforms (1980s) Privatized business and industry Sold many government-owned enterprises to private sector Cut back on social welfare programs Strengthened national defence (staunch anti-communist) Resisted complete integration into the European Union (EU) “Eurosceptics” – feel EU threatens British sovereignty Rejected single currency (Euro)

29. The Labour party was founded in 1900 by a union between 3 parts: 1. The Trade Union 2. The Independent Labour Party 3. The Fabian Society It became the main opposition party after the WWI, formed the government in 1923, 1929 and won a majority in the House of Commons in 1945. Exercise 4 - Listen to a history of the Labour Party and see how many of the ideological points you can pick outhistory of the Labour Party The Labour Party

30. New Labour Following Tony Blair’s election in 1994 Labour reviewed all of its policies to see why it had lost the previous four elections. Labour had consistently struggled to fully implement socialism, and reject the capitalist system because of what many critics believed to be a lack of a proper plan of how to implement their socialist ideology and replace the capitalist system. Blair took the modernisation of the party to a new level, adopting the American idea of rebranding the party as ‘new’.

31. The Labour Party Main political view: a socialist party relatively equal in economic terms government ⇒ a “redistributive” agent government provides some public services available to all

32. The Labour Party Some measures: the National Health Service a range of welfare payments “nationalised” a wide range of industries High taxation levels

33. New Labour The slogan, ‘New Labour, New Britain’ was unveiled and stuck as the new party name. Blair believed that the Left had to ‘modernise or die.’ With the rejection of Clause 4, Blair and the modernisers showed little respect for Old Labour’s sacred cows; “state ownership, economic planning, Keynesian demand management, full employment, tax- and-spend welfarism and close links with the trade unions”

34. New Labour Dearlove and Saunders regard ‘New Labour’ to be Liberal Socialism. New Labour has rejected its classed based socialism in exchange for what many believe to be ethical socialism which has been largely influenced by Blair’s own Christian beliefs and the Labour ‘tradition of self help and mutual aid’.

35. New Labour Dennis and Halsey have defined ethical socialism as ‘a moral community in which freedom is gained for every member through the sharing of what they have, in equal mutual respect for the freedom of all’. Where Thatcher ‘sought to temper the free market individualism of neo-liberalism with an emphasis on traditional conservative values’ Blair has tried to temper the individualism of neo-liberalism with traditional ethical socialist values of equality, fraternity, self improvement and moral rectitude, in an attempt to amalgamate neo-liberal economics and socialist ethics.

36. New Labour Tony Blair was a seen as instrumental to reforming the Labour Party Exercise 5 – What are the key points to Tony Blair’s story?Tony Blair’s story?

37. New Labour What’s the difference between ‘Old’ or ‘Classic’ Labour and New Labour? In 2008 Gordon Brown dropped the New Labour label and sought to reintroduce elements of One Nation Labour Then under Ed Miliband the party once more sought to establish its ideological agenda through a massive rethink of its policy agenda. But when Jeremy Corbyn assumed power a new rethink of Labour’s ideological position was required. Exercise 6 What are the key differences between ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Labour?

38. Tony Blair’s “Third Way” Moderate “New Labour” Party Centrist alternative to “Old Labour” Party on left and Conservative Party on right Initiated by Blair in late 1990s: Acceptance of market economy by Labour Party Devolution

39. The Ideology of the New Conservatism William Hague, Leader of the Conservative Party from 1997-2001 was more comfortable campaigning on right-wing issues such as Europe and low taxation. His successors Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard were unsuccessful in modernising the party. Howard campaigned on right-wing, populist ideas such as taxation, immigration, crime and Europe which were popular with his members but not so much with the voters.

40. The Ideology of the New Conservatism – Free Markets David Willetts in Modern Conservatism makes three arguments in favour of free markets. Firstly, markets are an expression of human nature. Humans have a desire to improve their conditions and this will involve concentrating on what they do best. The idea of free markets is merely a development of this whereby individuals, corporations and nations could trade with one another. Hence, markets are essential for the fulfilment of basic human emotions such as freedom and progress.

