Politics of the United Kingdom

The politics of the United Kingdom takes place within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is head of state and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the Her Majesty's Government, on behalf of the Monarch, as well as by the devolved governments of Scotland and Wales, and the Executive of Northern Ireland. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the House of Commons and the House of Lords, as well as in the Scottish parliament and Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, the highest national court being the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

The UK is a multi-party system and since the 1920s, the two largest political parties have been the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, before the Labour Party rose in British politics the Liberal Party was the other major political party along with the Conservatives. Though coalition and minority governments have been an occasional feature of parliamentary politics, the first-past-the-post electoral system used for general elections tends to maintain the dominance of these two parties, though each has in the past century relied upon a third party to deliver a working majority in Parliament.^[1]

Support for nationalist parties in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales led to proposals for devolution in the 1970s though only in the 1990s did devolution actually happen. Today, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each possess a legislature and government alongside that of the United Kingdom, responsible for devolved matters. However, it is a matter of dispute as to whether increased autonomy and devolution of executive and legislative powers has contributed to a reduction in support for independence. The principal pro-independence party, the Scottish National Party, won 20 extra MSPs at the 2007 Scottish parliament elections and now forms the Scottish Government as a minority administration, with plans to hold a referendum on negotiating for independence. In Wales, the nationalist party, Plaid Cymru, is the junior coalition partner in the Welsh Assembly Government although unlike the Scottish National Party it does not officially advocate complete secession from the United Kingdom. In Northern Ireland, the largest Pro-Belfast Agreement party, Sinn Féin, not only advocates Northern Ireland's unification with the Republic of Ireland, but also abstains from taking their elected seats in the Westminster government, as this would entail taking a pledge of allegiance to the British monarch.

The constitution of the United Kingdom is uncodified, being made up of constitutional conventions, statutes and other elements. This system of government, known as the Westminster system, has been adopted by other countries as well, such as Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Kenya, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and countries that made up large and significant parts of the British Empire.

Monarch

The British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is the United Kingdom's head of state but takes little direct part in government. The decisions to exercise sovereign powers are delegated from the Monarch, either by statute or by convention, to Ministers or officers of the Crown, or other public bodies, exclusive of the Monarch personally. Thus the acts of state done in the name of the Crown, such as Crown Appointments, even if personally performed by the Monarch, such as the Queen's Speech and the State Opening of Parliament, depend upon decisions made elsewhere: Legislative power is exercised by the Crown in Parliament, by and with the advice and consent of Parliament, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Executive power is exercised by Her Majesty's Government, which comprises Ministers, primarily the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, which is technically a committee of the Privy Council. They have the direction of the Armed Forces of the Crown, the Civil Service and other Crown Servants such as the Diplomatic and Secret Services (the Queen receives certain foreign intelligence reports before the Prime Minister does). Judicial power is vested in the Judiciary, who by constitution and statute have judicial independence of the Government. The Church of England, of which the Monarch is the head, has its own legislative, judicial and executive structures. Powers independent of government are legally granted to other public bodies by statute or statutory instrument such as an Order-in-Council, Royal Commission or otherwise. Apart from members of parliament and local authorities, no public officers are elected. According to the uncodified constitution of the United Kingdom, the monarch has the following powers:

The power to appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister
The power to appoint and dismiss other ministers.
The power to summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament
The power to make war and peace
The power to command the armed forces of the United Kingdom
The power to issue passports
The power to appoint bishops and archbishops of the Church of England
The power to create peers (both life peers and hereditary peers)
The Queen retains the power of Royal Prerogative to make decisions ,if required, in her name

Executive

Executive power in the United Kingdom is exercised on behalf of the Sovereign, in whom executive power is nominally vested, by the UK government and the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.

The United Kingdom Government

The monarch appoints a Prime Minister as the head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, guided by the strict convention that the Prime Minister should be the member of the House of Commons most likely to be able to form a Government with the support of that House. In practice, this means that the leader of the political party with an absolute majority of seats in the House of Commons is chosen to be the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister then selects the other Ministers which make up the Government and act as political heads of the various Government Departments. About twenty of the most senior government ministers make up the Cabinet and approximately 100 ministers in total comprise the government. In accordance with constitutional convention, all ministers within the government are either Members of Parliament or peers in the House of Lords.

As in some other parliamentary systems of government (especially those based upon the Westminster System), the executive (called "the government") is drawn from and is answerable to Parliament - a successful vote of no confidence will force the government either to resign or to seek a parliamentary dissolution and a general election. In practice, members of parliament of all major parties are strictly controlled by whips who try to ensure they vote according to party policy. If the government has a large majority, then they are very unlikely to lose enough votes to be unable to pass legislation.

The Prime Minister and the Cabinet

The Prime Minister, as the label suggests, is the prime or senior minister in the Cabinet. She/he is responsible for chairing Cabinet meetings, selecting Cabinet ministers (and all other positions in Her Majesty's government), and formulating governmental policy. The Prime Minister is the de facto source of executive authority in the UK government, since s/he exercises executive functions that are nominally vested in the sovereign (by way of the Royal Prerogatives). Historically, the British monarch was the sole source of executive powers in the government. However, following the rule of the Hanoverian monarchs, an arrangement of a "Prime Minister" chairing and leading the Cabinet began to emerge. Over time, this arrangement became the effective executive branch of government, as it assumed the day-to-day functioning of the British government away from the sovereign.

Theoretically, the Prime Minister is primus inter pares (,i.e. Latin for "first among equals") among his/her Cabinet colleagues. While the Prime Minister is the senior Cabinet Minister, s/he is theoretically bound to make executive decisions in a collective fashion with the other Cabinet ministers. The Cabinet, along with the PM, consists of Secretaries of State from the various government departments. Cabinet meetings are typically held weekly, while Parliament is in session.

