To What Extent do the UKs main Political Parties share Similar Polices and Ideologies

Edexcel A/S and A2 Politics

Unit 1

People & Politics

To What Extent do the UK’s main Political Parties share Similar Polices and Ideologies? (25)

Since the introduction of the electoral system the UK has always had two leading parties, the Conservatives and Labour. The Conservatives used to be very right ring, and Labour very left wing, although gradually, and with the reconstruction of “New Labour” the parties have become very centralised, and although the Conservative party is still the most right wing of the major parties it is still a contributor to the crowded centre ground. Since the reformation of the Labour party it is now considered to be right wing, as with the Liberal Democrats, even though they have been in pretty much the same position since their creation. The reason being for the crowded centre ground in politics is that each of the main parties are trying to attract the same group of voters, neither of these three main parties are focusing on the working or upper-class, but on the middle-class, because is where the majority of voters lie. With each party trying to seize the same area of the electorate the centre ground is created. There are two other parties verging on the edge of becoming major and these are the BNP and the Green Party, neither of these are near the centre ground, they are both left wing but the Green Party is extremely liberalistic and the BNP is predominantly authoritarian.

The two main parties in the UK are the Conservatives and Labour; these are the major parties due to the nature of their policies and the similarities they bare. These two parties both share policies on the economy, social security, law and order, education and health care. Both parties seek to end state benefit dependency, with Labour continuing the policy of means-testing for social security benefits, which was initiated by the Conservatives. Referring to law and order, Labour has been accused of stealing the Conservatives party policies on this subject. They both share the view that there is a need ...

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Apart from all these similarities they also have their difference, such as the redistribution of wealth, public spending, and taxation and workers rights. The Labour government has redistributed wealth from the richer to poorer families; this policy has links with the traditional Labour policies and would never be pursued by the Conservatives. A major difference between Labour and the Conservatives is the issue on public spending, because the Labour party has claimed to have spent more money on key public services than any previous government, this has caused problems for the Conservatives since they now have to prove to their voters that their desire to cut taxes will not come at the expense of public expenditure.

Conservatives believe in a well ordered society based on the personal responsibility of individuals. Important ideologies to Conservatives are national traditions and patriotism; they can be suspicious of the Government and have therefore traditionally supported only a limited role for the state. The creation and preservation of wealth and property are the basis of conservative thinking. Essentially, liberals believe in the primacy of individual rights, and these rights can only be restricted if they infringe upon the right of others. The centre of liberal philosophy is personal freedom and human rights. Another key ideology is socialism, which includes a variety of views on the left of the political spectrum. The main belief of socialists is equality, and a thing such as the eradication of the causes of inequality is an aspiration that would be pursued by someone who refers to themselves as a socialist.

It can be drawn from the above reasoning that although there is substantial evidence to suggest that the parties have adopted others ideologies and policies, there remains a clear difference between the two major parties.