General Election 2010 What are the political parties? What do they stand for?

Political Parties and Elections Political parties have different ideas about how the country should be governed. They come up with different ‘policies’ which they tell people in a document called their ‘manifesto’. They also tell people their ideas through party political broadcasts which are shown on television, played on the radio and through posters and leaflets.

What things do political parties talk about? (1) The issues which political parties tend to talk about are…  Money (How much should we spend and pay in tax)  Race and Immigration (How should we make sure people are treated equally and how many people should be allowed to come and live in the UK?)

What things do political parties talk about? (2)  Defence (How much should we spend and should we be involved in wars?)  Crime (How should stop crime and treat criminals?)  Health (How much should we spend on the National Health Service and how should it be run?)  Education (How much should we spend, how should schools be organised, how should children be educated?)

What things do political parties talk about? (3)  Family (How should we help families to stay together and do well?)  Environment (How should we protect the environment and make the world a healthier place?)  Pensions (How much should we be giving older people to live on and how should we pay for it?)  Housing (How many council and private houses should be built and what should the rules be about building them?)

What things do political parties talk about? (4)  Local Government (How should we pay for our local councils and what powers should they have?)  Europe and Foreign Affairs (Should we be a part of the European Union, what role should Britain play in the world?)  Transport (Should we be using public transport more, should we build more roads, railways and airports?)  Countryside (How should we help farmers grow / raise our food, should hunting be allowed?)

What things do political parties talk about? (5)  Human Rights (What rights should people have and should these be written down and protected so that nobody can take them away?)  Government (Should we change the way that we vote, the powers that our government has, should the different countries in the UK have their own governments and should we let the European make decisions for the UK?)

Why do people vote for a particular party? People vote for a political party for very different reasons:  Because they believe in what the party stands for and always vote that way.  Because they do not like what the other party which may win stands for.  Because they do not like what the Government has been doing and want to protest about it.  Because they look at the ideas of the party at that time and think it will be the best party to run the country.  Because they like the leader of the party and think that he or she would make the best leader for the country.

Problems… Political parties very often have some ideas which people agree with, and some which they don’t. People have to decide which party ‘best-fits’ what they think about things.

Political Parties in London In London, there are 3 main political parties who will try and get people’s votes in the General Election.  The Conservative Party  The Labour Party  The Liberal Democrats While you are learning about the different parties, think about which of them you would vote for if you were old enough.

The Conservative Party Symbol Leader David Cameron Born 9 th October 1966 (43) MP for Witney (Oxfordshire) Leader of the Conservative Party and the Opposition since December 2005

The Conservative Party Fact-file Also known as the ‘Tory’ Party or the Tories. Beliefs:  People in the UK need to work together more.  The Government should not take too much of people’s money in tax.  People should not rely on the Government to help them with money all of the time – there should be very strict rules about who gets help and it should be limited. People should save and pay for themselves where they can.  England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales should stay together as one country, but they now agree that each should have its own Parliament.  People should be proud to be British, and people from ethnic minorities should be British first BUT still be proud of their background.  Britain should be a part of the European Union BUT all important decisions should be made in Britain and Britain should keep the pound.  Britain should have a strong army, navy and air-force.

The Conservative Party – Most Important Promises Start to cut the amount the Government spends from 2010 to get rid of the money Britain owes by Increase money spent on health. Allow charities, trusts, voluntary groups and co- operatives to set up new Academy schools. Allow charities, trusts, voluntary groups and co- operatives to run other public services. Stop the idea that everyone carries an identity card. People who are married or in civil partnerships should not pay as much tax.

The Labour Party SymbolLeader Gordon Brown Born 20 th February 1951 (59) MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Scotland) Leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister since June 2007.

The Labour Party Fact-file Also known as ‘New Labour’. Beliefs:  People in the UK need to work together more.  The Government should not take too much of people’s money in tax BUT richer people should pay more tax the poorer people.  People should be able to rely on the Government to help them with money when they need it – there should be very strict rules about who gets help and it should be limited, but people should be able to live comfortably. People should be allowed to save and pay for themselves where they can.  England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales should stay together as one country, but each country should have its own Parliament.  People should be proud to be British, and people from ethnic minorities should be proud to be British BUT all backgrounds should be celebrated.  Britain should be a part of the European Union and allow some important decisions to be made in Europe. Britain should keep the pound until it will be better for us to use the Euro.  Britain should have a strong army, navy and air-force.

The Labour Party – Most Important Promises Wait until 2011 for the Government to spend less money and to halve what the UK owes in 4 years. Increase spending on the NHS and schools but freeze or cut spending in other areas from Ensure all people who suspect they have cancer get test results within one week. Hold a referendum (vote) on making the voting system to Parliament fairer by October 2011.

The Liberal Democrats SymbolLeader Nick Clegg Born 7 th January 1967 (43) MP for Sheffield Hallam Leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2007.