Government departments and the Civil Service

The Government of the United Kingdom contains a number of ministries known mainly, though not exclusively as departments, e.g., Ministry of Defence. These are politically led by a Government Minister who is often a Secretary of State and member of the Cabinet. He or she may also be supported by a number of junior Ministers. In practice, several government departments and Ministers have responsibilities that cover England alone, with devolved bodies having responsibility for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, (for example - the Department of Health), or responsibilities that mainly focus on England (such as the Department for Education).

Implementation of the Minister's decisions is carried out by a permanent politically neutral organisation known as the civil service. Its constitutional role is to support the Government of the day regardless of which political party is in power. Unlike some other democracies, senior civil servants remain in post upon a change of Government. Administrative management of the Department is led by a head civil servant known in most Departments as a Permanent Secretary. The majority of the civil service staff in fact work in executive agencies, which are separate operational organisations reporting to Departments of State.

"Whitehall" is often used as a synonym for the central core of the Civil Service. This is because most Government Departments have headquarters in and around the former Royal Palace Whitehall.

Devolved national administrations

Scottish Government

The Scottish Government is responsible for all issues that are not explicitly reserved to the United Kingdom Parliament at Westminster, by the Scotland Act; including NHS Scotland, education, justice, rural affairs, and transport. It manages an annual budget of more than £25 billion.^[2] The government is led by the First Minister, assisted by various Ministers with individual portfolios and remits. The Scottish Parliament nominates a Member to be appointed as First Minister by the Queen. The First Minister then appoints his Ministers (now known as Cabinet Secretaries) and junior Ministers, subject to approval by the Parliament. The First Minister, the Ministers (but not junior ministers), the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General are the Members of the 'Scottish Executive', as set out in the Scotland Act 1998. They are collectively known as "the Scottish Ministers".

Welsh Assembly Government

The Welsh Assembly Government and the National Assembly for Wales have more limited powers than those devolved to Scotland,^[3] although following the passing of the Government of Wales Act 2006, the Assembly can now legislate in some areas through Assembly Measures passed within clearly defined areas based upon, Legislative Competence Orders which can be granted on a case by case basis.^[4] The current Welsh Assembly Government was formed several weeks after the 2007 elections, following a brief period of minority administration, when Plaid Cymru joined Labour in a coalition government, which since December 2009 has been under the leadership of Carwyn Jones.

Northern Ireland Executive

The Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly have powers closer to those already devolved to Scotland. The Northern Ireland Executive is led by a diarchy, currently First Minister Peter Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party) and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin).^[5]

Legislatures

The UK Parliament is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom (i.e., there is parliamentary sovereignty), and Government is drawn from and answerable to it. Parliament is bicameral, consisting of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. There is also a devolved Scottish Parliament and devolved Assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland, with varying degrees of legislative authority.

UK Parliament

House of Commons

The Countries of the United Kingdom are divided into parliamentary constituencies of broadly equal population by the four Boundary Commissions. Each constituency elects a Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons at General Elections and, if required, at by-elections. As of 2010 there are 650 constituencies (there were 646 before that year's general election. Of the 650 MPs, all but one - Lady Sylvia Hermon - belong to a political party.

In modern times, all Prime Ministers and Leaders of the Opposition have been drawn from the Commons, not the Lords. Alec Douglas-Home resigned from his peerages days after becoming Prime Minister in 1963, and the last Prime Minister before him from the Lords left in 1902 (the Marquess of Salisbury).

One party usually has a majority in Parliament, because of the use of the First Past the Post electoral system, which has been conducive in creating the current two party system. The monarch normally asks a person commissioned to form a government simply whether it can survive in the House of Commons, something which majority governments are expected to be able to do. In exceptional circumstances the monarch asks someone to 'form a government' with a parliamentary minority^[6] which in the event of no party having a majority requires the formation of a coalition government. This option is only ever taken at a time of national emergency, such as war-time. It was given in 1916 to Andrew Bonar Law, and when he declined, to David Lloyd George and in 1940 to Winston Churchill. A government is not formed by a vote of the House of Commons, it is a commission from the monarch. The House of Commons gets its first chance to indicate confidence in the new government when it votes on the Speech from the Throne (the legislative programme proposed by the new government).

House of Lords

The House of Lords was previously a largely hereditary aristocratic chamber, although including life peers, and Lords Spiritual. It is currently mid-way through extensive reforms, the most recent of these being enacted in the House of Lords Act 1999. The house consists of two very different types of member, the Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual. Lords Temporal include appointed members (life peers with no hereditary right for their descendants to sit in the house) and ninety-two remaining hereditary peers, elected from among, and by, the holders of titles which previously gave a seat in the House of Lords. The Lords Spiritual represent the established Church of England and number twenty-six: the Five Ancient Sees (Canterbury, York, London, Winchester and Durham), and the 21 next-most senior bishops.

The House of Lords currently acts to review legislation initiated by the House of Commons, with the power to propose amendments, and can exercise a suspensive veto. This allows it to delay legislation if it does not approve it for twelve months. However, the use of vetoes is limited by convention and by the operation of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949: the Lords may not veto the "money bills" or major manifesto promises (see Salisbury convention). Persistent use of the veto can also be overturned by the Commons, under a provision of the Parliament Act 1911. Often governments will accept changes in legislation in order to avoid both the time delay, and the negative publicity of being seen to clash with the Lords. However the Lords still retain a full veto in acts which would extend the life of Parliament beyond the 5 year term limit introduced by the Parliament Act 1911.

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 outlined plans for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to replace the role of the Law Lords.

