British Public Affairs (JN805)

1. British Public Affairs (JN805) Political Parties

2. Lecture Outline 1. Overview of Political Parties 2. The Conservative Party 3. The Labour Party 4. The Liberal-Democrats

3. 1. Overview of Political Parties Political organisations are usually formally structured and seek political change through institutional means. Terrorist groups, however, work outside institutional structures. New Social Movements also do not have formal organisational structure.

4. 1. Overview of Political Parties Pressure groups have a degree of institutional existence and they represent the interests of their members. Pressure groups may be closely allied to political parties but they do not seek election to public office. Pressure groups lobby politicians, organize petitions, provide policy advice to governments, publish research, newsletters, stage public rallies, media events, demonstrations, etc. Pressure groups include: British Medical Association, Confederation of British Industry, trade unions, Friends of the Earth, Amnesty International, Oxfam, etc.

5. 1. Overview of Political Parties • Political parties are structured around particular ideological positions (although larger parties adopt a more pragmatic orientation). • Parties can be broad based to attract electorates in mass societies, or they can be single issue parties.

6. 1. Overview of Political Parties • Parties have complex organisationalcultures: • Party leader and leadership team; • Parliamentary party; • Mass membership, organised at regional, constituency and ward levels; • Party conferences; • National organisation and party bureaucracy to provide administrative, promotional and research support.

7. 1. Overview of Political Parties • Political parties are important means through which citizens can engage in political activity.

8. 1. Overview of Political Parties • Political parties are structures that can attract sufficient public support in order to gain political power and govern through parliamentary assemblies.

9. 1. Overview of Political Parties • Summary of the functions of political parties: • Provide political choice • Enable political recruitment and training • Communicate with, and inform, citizens • Encourage political participation • Reconcile and aggregate interests • Form and run governments

10. 1. Overview of Political Parties • Contemporary State of Political Parties: • Parties less aligned to social groups and classes – less ‘natural’ constituency • More free-floating in search of voters • Two party system breaking down • Less ‘natural’ ties to parties mean citizens less trusting in/engaged with parties than before (next topic)

11. 1. Overview of Political Parties In mainstream parliamentary politics we now have more autonomous ‘electoral-professional’ parties (Panebianco 1988; Ward 1991) that are governed less by specific ideological orientations and that rely more on political consultants and state-funded resources rather than a body of party membership.

12. DECLINE OF CLASS VOTING Non-manual Con voters + Manual Lab voters All voters Source: Paul Webb, The Modern British Party System (2000) Table 2.3

13. MEMBERSHIP OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN BRITAIN, 1964-2001 Source: Paul Webb,, ‘Political Parties in Britain’, in Webb et al, eds, Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies (2002)

14. … AND IN OTHER COUNTRIES Source: Susan Scarrow, in Dalton/Wattenberg, eds, Parties Without Partisans (2000)

15. 2. The Conservative Party • Title of ‘Conservative Party’ officially adopted in 1834 by Sir Robert Peel (PM from 1834-5 and 1841-46). Founding document: The Tamworth Manifesto. • ‘One Nation Toryism’ – PMs such as Harold Macmillan (1957-63) and Sir Alec Douglas-Home (1963-64) overturned by Thatcherism.

16. 2. The Conservative Party • Tory values: • Privatisation • Low taxes • Tough anti-crime measures • Free-market approach to the economy

17. 2. The Conservative Party • Royal Mail Privatisation • http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-mail/10303689/Royal-Mail-privatisation-Government-confirms-flotation-within-weeks.html • http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/debate/royal-mail-privatisation-the-pros-and-cons-8814217.html • Opposition within Party: • http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/sep/13/royal-mail-privatisation-rural-tories

18. 2. The Conservative Party Traditionally the conservative party has had the largest individual subscribing membership of any British party. They had 250,000 members in September 2010 and have now slumped to 134,000. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/10316950/Conservative-Party-membership-has-halved-since-David-Cameron-and-clique-came-to-power.html But is that a problem? http://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2013/09/why-membership-numbers-mean-very-little-conservative-party

19. 2. The Conservative Party Cameron tried to broaden range of MPs in Party: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2251368/Does-want-Tory-MP-more.html Tories experimented with open primaries where electors select candidates but this has been ‘shelved’: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/jun/16/sarah-wollaston-speak-my-mind

20. 2. The Conservative Party Cameron has problem of trying to appeal to broad electorate while keeping on side a party membership that is less representative of the electorate: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/feb/05/gay-marriage-vote-cameron-adrift

21. 2. The Conservative Party From the mid-60s until 1998 Conservative leaders were elected by their parliamentary colleagues but now only the first stage of the process is handled exclusively by MPs and peers. Once two frontrunners have emerged their names are put forward to ordinary members around the country and a vote occurs. The 1922 committee comprises all conservative MPs apart from the leader.

22. 3. The LabourParty • Labour Party grew out of the Trade Union movement and early progressive groups such as The Fabian Society and the Social Democratic Federation. The Independent Labour Party was formed in 1900. • It first formed a minority government under Ramsey MacDonald in 1924. • Post WWII landslide win for Clement Attlee in 1945 – Labour introduced National Health Service, free state education, welfare state.

23. 3. The Labour Party • ‘Modernisation’ of Party under Blair (1997-2007) – reworked clause 4 of Labour’s constitution on public ownership/nationalisation, moved Party more to Centre-Left.

24. 3. The Labour Party • Labour Party now has about 187,000 members. • Until 1981 leaders were elected solely by party MPs. Now, 1/3 Party MPs, 1/3 Party members, 1/3 affiliated organisations.

25. 3. The Labour Party • Ed Miliband’s reforms of Party membership – stopping automatic Party links through Union membership, following row over claimed union involvement in Falkirk preselection. • http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/unite-cleared-over-bid-to-rig-falkirk-candidate-1-3080800 • http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/sep/04/miliband-labour-union-gmb-funding • http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/23/labour-faces-co-op-cash-crisis

26. 4. The Liberal Democrats • Historical links to the Liberal Party. • Liberals supported Callaghan government (1976-79) in 1977-79. • In 1981 Labour moderates quit to form the Social Democratic Party (SDP). • In 1988 Liberals and SDP merged to form the Liberal Democrats.

27. 4. The Liberal Democrats • Liberal Democrats are a federal organisation. • 64,000 members in 2010, now 42,000. • http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/07/lib-dem-money-woes-grow-party-membership-hits-new-low • Democratic method of electing leaders – all members have equal say in election.

28. 4. The Liberal Democrats • Under Clegg’s leadership there has been a shift to the right – more traditional ‘Liberal’ free market approach.