Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Functions of a
Political Party
- 1. Representation
- Parties respond to articulate the public, and so
we have 2 types of party
- 1. 'Catch-all' parties
- Develop policies aimed to appeal to a wide
range of people
- 2. 'Programmatic' Parties
- Tend of have a fixed (or narrow) agenda
- Limits to the ability of parties to
represent the public
- The elecorate isn't always well informed, or
rational in choices
- Image and Personality may
sway the electorate more
than policies
- The FPTP system gives a majority to a
party which earns 40% of the vote
- 2. Policy formation
- Political parties are the main method
used by society, to from it's goals and
public policies
- For policies to be seen a number of
ways are used by parties
- Party forums
- Annual conferances
- Election manisfestos
- There are limits to the effectiveness of policy formation
- Parties now seem to fight for the middle ground, and do not
have distinct ideologys
- Parties tend to follow public
opinion, rather than shape it
through clear ideological
stances
- 3. Recruitment of Leaders
- All political leaders begin as party members
- Political expression is gained through;
- Conversing
- Debating
- Involvement with local
constituency
- Political expression can lead to
- A nomination as a parliamentry candidate
- A senior role
- There are limits to the
effectiveness of the recruitment
of leaders;
- Government is formed from the party with the
majority, in the House of Commons, so there is a
small pool of candidates
- Electorineering, and other party activities may be poor
training for running a large government department
- 4. Organisation of Government
- Parties help to form Government
- Give government stability
- Facilitate cooperation between
parliament and the executiver
- Provide a way source of oppositition,
so government can scrutinised
- There has been a decline in party unity, since the
1970s, this has tended to weaken the majority
party's control of the House of Commons
- 5. Participation and mobilisation of the electorate
- Parties provide
opportunities for citizens to
join, and potentially shape
policies
- Parties help to educate and
moblise the electorate
through;
- Canvassing
- Public meetings
- Advertising
- Poster campaigns
- Party broadcasts
- Limits top the effectiveness:
- Voter loyalty has delclined
- 44% of voters had a strong
attachment to a party in 1964
- 10% of voters had a strong attachment in 2005
- Turnout has declined
- Membership to a party has fallen
- 3 million people where a
member of a party in the 60s
- 800,000 in the early 2000s