The House of Lords was replaced as the final court of appeal on civil cases within the United Kingdom on 1 October 2009, by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

Devolved national legislatures

Though the UK parliament remains the sovereign parliament, Scotland has a parliament and Wales and Northern Ireland have assemblies. De jure, each could have its powers broadened, narrowed or changed by an Act of the UK Parliament. However, Scotland has a tradition of popular sovereignty as opposed to parliamentary sovereignty and the fact that the Scottish parliament was established following a referendum would make it politically difficult to significantly alter its powers without popular consent. The UK is therefore a unitary state with a devolved system of government. This contrasts with a federal system, in which sub-parliaments or state parliaments and assemblies have a clearly defined constitutional right to exist and a right to exercise certain constitutionally guaranteed and defined functions and cannot be unilaterally abolished by Acts of the central parliament.

All three devolved institutions are elected by proportional representation: the Additional Member System is used in Scotland and Wales, and Single Transferable Vote is used in Northern Ireland.

England, therefore, is the only country in the UK not to have a devolved English parliament. However, senior politicians of all main parties have voiced concerns in regard to the West Lothian Question,^[7]^[8] which is raised where certain policies for England are set by MPs from all four constituent nations whereas similar policies for Scotland or Wales might be decided in the devolved assemblies by legislators from those countries alone. Alternative proposals for English regional government have stalled, following a poorly received referendum on devolved government for the North East of England, which had hitherto been considered the region most in favour of the idea, with the exception of Cornwall, where there is widespread support for a Cornish Assembly, including all five Cornish MPs.^[9]^[10] England is therefore governed according to the balance of parties across the whole of the United Kingdom.

The government has no plans to establish an English parliament or assembly although several pressure groups^[11] are calling for one. One of their main arguments is that MPs (and thus voters) from different parts of the UK have inconsistent powers. Currently an MP from Scotland can vote on legislation which affects only England but MPs from England (or indeed Scotland) cannot vote on matters devolved to the Scottish parliament. Indeed, the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is an MP for a Scottish constituency, introduced some laws that only affect England and not his own constituency. This anomaly is known as the West Lothian question.

The policy of the UK Government in England was to establish elected regional assemblies with no legislative powers. The London Assembly was the first of these, established in 2000, following a referendum in 1998, but further plans were abandoned following rejection of a proposal for an elected assembly in North East England in a referendum in 2004. Unelected regional assemblies remain in place in eight regions of England.

Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament is the national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood"^[12] (cf. "Westminster"), is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members who are known as Members of the Scottish Parliament, or MSPs. Members are elected for four-year terms under the mixed member proportional representation system. As a result, 73 MSPs represent individual geographical constituencies elected by the plurality ("first past the post") system, with a further 56 returned from eight additional member regions, each electing seven MSPs.^[13]

The current Scottish Parliament was established by the Scotland Act 1998 and its first meeting as a devolved legislature was on 12 May 1999. The parliament has the power to pass laws and has limited tax-varying capability. Another of its roles is to hold the Scottish Government to account. The "devolved matters" over which it has responsibility include education, health, agriculture, and justice. A degree of domestic authority, and all foreign policy, remains with the UK Parliament in Westminster.

The public take part in Parliament in a way that is not the case at Westminster through Cross-Party Groups on policy topics which the interested public join and attend meetings of alongside Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs).

The resurgence in Celtic language and identity, as well as 'regional' politics and development, has contributed to forces pulling against the unity of the state.^[14] This was clearly demonstrated when - although some argue it was influenced by general public dillusionment with Labour - the Scottish National Party (SNP) became the largest party in the Scottish Parliament by one seat.

Alex Salmond (leader of SNP) has since made history by becoming the first First Minister of Scotland from a party other than Labour. The SNP govern as a minority administration at Holyrood. Nevertheless, recent opinion polls have suggested that nationalism (i.e., a desire to break up the UK) is rising within Scotland and England. However, the polls have been known to be inaccurate in the past (for example, in the run up to the 1992 General Election). Moreover, polls carried out in the 1970s and the 1990s showed similar results, only to be debunked at elections. While support for breaking up the UK was strongest in Scotland, there was still a clear lead for unionism over nationalism.^[15] However, an opinion poll in April 2008 suggested the result of any referendum on Scottish independence could be close as support for independence had reached 41% with just 40% supporting retention of the Union.^[16]

Welsh Assembly

The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales, and is also responsible for Welsh Assembly Government departments in Wales. The Assembly was formed under the Government of Wales Act 1998, by the Labour government, after a referendum in 1997 (also supported by Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats) approved its creation.

There is now a legal separation of the legislative and executive functions of the National Assembly, since the passing of the Government of Wales Act 2006. The Act created a separate executive called the "Welsh Assembly Government" which performs the day to day running of government affairs and contains members of the highest elected party of the Assembly chamber. The act also made the National Assembly for Wales a separate entity from the Welsh Assembly Government, and this entity scrutinizes the government in power. The "Assembly Commission" was also created to ensure the smooth running of resources and gathering of accurate facts for the Assembly to deal with.

As of the passing of the Government of Wales Act 2006, the National Assembly for Wales now has its own legislative powers known as Assembly Measures. Each Assembly Measure derives its power from a Legislative Competency Order which has to be passed by the Assembly and two Houses of Parliament. Before the 2006 Act, the Assembly did not have such legislative power and only had the right to develop Subordinate legislation off primary legislation made by the UK Parliament.

Northern Ireland assembly

The government of Northern Ireland was established as a result of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. This created the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Assembly is a unicameral body consisting of 108 members elected under the Single Transferable Vote form of proportional representation. The Assembly is based on the principle of power-sharing, in order to ensure that both communities in Northern Ireland, unionist and nationalist, participate in governing the region. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas and to elect the Northern Ireland Executive (cabinet). It sits at Parliament Buildings at Stormont in Belfast.

The Assembly has authority to legislate in a field of competences known as "transferred matters". These matters are not explicitly enumerated in the Northern Ireland Act 1998 but instead include any competence not explicitly retained by the Parliament at Westminster. Powers reserved by Westminster are divided into "excepted matters", which it retains indefinitely, and "reserved matters", which may be transferred to the competence of the Northern Ireland Assembly at a future date. Health, criminal law and education are "transferred" while royal relations are all "excepted".

