2.2.1 Historical Evolution of UK Political Parties

Established Political Parties:

Right and Left Wing Policies:

• Left Wing on Economics and Trade: Nationalisation of all major industries. Increased regulation so workers are not exploited. State investment into infrastructure
• Right Wing on Economics and Trade: strong support for free markets.
• Laissez-faire, no state intervention in the economy
• Left Wing on Income and Employment: Redistribution of income, income equality. Strong trade unions to protect workers rights
• Right Wing on Income and Employment: Low levels of taxation. Free labour markets
• Left Wing on Social Issues: Strong support for the welfare state. Equal rights Right Wing on Social Issues: Limited welfare state, anti-immigration and stick to tradition when it comes to moral issues and relationships

The Conservative Party:

Traditionally aligned with right-wing ideologies, the Conservative Party emphasizes individual responsibility, a free-market economy, and limited government intervention.

The party is known for its close ties with the business sector and advocacy for lower taxes and reduced public spending.

The industrial revolution and the growth of international trade led to the increase in support of the conservatives and the first "Conservative" PMs were Robert Peel in 1834 and Benjamin Disraeli, a One-Nation Conservative.

Traditional Conservatism

The Conservative Party's origins date back to the English Civil War. During this period, royalist supporters of the monarchy and the established Church of England opposed granting Parliament greater influence and expanding public freedoms, fearing such changes would lead to violence and destabilization.

This conservative viewpoint is reflected in Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan (1651), where he argued that in the absence of strong government, society would descend into chaos, given his pessimistic view of human nature. Hobbes argued that human nature was flawed and therefore we need a strong government to control citizens and their dangerous instincts.

The egalitarian principles that emerged after the French Revolution shocked traditional conservatives and they used this to demonstrate the harm and danger of change which influenced their beliefs on tradition and hierarchy.

Traditional conservatism is closely associated with the Church of England in order to guard England against change and mob rule.

One-Nation Conservatism

Benjamin Disraeli (1804-81) was a pivotal figure in one-nation conservatism, which aimed to preserve traditional institutions while promoting social reform to reduce class disparity.

Disraeli's vision, captured in his novels like Sybil (1845), advocated for a cohesive society where all classes contributed to national prosperity.

This approach was designed to prevent Britain from splitting into "two nations" of rich and poor. Disraeli's inclusive conservatism emphasized property, pragmatism, tradition, stability, and authority.

Disraeli supported extensive social reforms and support for the working class.

Key Term: One Nation

The New Right

By the 1970s, one-nation conservatism faced challenges from industrial unrest and economic difficulties.

Margaret Thatcher (Prime Minister, 1979-90) introduced New Right principles, blending neo-liberal and neo-conservative ideologies. The New Right favored minimal government intervention in the economy, inspired by classical liberal economist Adam Smith's concept of the "invisible hand" of the market. Key policies included:

• Minimizing taxation to empower individuals financially.
• Reducing inflation and interest rates to boost investment.
• Discouraging welfare dependency.
• Limiting trade union power to ensure economic stability. The new right is also influenced by Neo-conservative principles which advocate for more traditional principles to retain stability within society. For example, Neo-conservatives want to provide extensive government powers to fight crime, discourage untraditional family lifestyle and are sceptical of organisations such as the EU.

Key Term: New Right

• Rooted in classical liberalism, the New Right seeks to reduce government's role in the economy and people's lives, emphasizing security through law and defence.

Current Conservative Ideas and Policies

Under Margaret Thatcher's leadership, the Conservative Party emphasized free-market principles, which some criticized for neglecting social justice.

Subsequent leaders like John Major, David Cameron, and Theresa May aimed to modernize the party, balancing neo-liberalism with social inclusivity.

Key Policies: Neo-liberalism and Neo-conservatism

Current Conservative policies: the 2024 Conservative manifesto

Economy:

• Protection for pensioners with Triple Lock Plus – so the State Pension is never taxed.
• Another 2p off National Insurance. And our long-term plan is to abolish it altogether, when it is economically responsible to do so.
• Cut taxes to support the self-employed by abolishing the main rate of self-employed National Insurance entirely by the end of the Parliament.
• Cut the cost of net zero for consumers by taking a more pragmatic approach, guaranteeing no new green levies or charges while accelerating the rollout of renewables.

Defence of our borders and national security:

• Boost defence spending to our new NATO standard of 2.5% of GDP by 2030, so we can protect British interests at home and abroad in an increasingly hostile world.
• Introduce a legal cap on migration to guarantee that numbers will fall every year, so public services are protected while bringing in the skills our businesses and NHS needs.
• Stop the boats by removing illegal migrants to Rwanda.
• Work with other countries to rewrite asylum treaties to make them fit for the challenges we face.
• 8,000 more full time police officers so every police ward has a new officer.

Education:

• Give young people the skills and opportunities they deserve by introducing mandatory National Service for all school leavers at 18, with the choice between a competitive placement in the military or civic service roles.
• Fund 100,000 high-quality apprenticeships for young people, paid for by curbing the number of poor-quality university degrees that leave young people worse off.
• Protect children by requiring schools to ban the use of mobile phones during the school day and ensuring parents can see what their children are being taught, especially on sensitive matters like sex education.
• Transform 16-19 education by introducing the Advanced British Standard, enabling young people to receive a broader education

Health and Social care:

• 30 hours of free childcare a week, saving eligible families £6,900 a year.
• 1.6 million more good homes while protecting our countryside.
• 92,000 extra nurses and 28,000 extra doctors – while driving up NHS productivity.

