As of writing this article, the Labour Party has the most seats in Parliament and so, leads the UK government. Before its stunning upset in the 2024 snap election, the Tories - the Conservative Party- filled that role. Those are the two dominant political parties in the UK, but our political system has many more. This article discusses our country's key political parties in the table below in more detail and touches on those with less-renowned agendas.
| 🅿Party name | 🎤Platform | 🎩Leader(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | Social democracy | Kier Starmer |
| Conservative and Unionist Party | British unionism, Conservatism, Economic liberalism | Kemi Badenoch |
| Liberal Democrats | Liberalism, social liberalism | Ed Davey |
| Co-operative Party Limited | British Unionism, Social democracy, co-operation | Jim McMahon |
| Scottish National Party | Social democracy, Scottish nationalism, Scottish independence | John Swinney |
| Sinn Féin | Left-wing nationalism, democratic socialism, Irish republicanism | Michelle O'Neill |
| Plaid Cymru | Social democracy, democratic socialism, Welch independence, Welch nationalism | Rhun ap Iorwerth |
| Reform UK | Euroscepticism, populism | Nigel Farage |
| Democratic Unionist Party | Unionist, loyalist national conservative | Gavin Robinson |
| Green Party of England and Wales | Green agenda | Carla Denyer, Adrian Ramsay |
| Social Democratic and Labour Party | Irish reunification | Claire Hanna |
Leading the Government: the Labour Party
Of all the political parties in the House of Commons, Labour claims the most seats. Indeed, the Labour Party has a strong presence, at all levels of government. Those include:
- The London Assembly: 11 of 25 seats
- Welsh Parliament: 30 of 60 seats
- Scottish Parliament: 22 out of 129
- Local governments: 6,426 of 19 103 seats.
The Labour Party grew out of the 19th Century trade union movement. Founded in 1900, it took two decades to gain any political traction. In the early 1920s, the Labour Party outpaced the dominant opposition party, to become the Conservative Party's main political opponent.
That's the state of things today, with Tories and Labour swapping places to lead the government. That opposition lies specifically in those parties' ideology.
Keynesian economics, government intervention, and redistribution of wealth.
Labour's connection to trade unions has long been the party's defining characteristic. However, that relationship is increasingly under strain, because of the party's turn towards Tory policies. Union leaders resent the Labour Party's drive towards privatisation, cuts to public spending, and especially, its anti-union laws.
Conservative and Unionist Party (the Tories)
This party's current platform grew out of a scattering of political ideas and activists. They formed their loose federation in 1834, and gained political traction almost immediately. The rising Labour Party threatened their dominance. So, they joined with the Liberal Unionist Party in 1912, to offer union workers a conservative platform.
The Tories were a political affiliation in the mid-19 Century. They united under the Conservative banner, and today, use this name to honour their political roots.
Some might call that strategy splitting the vote, or even dirty pool. Regardless, making your voter base as broad as possible is smart politics, even if it doesn't always serve the political system well. To this day, the Labour and Tory parties fight for working people's votes.
Liberal Democrats
Jumping back in Britain's political timeline, we find the Whig Party, a liberal group who opposed the Tories. The Whig ideology carried down through the years, as solid political ideas are wont to do. In 1988, the Whigs' ideological descendants joined with the Social Democratic Party (SDP). They named themselves the Social and Liberal Democrats, but dropped the 'social' part just a year later.
In 2010, the Liberal Democrat Party joined forces with David Cameron's government.
The coalition cost the Liberal Democrats most of their Parliament seats.
This party has since returned to its roots, supporting social-liberal causes. Admittedly, it's more popular at the local level, but that growing support is translating into Parliament seats. Of course, being the party opposing Brexit did quite a bit to restore voters' faith.
Co-operative Party Limited
This cooperative group of politically-minded fellows came together during a time of great political change in Great Britain. Recall that the Tories had just formed their party, in opposition to Labour. Also, voting rights and systems were expanding. The Co-operatives sensed the need for greater teamwork at the legislative level.
Unlike other political parties, this co-operative party does not have a leader. It has a chairperson.
This group came together to help and support already-active political parties, and those who wanted to establish themselves. As of this writing, they support and assist the Labour Party in Parliament, despite themselves being a separate political entity.
Scottish National Party
So far, all the parties we discussed have their historical roots in England. Venturing outside that country gives us new political conditions to take into consideration. For one, that the Scottish National Party (SNP) represents constituents in the Scottish Parliament, as well as in the UK Parliament.
Scottish Parliament
- Number of seats: 62 out of 129
- Local counsellors: 453 (out of 1 227)
UK Parliament
- Number of seats: 9 out of 57
- London Assembly 2 out of 25
The devolved Scottish Parliament was established in 1999, which placed the SNP as the second-largest Scottish political party. It stands on a platform of civic nationalism, Scottish independence, and membership in the European Union.
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin, meaning We, Ourselves, first formed in 1905, as a revolutionary party. They were a militant group, that fractured just before the Irish Civil War, and further splintered immediately afterwards. Those breaks formed the Northern Ireland's two dominant political parties.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil left no room for Sinn Féin's brand of politics in the Irish Parliament.
The Troubles provoked yet another split in Sinn Féin, which led to the political party we know today. It dominates the Northern Ireland Assembly, winning its first majority only in 2022. The party has long abandoned its revolutionary bent, and has even given up its refusal to vote on Parliamentary matters.
Plaid Cymru
Officially called the Party of Wales, the political group we refer to as Plaid stands for Welsh independence and nationalism. Though it was formed nearly 100 years ago (August 1925), Plaid only gained status in 1999, the year of the first devolved Welsh Assembly election.
4 out of 32 in the UK Parliament
12 out of 60 in Senedd
202 out of 1 231 of principal local authority councils
Plaid mostly stood in opposition to the dominant Senedd, but the tide is turning on that position. Between 2007-2011, Plaid formed coalitions with other Welsh political parties, most notably with Welsh Labour. That cooperation ended in 2023, under scandal. In 2024, the UK's voting systems for general elections saw Plaid win both of Wales' parliamentary seats.
Other Notable UK Political Parties
As noted in this article's introduction, political parties abound in the UK. Of the parties with representation in the House of Commons, the ones discussed so far claim most of the seats. Still, we have seven parties, each with at least one seat.
Reform UK
This party came together in 2018, on a right-wing platform of populism and Euroscepticism. Its current leader, Nigel Farage, has stirred controversy throughout his political career.
Still, he maintains a strong following, which resulted in a sharp increase in party support, after the 2024 election. The party holds five seats in the House of Commons.
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
Like Reform UK, The DUP holds five seats in the House of Commons. This Northern Irish party's platform embraces unionist, national conservative, and loyalist views.
It's the Northern Ireland Assembly's second-largest party, despite its leadership being beset with trouble and scandal.
Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW)
Contrary to the two parties above, GPEW is a left-leaning, cooperative party that stands on a green agenda. The party came together in 1990, as an offshoot of the former Green Party.
It went through growing pains for around 20 years. By 2010, the party gained its first Parliament seat; today, it has four.
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)
The centre-left SDLP came together in 1970, on a platform of Irish reunification. This party's popularity grew during the Troubles, but lost ground in as Sinn Féin gained traction.
Besides Irish reunification, SDLP aims for a further devolution of power. This party has two seats in Parliament.
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, The Ulster Unionist Party, and the Traditional Unionist Voice each have one parliamentary seat. They round out the UK political parties with parliamentary representation.
In the UK, participation in democracy means being politically aware. That includes knowing about the parties making decisions on our behalf, and deciding on the direction our country should take.
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