While the Assembly was in suspension, due to issues involving the main parties and the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), its legislative powers were exercised by the UK government, which effectively had power to legislate by decree. Laws that would normally be within the competence of the Assembly were passed by the UK government in the form of Orders-in-Council rather than legislative acts.

File:StormontChamber.JPG

Northern Ireland Assembly in session.

There has been a significant decrease in violence over the last twenty years, though the situation remains tense, with the more hard-line parties such as Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party now holding the most parliamentary seats (see Demographics and politics of Northern Ireland).

Judiciary

The United Kingdom does not have a single legal system due to it being created by the political union of previously independent countries with the terms of the Treaty of Union guaranteeing the continued existence of Scotland's separate legal system. Today the UK has three distinct systems of law: English law, Northern Ireland law and Scots law. Recent constitutional changes saw a new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom come into being in October 2009 that took on the appeal functions of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords.^[17] The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, comprising the same members as the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords, is the highest court of appeal for several independent Commonwealth countries, the UK overseas territories, and the British crown dependencies.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Both English law, which applies in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland law are based on common-law principles. The essence of common-law is that law is made by judges sitting in courts, applying their common sense and knowledge of legal precedent (stare decisis) to the facts before them. The Courts of England and Wales are headed by the Supreme Court of Judicature of England and Wales, consisting of the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice (for civil cases) and the Crown Court (for criminal cases). The Appellate Committee of the House of Lords (usually just referred to, as "The House of Lords") is presently the highest court in the land for both criminal and civil cases in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and any decision it makes is binding on every other court in the hierarchy.

Scotland

Scots law, a hybrid system based on both common-law and civil-law principles, applies in Scotland. The chief courts are the Court of Session, for civil cases, and the High Court of Justiciary, for criminal cases. The Appellate Committee of the House of Lords (usually just referred to as "The House of Lords") presently serves as the highest court of appeal for civil cases under Scots law but only if the Court of Session grants leave to appeal or the initial judgement was by a majority decision. Sheriff courts deal with most civil and criminal cases including conducting criminal trials with a jury, known as Sheriff solemn Court, or with a Sheriff and no jury, known as (Sheriff summary Court). The Sheriff courts provide a local court service with 49 Sheriff courts organised across six Sheriffdoms.

Electoral systems

Various electoral systems are used in the UK:

The first-past-the-post system is used for general elections to the House of Commons, and also for some local government elections in England and Wales.
The plurality-at-large voting (the bloc vote) is also used for some local government elections in England and Wales.
The Additional Member System is used for elections to the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales (Welsh Assembly) and London Assembly. The system is implemented differently in each of the three locations.
The single transferable vote system is used in Northern Ireland to elect the Northern Ireland Assembly, local councils, and Members of the European Parliament, and in Scotland to elect local councils.
The Alternative Vote system is used for by-elections in Scottish local councils.
The party-list proportional representation system is used for European Parliament elections in England, Scotland and Wales.
The supplementary vote is used to elect directly-elected mayors in England, including the mayor of London.

The use of the first-past-the-post to elect members of Parliament is unusual among European nations. The use of the system means that MPs are sometimes elected from individual constituencies with a plurality (receiving more votes than any other candidate, but not an absolute majority of 50 percent plus one vote), due to three or more candidates receiving a significant share of the vote.

Elections and political parties in the United Kingdom are affected by Duverger's law, the political science principle which states that plurality voting systems, such as first-past-the-post, tend to lead to the development of two-party systems. The UK, like several other states, has sometimes been called a "two-and-a-half" party system, because parliamentary politics is dominated by the Labour Party and Conservative Party, with the Liberal Democrats holding a significant number of seats (but still substantially less than Labour and the Conservatives), and several small parties (some of them regional or nationalist) trailing far behind in number of seats.

In the last few general elections, voter mandates for Westminster in the 40% ranges have been swung into 60% parliamentary majorities. No single party has won a majority of the popular vote since the Third National Government of Stanley Baldwin in 1935. On two occasions since World War II - 1951 and February 1974 - a party that came in second in the popular vote actually came out with the larger number of seats.

Electoral reform for parliamentary elections have been proposed many times. The Jenkins Commission report in October 1998 suggested implementing the Alternative Vote Top-up (also called Alternative Vote Plus or AV+) in parliamentary elections. Under this proposal, most MPs would be directly elected from constituencies by the alternative vote, with a number of additional members elected from "top-up lists." However, no action was taken by the Labour government and the time. There are a number of groups in the UK campaigning for electoral reform, including the Electoral Reform Society, Make Votes Count Coalition and Fairshare.

It was highly unlikely that electoral reform would happen unless there was a significant change in the balance of power and Labour lost its large majority, or if the Liberal Democrats, which have long campaigned for the introduction of Proportional representation, provided the keystone of a hung parliament.

The 2010 general election resulted in a hung parliament (no single party being able to command a majority in the House of Commons). This was only the second general election since World War II to return a hung parliament, the first being the February 1974 election. The Conservatives gained the most seats (ending 13 years of Labour government) and the largest percentage of the popular vote, but fell 20 seats short of a majority.

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats entered into a new coalition government, headed by David Cameron. Under the terms of the coalition agreement the government committed itself to hold a referendum in May 2011 on whether to change parliamentary elections from first-past-the-post to AV. Electoral reform was a majority priority for the Liberal Democrats, who favor proportional representation but were able to negotiate only a referendum on AV with the Conservatives. The coalition partners plan to campaign on opposite sides, with the Liberal Democrats supporting AV and the Conservatives opposing it.

Voter turnout in the 2010 general election with 65 percent.

Political parties

Three parties currently dominate the national political landscape in Britain: the Conservative Party, the Labour Party, and the Liberal Democrats.

