Introduction to the UK political landscape
If you have an interest in UK politics, it might have occurred to you that you want to learn about the different parties vying for power in the UK parliament, what their policies are and how powerful/supported they are within parliament respectively. In this article, we’ll discuss the current leading parties and their competition, who their leaders are and what policies they bring to the table. We’ll also take a look at the left wing vs right wing nature of UK politics and some parties who aren’t in the running now, but were recently active and relevant to the Brexit discussion, such as the former and aptly named “Brexit Party”.
1. The Conservative Party:
The party currently in power is the conservative party, who won a majority in parliament as a result of the 2019 election. It is quite common in UK elections that the leading party and the opposition are close enough to each other that neither can reach a majority without forming a coalition government with another considerably sized party. This was not the case in the most recent election, allowing the conservative party to focus on their own interests and leadership.
The Conservative Party is currently headed by Rishi Sunak, the current Prime Minister of the UK. The Conservative Party has been historically regarded as the party of the wealthy and upper class, which was typically reflected in their voters and members. In line with this, their policies have typically been measures that adhere to the capitalist philosophy of “trickle-down economics”, whereby the increased affluence and success of the wealthiest and most successful participants, through their expenditure in the economy and the employment of others, would “lift all boats” and permit everyone to see an increase in wealth and life quality, even if the difference in income inequality increases overall.
The modern Conservative Party has a slightly more widely appealing approach to their policy, aimed at attracting a wider range of voters, as was necessary for their victory in the most recent election. Their website currently totes the slogan “your priorities are our priorities”. They then list 5 flagship priorities of halving inflation, growing the economy, reducing debt, cutting waiting lists, and stopping the boats.
The policy of growing the economy is nothing new, and has always been the long term goal of the Conservatives, but policies like “stop the boats” require a little more nuance. The boats in question refer to the influx of illegal immigration to the UK, which the Conservative party takes a firm stance against. It might be worth noting that some of the policy is shared with the parties that are considered the opposition to the conservative. For example, every popular party acknowledges and seeks to amend the problem of long waiting times for NHS services.
2. The Labour Party
The Labour Party is often times characterised as the main opposition party of the Conservatives. That is not to say that they don’t have their own standalone policies. The Labour Party is currently led by Keir Starmer, a former lawyer who cites his reason for standing as an MP as being “to stand up against the powerful on behalf of ordinary people”.
Labour's policies and ideology have been comparable to this since their conception and the clue is in the name, “Labour”, which indicates directly the group or class of people whose interests the party primarily serves. The policies they use to do so are those of social and income equality, with an emphasis on the importance of the welfare state as a means to shift the balance of wealth and resources in the hands of those who need it.
Many cry out that Labour is too left wing and is trying to turn the country communist, but Labour voters and MPs avidly deny this, since they see the value of the free market economy, but would rather it serves its citizens more directly than it does under conservative policies.
In modern times, the Labour Party has shifted its interests and presentation to become the party that supports both sexual and racial minorities, something that broadens its appeal at the cost of some infighting among its members over what is more important for the UK and its citizens.
Labour also outlines 5 major focuses, which are very similar to the Conservative Party’s; on their website however they emphasise the use of different means in an attempt to make “everyone, not just a few, better off”. The outlying policy goal is that of turning the UK into a more sustainable country ecologically by means of renewable or “green” energy.
3. Liberal Democrats
Although the UK can sometimes be considered as a two party state, with the outcome of referendums and elections flipping between conservative and labour, or more simply, between left and right, there are still considerable alternative parties that manage to consistently secure seats for their MPs in Parliament. One of these parties and perhaps the most consistent in recent history is the Liberal Democrats, who have often times been the party of choice for the formation of a coalition government, having formed such governments with both the Conservatives and Labour.
Until the recent elections, it was expected for the Liberal Democrats to be the third-largest Party in any given poll, but their association with Ex Labour PM, Tony Blair, stained their reputation and caused their popularity as a party to sink. Nevertheless, their current leader Ed Davey is pushing forwards and attempting to renew voter confidence, with a new paradigm shift.
Many, if not a majority, of voters believe that Brexit was a bad decision and that the referendum did not accurately reflect the views of the UK citizenry; the Lib Dems have taken this sentiment and turned it into their campaign priority, promising that should they come to power, they will try to provide their citizens with a second, perhaps more fair referendum.
The Lib Dems also make a point of their independence as a party and try not to be held down by their past ties, by scrutinising the two larger Parties and promising to amend their failures, especially when it comes to the NHS and the taxation of Energy companies which have continued to make record profits in spite of rising energy costs nationwide.
It’s probably best to think of their policy as similar to Labour’s with the key difference being that they aim to put the power in the hands of the people, as opposed to leaders, by providing opportunities for citizens to get involved with policymaking and the decisions that affect them.
4. The Green Party
One of the other more well known alternative parties that is making considerable headway in recent times due to the climate crisis, is the Green Party. Although the general policies that the Green party uphold can be considered to be centre left leaning and comparable to the other major left wing parties, the difference is in the priorities and goals of the Green Party. The Green Party is co-led by Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, who are standing to become MPs in Bristol and Suffolk.
They are aware of the unlikeliness of a majority win for themselves or any of the tertiary parties that stand alongside them in elections, however they seek to represent the voice of the green movement, also known as environmentalists, by winning key seats in Parliament and trying to make sure that a good chunk of MPs are environmentally conscious in their decision-making. Their popularity in any given election essentially dictates how much of the government's spending and policy goes towards environmentally progressive projects and policies, and they can be viewed as a component of the government as a whole, due to the way they use their influence to oppose environmental harm rather than opposing a specific party or political leaning.
5. Regional Parties (Plaid Cymru, Sinn Féin, SNP, SDLP)
In much the same way that the Green Party does not expect to outright win the elections, there are many regional parties that stand for the rights and interests of their respective communities.
For Wales, Plaid Cymru often wins seats and uses them to defend the interests of Wales as a country in the UK, advocating for a fair share of the budget and national resources, as well as more investment in infrastructure and industry, such as more rail connections and motorways. They also have a special interest in preserving and fostering the Welsh language, which nearly died out after its outlawing in British history.
The SNP, which stands for the Scottish National Party, is the most popular party in Scotland itself and manages to consistently do well in recent polls. The SNP, similarly to the Lib Dems, is a strong advocate for the return of Scotland to the EU, whether that be through a second referendum, or full-blown Scottish independence from the UK. This is mainly because Scotland itself voted massively in favour of remaining in the EU, but was unable to see vindication due to their relatively small representation in the wider UK Parliament.
In a similar way, Northern Ireland is often subject to division based on whether they should remain a part of the UK or join the rest of Ireland to unify the land mass. Put simply, Sinn Féin supports the union of Ireland and Northern Island, and they feature a socialist democratic group of policies.
The SDLP, standing for the Social Democratic and Labour Party, instead proclaims that it wishes to work with Westminster, to ensure the best future for both Ireland and Northern Ireland in their current state.
Afterword
We hope you’ve enjoyed this article and have come away with a new or refreshed understanding of the main political parties in the UK. There are some more minor parties as well, but that is mainly because the requirements to stand for Election in the UK is quite generous to allow a broad range of people from different walks of life to campaign their way to popularity. Nevertheless, these smaller parties play a largely insignificant role, or in any case a far more nuanced role than we have time to discuss today. If you want to learn more about politics, or are interested in studying politics, make sure to check out the rest of our articles on politics.
There’s also plenty more on a wealth of different subjects, so make sure to browse in case you find something that interests you. Until then, Superprof wishes you well and hopes to see you visit again soon.
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