The Labour Party:

Positioned on the left of the political spectrum, Labour focuses on social justice, equality, and government intervention to reduce societal inequalities. The party has strong connections with trade unions and advocates for increased public spending on welfare and public services.

By understanding the intricacies of party funding and the ongoing debates surrounding it, students will be able to critically analyze the fairness and effectiveness of the UK's political system in facilitating democratic representation and participation.

The Labour Party was created in 1900 and was mainly made up of trade unions, the aim of the Labour Party is to protect the interests of the working class and the party is mainly funded by trade unions.

Labour since the Second World War:

• The Labour Party achieved a majority in the Commons for the first time under Clement Atlee. However, during the 1980s, the Labour party suffered defeats to Thatcher's conservative government In 1992, Tony Blair became leader of the Labour Party and achieved 3 successive terms as PM from 1997-2007 Labour and the Unions: The Labour Party formed through the trade union movement and the Labour Party and trade unions have good and strong relations.

Old Labour:

Essential value is equality. One way this is done is through the redistribution of income.

Governments must favour the interests of the working class who suffer more than middle/upper class and provide equality of opportunity.

They support nationalisation of key industries and the welfare state- every member of society should be protected by a welfare system to which all should contribute.

Policies and actions:

• The creation of a welfare state which included the NHS under the government of Clement Atlee
• Taxes on high earners increased to pay for the welfare state and help the poor
• Comprehensive education in the 1960s and equal pay for women
• Nationalisation of major industries

New Labour:

• Adopted by Tony Blair. Supported by thinker Anthony Giddens who developed the Third Way approach

Values:

• Rejected the idea of class conflict and supported capitalism as the best way of creating wealth, therefore encouraging the free market.

• Equality of opportunity not equality of outcome through education and welfare to ensure everyone has a good start in life.

• The UK was deeply undemocratic which led to political and constitutional reform such as the HRA in 1998 Policies and Actions:

• Increase in expenditure in the NHS

• Large investments in education

• Reduce corporation tax

• Reduce poverty through tax and welfare systems

Labour Party Today:

• Strong welfare state and well funded health service and education
• Industry remain private but regulated by the state
• Support of an elected second chamber of Parliament
• Keir Starmer became Labour leader in April 2020 winning 56.4% of the vote and the Prime minister in 2024, winning 412 seats.

The Labour 2024 manifesto:

Economic policies:

• Restore economic stability with tough new spending rules, allow businesses to plan, with a cap on corporation tax at 25%, and a new industrial strategy to give business long-term certainty for investment decisions.

• Unleash investment with a new National Wealth Fund to invest in the industries for the future, and Great British Energy to accelerate the transition to Clean Power. Our plan will create 650,000 jobs in the industries of the future

• Reform our planning rules to build the railways, roads, labs and 1.5 million homes we need and develop a new 10-year infrastructure strategy.

• Ending tax breaks for private schools, which exempt them from VAT and business rates.

• Closing the loopholes which allow some 'non-dom' mega rich people who live in the UK to avoid paying tax.

• Introducing a proper windfall tax on the huge profits the energy giants are making. Health and social policies:

• Free breakfast clubs in every primary school

• A modern curriculum so young people are ready for work and life

• Cut NHS waiting times with 40,000 more appointments every week

• Double the number of cancer scanners

• A new Dentistry Rescue Plan

The Liberal Democrat's

Set up in 1988 by the SDP and the Liberal Party

They won 62 seats in 2005 and formed a coalition government in 2010 with the Conservatives with Nick Clegg and David Cameron were both PMs

In the 2024 General Election, the Liberal Democrats won 71 seats.

Values of the Lib Dems:

• Liberty is the key value.
• Equality of opportunity
• Welfare to tackle sickness, unemployment and poverty
• Social reformers and encourage rights for women, LGBT
• Concerned over power of the government. To control this, there needs to be a strong constitution
• Strong commitment to justice.

The Liberal Democrat's 2024 Manifesto:

Economy:

• Pragmatic approach to the economy

• Fair taxation

• Reversing the Conservatives' tax cuts for big banks and imposing a proper, one-off windfall tax on the super-profits of oil and gas producers and traders.

• Provide long-term help with the cost of living by cutting energy bills through an emergency Home Energy Upgrade programme, tackling rising food prices through a National Food Strategy Law and order:

• prisons should seek to rehabilitate offenders

• Restoring proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and focused on preventing and solving crimes

• Creating a new statutory guarantee that all burglaries will be attended by the police and properly investigated. Immigration:

• Protect the rights of EU citizens and their families in the UK by: Automatically granting full Settled Status to all those with Pre-Settled Status.

Providing them with physical proof of their right to stay.

• Reduce the fee for registering a child as a British citizen from £1,214 to the cost of administration.
• Provide safe and legal routes to sanctuary for refugees EU: wanted to remain in the EU.

Welfare: Increased welfare for education and healthcare. Increase number of teachers by 20,000

Foreign Policy: supportive of NATO. International conflicts should be settled through the UN, not through military action