The modern Conservative Party was founded in 1834 and is an outgrowth of the Tory movement or party, which began in 1678. Today it is still colloquially referred to as the Tory Party and its members as Tories. The Liberal Democrats were formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), a Labour breakaway formed in 1981. The Liberals and SDP had contested elections together as the SDP–Liberal Alliance for seven years before. The modern Liberal Party has been founded in 1859 as an outgrowth of the Whig movement or party (which began at the same time as the Tory party and was its historical rival) as well as the Radical and Peelite tendencies.

The Liberal Party was one of the two dominant parties (along with the Conservatives) from its founding until the 1920s, when it rapidly declined and was supplanted on the left by the Labour Party, which was founded in 1900 and formed its first government in 1924. Since that time, the Labour and Conservatives parties have been dominant, with the Liberal Democrats also holding a significant number of seats and increasing their share of the vote in parliamentary general elections in the four elections 1992.

Minor parties also hold seats in parliament:

The nationalist Scottish National Party, founded in 1934, advocates for Scottish independence and has had continuous representation in Parliament since 1967. The SNP currently leads a minority government in the Scottish Parliament.
Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, has had continuous representation in Parliament since 1974. Plaid has the second-largest number of seats in the National Assembly for Wales, after Welsh Labour, and the two parties are in coalition agreement in the Assembly.
In Northern Ireland, all 18 MPs are from parties that only contest elections in Northern Ireland (except for Sinn Féin, which contests elections in both Northern Island and the Republic of Ireland). The unionism Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the republican Sinn Féin, the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and the nonsectarian Alliance Party of Northern Ireland all gained seats in Parliament in the 2010 election, the Alliance Party for the first time. Sinn Féin has a policy of abstentionism and so its MPs refuse to take their seats in Parliament. DUP, Sinn Féin, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and the SDLP are considered the four major parties in Northern Ireland, holding the most seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

In the most recent general election in 2010, the result amounted to a hung parliament, and after several days of negotiations, the Labour Party left the government with the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats operating a coalition government.

Conservatives (Tories)

The Conservative Party won the largest number of seats at the 2010 general election, returning 307 MPs, though not enough to make an overall majority. As a result of negotiations following the election, they entered a formal coalition with the Liberal Democrats to form a majority government.

The Conservative party can trace its origin back to 1662, with the Court Party and the Country Party being formed in the aftermath of the English Civil War. The Court Party soon became known as the Tories, a name that has stuck despite the official name being 'Conservative'. The term "Tory" originates from the Exclusion Bill crisis of 1678-1681 - the Whigs were those who supported the exclusion of the Roman Catholic Duke of York from the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland, and the Tories were those who opposed it. Both names were originally insults: a "whiggamore" was a horse drover (See Whiggamore Raid), and a "tory" (Tóraidhe) was an Irish term for an outlaw, later applied to Irish Confederates and Irish Royalists, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.^[18]

Generally, the Tories were associated with lesser gentry and the Church of England, while Whigs were more associated with trade, money, larger land holders (or "land magnates"), expansion and tolerance.

The Rochdale Radicals were a group of more extreme reformists who were also heavily involved in the cooperative movement. They sought to bring about a more equal society, and are considered by modern standards to be left-wing.

After becoming associated with repression of popular discontent in the years after 1815, the Tories underwent a fundamental transformation under the influence of Robert Peel, himself an industrialist rather than a landowner, who in his 1834 "Tamworth Manifesto" outlined a new "Conservative" philosophy of reforming ills while conserving the good.

Though Peel's supporters subsequently split from their colleagues over the issue of free trade in 1846, ultimately joining the Whigs and the Radicals to form what would become the Liberal Party, Peel's version of the party's underlying outlook was retained by the remaining Tories, who adopted his label of Conservative as the official name of their party.

The crushing defeat of the 1997 election saw the Conservative Party lose over half their seats from 1992 and saw the party re-align with public perceptions of them.

In 2008, the Conservative Party formed a pact with the Ulster Unionist Party to select joint candidates for European and House of Commons elections; this angered the DUP as by splitting the Unionist vote, republican parties will be elected in some areas.^[19]

After thirteen years as the official opposition, the Party returned to power as part of a coalition with the Liberal Democrats in 2010.

Labour

The Labour Party won the second largest number of seats in the House of Commons at the 2010 general election, with 258 MPs.

The history of the Labour party goes back to 1900 when a Labour Representation Committee was established which changed its name to "The Labour Party" in 1906. After the First World War, this led to the demise of the Liberal Party as the main reformist force in British politics. The existence of the Labour Party on the left of British politics led to a slow waning of energy from the Liberal Party, which has consequently assumed third place in national politics. After performing poorly in the elections of 1922, 1923 and 1924, the Liberal Party was superseded by the Labour Party as the party of the left.

Following two brief spells in minority governments in 1924 and 1929–1931, the Labour Party had its first true victory after World War II in the 1945 "khaki election". Throughout the rest of the twentieth century, Labour governments alternated with Conservative governments. The Labour Party suffered the "wilderness years" of 1951-1964 (three straight General Election defeats) and 1979-1997 (four straight General Election defeats).

During this second period, Margaret Thatcher, who became leader of the Conservative party in 1975, made a fundamental change to Conservative policies, turning the Conservative Party into an economic neoliberal party. In the General Election of 1979 she defeated James Callaghan's troubled Labour government after the winter of discontent.

For most of the 1980s and the 1990s, Conservative governments under Thatcher and her successor John Major pursued policies of privatization, anti-trade-unionism, and, for a time, monetarism, now known collectively as Thatcherism.

The Labour Party elected left-winger Michael Foot as their leader after their 1979 election defeat, and he responded to dissatisfaction with the Labour Party by pursuing a number of radical policies developed by its grass-roots members. In 1981 several right-wing Labour MPs formed a breakaway group called the Social Democratic Party (SDP), a move which split Labour and is widely believed to have made Labour unelectable for a decade. The SDP formed an alliance with the Liberal Party which contested the 1983 and 1987 general elections as a centrist alternative to Labour and the Conservatives. After some initial success, the SDP did not prosper (partly due to its unfavourable distribution of votes in the FPTP electoral system), and was accused by some of splitting the anti-Conservative vote.

