Political Parties & Elections

Political Parties & Elections In this unit you will learn about: the dominant ideas within the Labour Party The dominant ideas within the Conservative Party the impact of these ideas on their electoral performance You will also be expected to: assess the impact of other factors on the party’s electoral performance such as: Campaign management strategies, media strategies Impact of voting behaviour this will be studied from a UK and Scottish perspective.

Unit Content Political parties and ideologies The Big Two Political Parties and Electoral Success Thatcherism (79-92) The Birth of New Labour Labour Under Blair (97-07) Labour Under Brown (07-10) The Impact of the Media

Lesson One: Political Parties and Ideologies

Success Criteria – I can… What you will learn… Success Criteria – I can… What a political party and ideology is What the political spectrum is What is meant by left wing and right wing The ideological change in the Labour party under Tony Blair Explain what a political party is and what is meant by the term “ideology” Define “left” and “right” wing Describe the changes under Tony Blair

Lesson Starter… Discuss the following questions in your groups and get ready to feedback your responses: What is a political party? What are the main political parties in the UK? What smaller political parties exist in the UK (think about the nations of the UK as well)? What is an ideology? Can you detail the ideologies of some of the UK’s political parties? Can you detail any changes in the ideologies of some of the UK’s political parties?

What is a political party? A political party is a group of people with similar political beliefs who form a group or organisation. The group then tries to get others to support them by voting for them at election time. E.g. the Scottish National Party (SNP) believe in independence for Scotland.

Some of the Political Parties in Britain Conservative Labour Leader Theresa May (Prime Minister) Current minority in Westminster (since June 17) Leader Jeremy Corbyn Official Opposition in Westminster

Some of the Political Parties in Britain Liberal Democrats SNP Leader Sir Vince Cable (Scottish Leader Willie Rennie) Leader Nicola Sturgeon (Scottish First Minister) Angus Robertson lead MP for Westminster

National Parties Scottish National Party (Scottish) Plaid Cymru (Welsh) Sinn Fein/Democratic Unionist Party/DUP (Northern Irish) English Democrats

Extreme Parties These parties usually only have a small number of voters and can often be quite offensive in the things that they have to say. Can you think of any examples? Do you think that it is right that these parties exist?

Parties are formed when like-minded people come together in agreement over how the country should be run. This is known as sharing a common ideology. An ideology is a set of basic beliefs about how a country should be run, be it political, economic or social.

Left and Right Wing Politics As we have seen in the introduction to this course, while parties in the past stuck to one ideology, nowadays parties borrow from various ones and can shift their ideology to appeal to the electorate (more to come) A party will be placed on the political spectrum based on the ideology of the party. The political spectrum is a line which runs left to right. Parties on the left have always been seen as more liberal and also in favour of ‘big’ government. Parties on the right are thought of as being more traditional and believing more in ‘small’ government https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlQ5fGECmsA

SNP SNP SNP

Key Phrases Big government – High taxation, lots of government spending, more government intervention Small government – More use of private sector, lower taxation, less government spending Liberal – Happier to welcome fast, rapid changes to society . Liberals have a belief in the freedom of the individual Traditionalist – Like change to be small and happen over an extended period of time. Traditionalists have a greater respect for state institutions like the Church

Group Task Would the following ideas be right wing or left wing values? High levels of taxation Low levels of government spending Tough on immigration Pro gay marriage Pro business and pro private sector ‘Prison works’ – Prison should be used more often than community based alternatives

Left Wing Strong government control over business Equality – equal opportunities for all Higher taxes to pay for public services (education, police etc) Collective responsibility i.e. considering others first Strict views on law on order (alternative sentencing) Extreme left – (communist party in Russia) Right Wing Less government control - over business Equal opportunity based on hard work, effort and self help Lower taxes – less investment in public services Stronger freedom of choice i.e. individual first Stricter views on law and order (prison sentences) Extreme right – (Robert Mugabe the ex president of Zimbabwe)

Is the Political Spectrum Still Valid? Where would you place someone like Stalin? He was a Communist (very big government), which makes him left wing However he was also a dictator, an authoritarian who restricted the rights of many of his people (not very liberal at all!) That would make him right wing Therefore sometimes it is better to use the ‘political compass’ to help place political parties

Hitler Stalin Thatcher Gandhi The Political Compass Explained https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u3UCz0TM5Q&feature=youtu.be The Political Compass Explained

The Left/Right Social and Economic Issue The Liberal Democrats are a good example of a party who are best explained through the use of the political compass On social and political issues, they are very liberal (left wing), believing in free education for all, less use of prison, less CCTV etc However on the economy they are quite right wing, believing in small government and the free market (where there is little government intervention) Therefore, it is important to remember than when we talk about right/left wing policies, we need to differentiate between social issues and economic issues.

What does this suggest about the party? It is also important to note that political parties very rarely remain static when it comes to ideological ideas. Take the example of the Labour Party. There is marked ideological shift in terms of both economics and social ideals from the 1970s/1980s into the early 2000s and then back again. What does this suggest about the party?

Question Task Define, in your owns words, authoritarianism Define, in your words, libertarianism. Explain, with examples, the importance of using the full political compass as opposed to simply the left-right spectrum. Can a person or political party be economically liberal (decisions made by individuals not the collective) and socially conservative (traditional views)? Explain your answer, providing examples. Looking at the 2015 policy manifestos, place each of the three main British political parties on the political compass and explain your decision. Take the political compass quiz – where do you lie?

UK Political Profile 2019 Create a profile on the current state of UK Politics. Include the following information: Current UK Government (Party, No. of MPs, Leader etc) Parties currently in Opposition (Parties, No. of MPs, Leaders etc) Current issues in UK Politics Current Scottish Government (Party, No. of MSPs, Leader etc) Parties currently in Opposition in Scotland (Parties, No. of MSPs, Leaders etc) Current issues in Scottish Politics

Define “left” and “right” wing Describe the changes under Tony Blair Explain what a political party is and what is meant by the term “ideology” Define “left” and “right” wing Describe the changes under Tony Blair TIME TO REVISIT YOUR SUCCESS CRITERIA. Ask Your Partner To Answer These…