The Liberal Democrats Also known as the Liberals or Lib Dems. Beliefs:  People in the UK need to work together more.  The Government should not take too much of people’s money in tax BUT richer people should pay more tax the poorer people.  People should be able to rely on the Government to help them with money when they need it – there should be very strict rules about who gets help and it should be limited, but people should be able to live comfortably. People should be allowed to save and pay for themselves where they can.  England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales should stay together as one country, but each country should have its own Parliament with strong powers and parts of England should be allowed to have regional Parliaments.  People should be proud to be British, and people from ethnic minorities should be proud to be British BUT all backgrounds should be celebrated.  Britain should be a part of the European Union and allow a lot of important decisions to be made in Europe. Britain should keep the pound for a short time until it will be better for us to use the Euro.  Britain should have a strong army, navy and air-force but limit the amount of money spent on it.

The Liberal Democrats– Most Important Promises Make £15bn of spending cuts from where they do not affect people greatly to begin to get rid of the money which the UK owes. People will begin to pay tax when they earn £10,000 instead of £6,475. People who live in very large houses worth over £2 million will pay a special tax. Stop the idea of people having to carry identity cards. Make people pay a tax on how much they earn instead of Council Tax, which is based on the value of their property. Write down all the rules of how Britain is ruled in a Constitution (we are one of a very few countries who does not have one) Make the way we vote for Parliament fairer.

Other Political Parties in London There are a lot of other political parties who will try and get people to vote for them in London. In the most recent elections, the parties which have got most votes are:  The Green Party of England and Wales  The United Kingdom Independence Party  The British National Party

The Green Party of England and Wales SymbolLeader Caroline Lucas Born 9 th December 1960 (49) MEP for South East England Leader of the Green Party since 2008.

The Green Party of England and Wales – Fact-file Also known as the Greens. Beliefs:  The most important issue facing the world today is the environment. The Government should be making sure that every decision takes into account how it will affect the environment.  People in the UK need to work together more.  The Government should tax rich people more than poor people. Other taxes should be based on how they affect the environment. The worse the environment is affected, the higher something should be taxed.  People should be able to rely on the Government to help them with money when they need it – there should be fair rules about who gets help and it should allow people to live well.  England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales should stay together as one country, but each country should have its own Parliament. But MOST decisions should be made at a local level where people can really have a say.  All cultures are equal, and being ‘British’ is not an important issue. All cultures should be celebrated equally.  Britain should be a part of the European Union but the European Union should be changed to make it more local, more concerned with keeping peace and the environment and less concerned with money. Britain should keep the pound.  Britain should not have a strong army, navy and air-force and only use it when it really needs to.

The Green Party – Most Important Promises Reduce greenhouse gases by 90% by Spend £45billion on clean sources of energy and making people use energy efficiently. Change the tax and benefits system so that everyone is given a ‘Citizens Wage’. Take away powers from Parliament and give them to local councils. Write down the rules of the way the UK is ruled in a Constitution, including a list of all of the rights the people in Britain have. Start a fairer way of MPs being voted into Parliament.

United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) SymbolLeader Lord Malcolm Pearson of Rannoch Born 20 th July 1942 (67) Member of the House of Lords Leader of UKIP since 2009

United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) – Fact-file Also known as UKIP. Beliefs:  The most important issue facing Britain today is Europe. Britain should leave the European Union straight away.  People in the UK need to work together more.  The Government should not tax rich people more than poor people. People should not rely on the Government to help them with money when they need it – they should take care of themselves as much as possible.  England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales should stay together as one country, but there is no need for each country to have its own Parliament.  Being proud to be British is an important issue. Britishness should be celebrated and other cultures are not as important. Money should not be spent on helping other cultures be celebrated.  Britain should leave the European Union immediately. Britain should keep the pound.  Britain should have a strong army, navy and air-force and only use it if it is important for Britain and not to help other countries.

UKIP – Most Important Promises Leave the European Union and just trade with Europe. Everyone will pay the same percentage of tax and money for health and social security. Not allow anyone from abroad to come and live in Britain for 5 years. Set up a grammar school for clever children in every town. Stop ‘green’ taxes and wind farms. Create an English Parliament of English MPs at Westminster.

The British National Party SymbolLeader Nick Griffin Born 1 st March 1959 (51) MEP for Northwest England Leader of the BNP since 1999 The views of the British National Party are NOT in keeping with the views of Edmonton County School or any other school, and their ideas will not be looked at.

Other Political Parties Scottish National Party (SNP) (Scotland) Plaid Cymru (The Party of Wales) (Wales) Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) Social Democratic and Labour Party (Northern Ireland) Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland)

Thinking Which political party would you vote for? Why? To think about this more, you could look at the documents on the school website to help you learn in more detail about what each political party is saying.