The SDP eventually merged with the Liberal Party to form the Liberal Democrats in 1988. Support for the new party has increased since then, and the Liberal Democrats (often referred to as LibDems) in 1997 and 2001 gained an increased number of seats in the House of Commons.

The Labour Party was badly defeated in the Conservative landslide of the 1983 general election, and Michael Foot was replaced shortly thereafter by Neil Kinnock as leader. Kinnock expelled the far left Militant tendency group (now called the Socialist Party of England and Wales) and moderated many of the party's policies. Yet he was in turn replaced by John Smith after Labour defeats in the 1987 and 1992 general elections.

Tony Blair became leader of the Labour party after John Smith's sudden death from a heart attack in 1994. He continued to move the Labour Party towards the 'centre' by loosening links with the unions and embracing many of Margaret Thatcher's liberal economic policies. This, coupled with the professionalising of the party machine's approach to the media, helped Labour win a historic landslide in the 1997 General Election, after 18 years of Conservative government. Some observers say the Labour Party had by then morphed from a democratic socialist party to a social democratic party, a process which delivered three general election victories but alienated some of its core base.^{[citation needed]}

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats won the third largest number of seats at the 2010 general election, returning 57 MPs. The Conservative Party failed to win an overall majority, and the Liberal Democrats entered government for the first time as part of a coalition.

The Liberal Democrats were formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party with the Social Democratic Party, but can trace their origin back to the Whigs and the Rochdale Radicals who evolved into the Liberal Party. The term 'Liberal Party' was first used officially in 1868, though it had been in use colloquially for decades beforehand. The Liberal Party formed a government in 1868 and then alternated with the Conservative Party as the party of government throughout the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Scottish and Welsh Nationalists

Members of the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru work together as a single parliamentary group^[20] following a formal pact signed in 1986. This group currently has 9 MPs.

The Scottish National Party has enjoyed parliamentary representation continuously since 1967 and had 6 MPs elected at the 2010 election. Following the 2007 Scottish parliament elections, the SNP emerged as the largest party with 47 MSPs and formed a minority government with Alex Salmond the First Minister.

Plaid Cymru has enjoyed parliamentary representation continuously since 1974 and had 3 MPs elected at the 2010 election. Following the 2007 Welsh Assembly elections, they joined Labour as the junior partner in a coalition government.

Northern Ireland parties

The Democratic Unionist Party had 8 MPs elected at the 2010 election. Founded in 1971 by Ian Paisley, it has grown to become the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Other Northern Ireland parties represented at Westminster include the Social Democratic and Labour Party (3 MPs), the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (1 MP) and Sinn Féin (5 MPs). Sinn Féin MPs refuse to take their seats and sit in a 'foreign' parliament.

Other parliamentary parties

The Green Party of England and Wales gained its first MP, Caroline Lucas, in the 2010 General Election. It also has seats in the European Parliament, two seats on the London Assembly and around 120 local councillors.

There are usually a small number of Independent politicians in parliament with no party allegiance. In modern times, this has usually occurred when a sitting member leaves his party, and some such MPs have been re-elected as independents. The only current Independent MP is Lady Hermon, previously of the Ulster Unionist Party. However, since 1950 only two new members have been elected as independents without having ever stood for a major party:

Martin Bell represented the Tatton constituency in Cheshire between 1997 and 2001. He was elected following a "sleaze" scandal involving the sitting Conservative MP, Neil Hamilton -- Bell, a BBC journalist, stood as an anticorruption independent candidate, and the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties withdrew their candidates from the election.
Dr. Richard Taylor MP was elected for the Wyre Forest constituency in the 2001 on a platform opposing the closure of Kidderminster hospital. He later established Health Concern, the party under which he ran in 2005.

Non-Parliamentary political parties

Other UK political parties exist, but generally do not succeed in returning MPs to Parliament.

Until 2010, the Respect party, a left-wing group that came out of the anti-war movement had one MP, George Galloway. It also has a small number of seats on local councils across the country.

The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) has 13 seats in the European Parliament as well as seats in the House of Lords and a number of local councillors. On 22 April 2008 it welcomed the defection of Bob Spink MP for Castle Point, to date its only MP. However, Bob Spink later claimed to have never joined UKIP and does not sit as a UKIP MP.^[21] Two UKIP members were elected to the London Assembly in 2000, but they quit the party in February 2005 to join Veritas which they quit in September 2005 to sit as One London members. They were not re-elected in 2008.

The Scottish Green Party has 2 MSPs in the Scottish Parliament and a number of local councillors.

The Green Party (Ireland) has one MLAs in the Northern Ireland Assembly as well as local councillors.

The British National Party (BNP) has two seats in the European Parliament, a seat on the London Assembly as well as a number of councillors.

The English Democrats, which wants a parliament for England, has some local councillors and had its candidate elected mayor of Doncaster in 2009.^[22]

Other parties include: the Free England Party, the Communist Party of Britain, the Socialist Workers Party, the Scottish Socialist Party, the Liberal Party, Mebyon Kernow (a Cornish nationalist party) in Cornwall, Veritas, and the Communist Left Alliance (in Fife).

Several local parties contest only within a specific area, a single county, borough or district. Examples include the Better Bedford Independent Party, which was one of the dominant parties in Bedford Borough Council and led by Bedford's former Mayor, Frank Branston. The most notable local party is Health Concern, which controlled a single seat in the UK Parliament from 2001 to 2010.

