Outline two features of a political party.

Two significant features of political parties are setting policies and electing leaders. Discussing and deciding on policies are a main feature for all parties because this defines what they stand for and therefore sets why people should support and vote for them. Another feature is how the parties choose to elect their leader. This is a key decision because if the party is elected the leader will there fore be made prime minister of the country. There are diferent ways of voting for a leader, the Conservative Party allows all members of the party to vote. The Labour Party however have an electoral college made up of Trades Unions, MP's and Party members.

In what ways do political parties promote democracy?

Political parties aim to promote democracy in various ways, some of these involve the public where as others might promote democracy by implementing certain policies. One way in which parties do this is by educating the electorate. The electorate i.e. the public/ the people that vote for the party, they educate them by informing them about the party, about the UK government and about how to vote effectively. They do this by going to people's homes, holding meetings, going to public events, the internet etc. however some people would argue that this is not democratic because the party only educate the electorate about one party, they are also accused of watering down new party ideas to fit each persons own individual ideologies, making their party seem like the 'right choice'. However, it does involve people in democracy.
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Another way in which parties promote democracy is by generating new ideas. As time goes by policies can become outdated. So to make sure that both the partie's policies and the laws represent society fairly the parties decide on new policies they will implement when they are in power. This appeals to the public because the feel they are being represented fairly and that changes in society are being taken into account.

Lastly political parties could aim to promote democracy by offering the electorate a choice. The UK has a two party system however there are ...

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