Political parties provide an opportunity for the ordinary people of a nation to engage in politics. Whereas in the past, a country’s government was chosen by the monarch or by a small group of very rich men, in Western style democracies, virtually everyone has the right to vote.
Political parties monitor the work of other people in the public eye. In the United Kingdom, committees made up of Members of Parliament exist to debate such issues as the royal family and its value for money but also to ensure that members of their political parties are not being corrupt and taking bribes.
Some members of political parties who are part of the ruling government are given important jobs to do for that government; such as developing and putting into practice that government’s health or education policy. These heads of governmental departments have immense responsibility and power.
Political parties have often found themselves acting to protect a state’s sovereignty or to regain it. The Conservative party fought the 2001 General Election largely on preventing the United Kingdom from joining the European Single Currency, which it felt would damage British sovereignty. While in Wales and Scotland, Nationalist parties have been created to promote greater independence for these countries from the British government at Westminster.
Political parties also have a very important job of maintaining discipline within the party and ensuring that members of the political party vote as a whole and don’t stray from the party line. It is important for political parties to vote together because deviation from the party line could bring down the government and the greater the majority a ruling political party has, the more likely it is able to do as it wishes.
Members of Parliament are an important asset to their political party because they are able to relay back to party headquarters the issues and concerns of the people in their local areas. This can help influence a change in a political parties policy direction, which could help increase their chances of being re-elected.
Another important function of the political party is to elect a leader.
The Conservative and Labour party leader is voted for by members of the political party, therefore when they vote, these members are aware that they might be voting for the individual who might become the next Prime Minister. In the United States it is the political party who decides which individual becomes their candidate to run for President. Once elected, it is the President who decides who is added to the Supreme Court, America’s most powerful and prestigious justice court. The British Prime Minister, leader of the ruling political party has immense powers of patronage at their disposal. The Prime Minister advises the Queen on a whole range of public appointments such as the Civil Service and the Church of England that are made in the name of the Crown. A very important function for political parties is to exemplify democracy. In the United Kingdom, political parties only rule if they have received the public mandate. Elizabeth Spehar, Executive Coordinator of the OAS Unit for the Promotion of Democracy said “The role of political parties is a key element in the consolidation of democracy”.1 In the United Kingdom, the political party that wins the most votes in a given election wins control of the House of Commons, with the leader of that party becoming Prime Minister. However political parties not only provide political leaders but symbolic ones. In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister is not the head of state that honour belongs to the ruling monarch, at present Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. However in many other democratic states such as the United States, the winner of the Presidential election also becomes the head of state and must take on the symbolic trappings of that role. Another role of the political party is to be accountable for one’s actions while in office. If the party that forms the government has done something wrong during its term in office, they will be held accountable for this. Political parties are essential in the development and organising of public policy. Political parties often debate the advantages and disadvantages of bills before they are passed, which helps to clear up any mistakes in them before they are made law. While an obvious aim of a political party is to gain control of the nation’s government, political parties which are not in office can have a great deal of influence on the ruling government. The relationship between the ruling and opposition political party often determines how truly democratic the parliamentary system is, it is widely agreed that it is necessary for there to be strong competition between political parties to demonstrate parliament is functioning democratically. In the United Kingdom, the aims of the Conservative Party, the present party in opposition is to constructively criticise the government’s policy and legislation. Another function of the political parties in opposition is to seek changes to government bills where it wants and also propose it’s own policies of dealing with the country’s problems or major issues to enable them to attract greater public support and with that a greater chance of them gaining office. Modern political parties wish to appeal to as many people as is possible. Although there likely there is some basis for agreement between the members of a political party for it to work in the first place, it would be unrealistic to think that one party could totally represent all the ideas and beliefs of all its members. It is necessary for a political party to appeal to as many people as possible in order to reap as much support as possible to maximize its chances of being elected into office. Another important role of political parties is to foster good relations with organisations, which represent large amounts of society. An example of this is the Labour party’s close relationship with the Trades Union Congress (TUC), which represents trade unions across Britain, representing more than 7 million people.
In conclusion, it is clearly evident that political parties in democracies have many essential functions and roles to play in society.
FOOTNOTES
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dennis Kavangh, Political Parties, Politics UK (Edition 4), Pearson Education Limited, 2001.
Kay Lawson, Political Parties and Democracy in the United States, Scribners
Robert Garner & Richard Kelly, British Political Parties Today (Edition 2), Manchester University Press, 1996.