The Jury Team, launched in March 2009 and described as a "non-party party", is an umbrella organisation seeking to increase the number of independent members of both domestic and European members of Parliament in Great Britain.^[23]

Current political landscape

Since the 2005 General Election, each of the main political parties has changed party leader: David Cameron was elected leader of the Conservatives in 2005, Gordon Brown was elected unopposed to lead the Labour Party (and therefore become Prime Minister) in June 2007, and Nick Clegg was elected leader of the Liberal Democrats in December 2007.

The Conservatives under David Cameron have seen their popularity grow, as shown by their success at the Local Elections in May 2008, the London Mayoral Election and opinion polls which show a strong lead over Labour.^[24] They also won a by election in Crewe and Nantwich with a swing of 17.6%.^[25]

In Scotland, the Scottish National Party made some strong advances, winning the Scottish parliamentary election in May 2007 and gaining support in most national opinion polls since then.^[26] In July 2008, the SNP achieved a remarkable by-election victory in Glasgow East, winning the third safest Labour seat in Scotland with a swing of 22.54%.^[27] However,in October of the same year, despite confident public predictions by the SNP's leader Alex Salmond that they would win another by-election in Glenrothes, the seat was comfortably won by Labour with a majority of 6,737 and an increased share of the vote. Given that the SNP won the equivalent Scottish Parliament seat of Central Fife in 2007 this was viewed as a significant step back for the SNP. More recently, the SNP significantly out-polled the Labour Party in the 2009 European election.

Local government

The UK is divided into a variety of different types of Local Authorities, with different functions and responsibilities.

England has a mix of two-tier and single-tier councils in different parts of the country. In Greater London, a unique two-tier system exists, with power shared between the London borough councils, and the Greater London Authority which is headed by an elected mayor.

Unitary Authorities are used throughout Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

European Union

The United Kingdom first joined the European Economic Community in January 1973, and has remained a member of the European Union (EU) that it evolved into; UK citizens, and other EU citizens resident in the UK, elect 78 members to represent them in the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg.

The UK's membership in the Union has been objected to over questions of sovereignty,^[28] and in recent years there have been divisions in both major parties over whether the UK should form greater ties within the EU, or reduce the EU's supranational powers. Opponents of greater European integration are known as "Eurosceptics", while supporters are known as "Europhiles". Division over Europe is prevalent in both major parties, although the Conservative Party is seen as most divided over the issue, both whilst in Government up to 1997 and after 2010, and between those dates as the opposition. However, the Labour Party is also divided, with conflicting views over UK adoption of the euro whilst in Government (1997–2010), although the party is largely in favour of further integration where in the country's interest.^{[citation needed]}

UK nationalists have long campaigned against European integration. The strong showing of the eurosceptic United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) in the 2004 European Parliament elections has shifted the debate over UK relations with the EU.

In March 2008, Parliament decided to not hold a referendum on the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, signed in December 2007.^[29] This was despite the Labour government promising in 2004 to hold a referendum on the previously proposed Constitution for Europe.

International organization participation

Notes

^ "General Election results through time, 1945–2001". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-05-19.
^ About the Scottish Executive, Scotland.gov.uk
^ "Structure and powers of the Assembly". BBC News. 1992-04-09. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
^ Owen, Paul (2007-07-16). "What powers does the Welsh Assembly have?". London: Guardian. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
^ "Devolved Government - Ministers and their departments". Northern Ireland Executive. Retrieved 2008-10-17. ^{[dead link‍]}
^ The formal request from the monarch is either to (a) form a government capable of surviving in the House of Commons (which by implication does not require a majority behind it, given that skilled minority governments can and do survive for long periods); or (b) form a government capable of commanding a majority in the Commons, which by implication requires a majority behind it
^ Jones, George (2006-01-17). "Baker seeks end to West Lothian question". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2006-05-16.
^ "No English parliament — Falconer". BBC. 2006-03-10. Retrieved 2006-05-16.
^ BBC News 2001 - Blair gets Cornish assembly call
^ BBC news 2003 - Prescott pressed on Cornish Assembly poll
^ including The Campaign for an English Parliament
^ "Scottish Parliament Word Bank". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 2006-11-14.
^ "Scottish Parliament MSPs". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 2006-11-14.
^ "The Celtic League". Retrieved 2006-05-20.
^ "Welsh firmly back Britain's Union". BBC News. 2007-01-16. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
^ 41% of Scots back the break-up of the union Sunday Herald, April 13th, 2008
^ Template:PDFlink, Department for Constitutional Affairs. Retrieved on 2006-05-22
^ Oxford English Dictionary (Second Edition 1989). Whig n.2, whiggamore, and tory 1. a.
^ Pact will 'empower NI electorate' BBC News, 6 December 2008
^ Plaid Cymru/Scottish National Party Parliamentary Teams www.parliament.uk, accessed August 15, 2008
^ "Tory? UKIP? Now I'm just an inde says MP Bob". Echo News. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
^ /8084538.stm English Democrat wins mayor vote BBC NEWS 5 June 2009
^ Gourlay, Chris (2009-03-08). "Tycoon finances 'X Factor' party to clean up politics". London: The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
^ Tories open historic lead over Labour in poll www.telegraph.co.uk, accessed, August 14, 2008
^ Tories snatch Crewe from Labour news.bbc.co.uk, accessed, August 14, 2008
^ SNP claims record poll lead over Labour www.theherald.co.uk, accessed August 14, 2008
^ SNP stuns Labour in Glasgow East news.bbc.co.uk, accessed August 14, 2008
^ Browne, Anthony (14 September 2005). "Europe Wins The Power To Jail British Citizens". London: The Times. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
^ "UK rebel lawmakers beaten on EU vote". CNN. 2008-03-05. Archived from the original on 2008-03-09. Retrieved 2008-03-05.

