Why is there increasing disillusionment with party politics in the UK?

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Why is there increasing disillusionment with party politics in the UK?

The purpose of this short text is to explain why there is increasing disillusionment with party politics in the UK, as well as the factors which cause it.

Firstly, the shift, post-Thatcher years, into the common ground of consensual politics by the main parties has worried, and perhaps confused, the average man. After being used to clear divides between the parties for so long, the normal person can no longer comprehend the differences between the major parties. They start to believe that the major parties are all essentially the same beast. Generally, this is true, because the main parties have shifted to the centre and there are only minor economic and social policies which are actually different. Obviously, if the parties agreed on everything, then they would belong to the same organisation, so it cannot be said that the three main parties (Lib-Lab-Con), are absolutely identical, however.

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This effect is closely related to the idea of partisan dealignment – people start to identify less with the traditional main parties, and start to consider other options (or none at all).

However, there is a flip-side to this. Due to the fact that there is, for the uneducated fellow, no discernable difference between Lib-Lab-Con, the average person starts to consider more minor, radical parties. This is, in my opinion, a good effect, for it makes the system more democratic. This is so, because if there was a monopoly on the government system, those in charge, could more easily abuse ...

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