41. The Ideology of the New Conservatism – Free Markets Secondly, Willetts rejects the idea that free markets are based on selfish human interests. Instead, markets are the most efficient means of producing wealth so that individuals can fulfil their motivations, which may or may not be based on narrow self- interest. Finally, Willetts sought to challenge the idea that markets are not efficient and produce monopolies and therefore it was not true that sovereignty lay with the consumer. Willetts argues that markets are competitive and efficient and allow for human freedom and choice. He drew various economists including the Austrian school to do this.

42. The Ideology of the New Conservatism – Communities Turning to communities, Willetts notes that what defines an individual is the way in which they are shaped by and respond to the communities in which they live. Hence, the starting point for a Conservative definition of community is not a social contract that ‘creates’ society, but rather an organic theory of society. From this, it becomes clear that emphasis should be placed less on rights than on duties. Such duties “do not come from contracts which are voluntarily entered into but are inescapable parts of our life history as members of a community.” This links the Conservatives closely to their Thatcherite pedigree

43. The Ideology of the New Conservatism – Markets and Communities: Providing a Synthesis Willetts argues that “modern Conservatism aims to reconcile free markets (which deliver freedom and prosperity) with a recognition of the importance of community (which sustains our values).” The reconciliation is possible despite the claims of pessimists regarding the cultural contradictions of capitalism. Some commentators have argued that free-market capitalism replaces communal sentiment and respect for traditional social morality with greed and selfishness since these are the principles on which markets operate.

44. The Ideology of the New Conservatism – Markets and Communities: Providing a Synthesis The more successful capitalism becomes the more likely it is that it will collapse as traditions are eroded. The likely outcome of this process will be an extension of government activity seeking to defend economic interests against increased social antagonism. However, Willetts makes several arguments as to why markets are not only compatible with community, but also are mutually reinforcing ideals, stating that, “there are deep and intricate links between markets and culture which Conservatives need to understand, treasure and celebrate.” Hence communities and markets are the twin pillars of Conservative politics and “Conservatism is at its finest and its most distinctive precisely when it integrates a commitment to the free market into the core values and institutions which hold our country together.”

45. Exercise 7 on The Ideologies of New Conservatism Kevin Hickson, 2011 Questions 1. Highlight any words you don’t understand and list them 2. Who has created the ideas behind Red Toryism and where did they come from? 3. What will Red Toryism do if it works?

46. Social Justice The Conservatives have made social justice a key ideological point Iain Duncan Smith a former leader founded the Centre for Social Justice and in turn headed the Conservative Party’s Social Justice Policy Group in 2006. This produced a report entitled: Breakthrough Britain (2007), proposed 190 policy recommendations including reforms to the tax and benefits system and to child care provision. This saw participation in the labour market as the essential for restoring inequalities in society

47. Social Justice This is a major shift away from Thatcherism, where poverty was often seen as the result of the moral degeneracy of the poor, as a lack of individual effort – the ‘get on your bike and look for work message’ that came from the Conservatives in power after 1979. Duncan Smith is now playing the key role in this new social justice agenda. The Conservatives have sought to take a central role in social justice an area that the left saw as a result of the faults of a capitalist society.

48. How do political ideas shape parties? Exercise 8: How do you think political ideas can shape a party? Ideologies are shaped by activists, political thinkers and other opinion makers Politicians want to get elected and control government, and that action takes place within the institutions of government Ideologues want to figure out right and just policies, convince others to agree with them, and then hope to see their policies enacted. Political parties in turn use government in order to bring their policies based on ideology into practice which bring the political and ideological actors together

49. How do political ideas shape parties? Ideology helps bring block of people with similar desires together Party leaders and parties use these block to form the basis of their political strength Joint commitment to ideology helps bring parties together Ideology helps differentiate parties and build our party political system – ideological space Ideological marketing is important to gain party member and voters Ideological differences can split and reshape parties