External links

Prospect Magazine - UK based political magazine focussing on British and international politics, cultural essays and arguments
British Politics - the only academic journal devoted purely to the study of political issues in Britain
Directgov, main entry point for citizens to the UK government
- Directgov - Guide to Government
Official UK parliament website
Official UK parliamentary membership by party
British Government and Politics on the Internet from the Keele University School of Politics
British Politics and Policy at LSE The London School of Economics' UK politics and policy blog
ePolitix - UK Politics news website
British Government and Politics Compiled by a retired English Librarian
Women's Parliamentary Radio Interviews and resources about women politicians in the UK

[BBC2005-1] "General Election results through time, 1945–2001". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-05-19.

[2] About the Scottish Executive, Scotland.gov.uk

[3] "Structure and powers of the Assembly". BBC News. 1992-04-09. Retrieved 2008-10-21.

[4] Owen, Paul (2007-07-16). "What powers does the Welsh Assembly have?". London: Guardian. Retrieved 2008-10-21.

[northernireland1-5] "Devolved Government - Ministers and their departments". Northern Ireland Executive. Retrieved 2008-10-17. ^{[dead link‍]}

[6] The formal request from the monarch is either to (a) form a government capable of surviving in the House of Commons (which by implication does not require a majority behind it, given that skilled minority governments can and do survive for long periods); or (b) form a government capable of commanding a majority in the Commons, which by implication requires a majority behind it

[7] Jones, George (2006-01-17). "Baker seeks end to West Lothian question". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2006-05-16.

[8] "No English parliament — Falconer". BBC. 2006-03-10. Retrieved 2006-05-16.

[9] BBC News 2001 - Blair gets Cornish assembly call

[10] BBC news 2003 - Prescott pressed on Cornish Assembly poll

[11] uding The Campaign for an English Parliament

[HolyroodName-12] "Scottish Parliament Word Bank". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 2006-11-14.

[ConstituencyMSPs-13] "Scottish Parliament MSPs". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 2006-11-14.

[14] "The Celtic League". Retrieved 2006-05-20.

[15] "Welsh firmly back Britain's Union". BBC News. 2007-01-16. Retrieved 2007-02-05.

[16] 41% of Scots back the break-up of the union Sunday Herald, April 13th, 2008

[17] Template:PDFlink, Department for Constitutional Affairs. Retrieved on 2006-05-22

[OED-tory-18] Oxford English Dictionary (Second Edition 1989). Whig n.2, whiggamore, and tory 1. a.

[19] Pact will 'empower NI electorate' BBC News, 6 December 2008

[20] Plaid Cymru/Scottish National Party Parliamentary Teams www.parliament.uk, accessed August 15, 2008

[21] "Tory? UKIP? Now I'm just an inde says MP Bob". Echo News. Retrieved 2009-05-31.

[22] /8084538.stm English Democrat wins mayor vote BBC NEWS 5 June 2009

[Independant8Mar09-23] Gourlay, Chris (2009-03-08). "Tycoon finances 'X Factor' party to clean up politics". London: The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2009-05-10.

[24] Tories open historic lead over Labour in poll www.telegraph.co.uk, accessed, August 14, 2008

[25] Tories snatch Crewe from Labour news.bbc.co.uk, accessed, August 14, 2008

[26] SNP claims record poll lead over Labour www.theherald.co.uk, accessed August 14, 2008

[27] SNP stuns Labour in Glasgow East news.bbc.co.uk, accessed August 14, 2008

[Times20050914-28] Browne, Anthony (14 September 2005). "Europe Wins The Power To Jail British Citizens". London: The Times. Retrieved 20 October 2008.

[29] "UK rebel lawmakers beaten on EU vote". CNN. 2008-03-05. Archived from the original on 2008-03-09. Retrieved 2008-03-05.

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v t e Political parties in the United Kingdom
Legislatures of the United Kingdom (and their current compositions)
House of Commons (650)	Labour (404, including 43 Labour Co-op*) Conservative (121) Liberal Democrats (72) SNP (9) Sinn Féin^† (7) DUP (5) Reform (5) Green (E&W) (4) Plaid Cymru (4) SDLP (2) Alliance (1) TUV (1) UUP (1) Independents (13)^‡ Speaker (1)
House of Lords (806)	Conservative (273) Crossbenchers (185) Labour (187) Liberal Democrats (78) DUP (6) UUP (3) Green (E&W) (2) Plaid Cymru (2) Lord Speaker (1) Non-affiliated (43) Independents (1) Lords Spiritual (25)
Scottish Parliament (129)	Scottish National Party (63) Scottish Conservatives (31) Scottish Labour (22) Scottish Greens (7) Scottish Liberal Democrats (4) Alba (1) Presiding Officer (1)
Senedd (60)	Welsh Labour (30) Welsh Conservatives (16) Plaid Cymru (12) Welsh Liberal Democrats (1) Independent (1)
Northern Ireland Assembly (90)	Sinn Féin (27) DUP (24) Alliance (17) Ulster Unionist (9) SDLP (7) Independent Unionists (2) Traditional Unionist Voice (1) People Before Profit (1) Independent Nationalist (1)
London Assembly (25)	London Labour (11) London Conservatives (8) London Greens (3) London Liberal Democrats (2) Reform UK (1)
Other parties	Abolish the Welsh Assembly Animal Welfare Aspire Britain First Christian Peoples Alliance English Democrats Green (NI) Heritage Party Justice & Anti-Corruption Liberal Lincolnshire Independents Propel Reclaim Rejoin EU Social Democratic UKIP Women's Equality Workers Yorkshire
*Co-operative Party candidates stand jointly with the Labour Party. ^‡5 independent MPs work together in the Independent Alliance technical group. ^†Sinn Féin have elected members and offices at Westminster, but as abstentionists do not take their seats.
List of political parties by representation Politics of the United Kingdom

v t e Politics of Europe
Sovereign states	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Vatican City
States with limited recognition	Abkhazia Kosovo Northern Cyprus South Ossetia Transnistria
Dependencies and other entities	Åland Faroe Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Svalbard
Other entities	European Union