The Party System

Britain provides the classic example of a two-party system.

Origins

British political parties date back to the year 1641, when in the constitutional and religois struggles between Crown Parliament two parties faced each other, the aristicratic Cavaliers and the middle-class Puritan Roundheads.

After 1660 the first organized parties originated:

The Tories:    - support of the Crown
                      - support of the Anglican Church

The Whigs:    - representatives of landowners and wealthy merchants
                     - favoured political and religous tolerance
                     - favoured Nonconformism and parlamentary control

Today:            - the Tories developed into the Conservatives
                     (- the Whigs developed into the Liberals; they alternated in power up to the 20th century)
 
                      - the Labour Party replacing  the Liberals and representing the working class
 

Government since 1945:

1945-1951 Labour
1951-1964 Conservative
1964-1970 Labour
1970-1974 Conservative
1974-1979 Labour
1997-1997 Conservative
1997- Labour

The Conservatives (William Hague)

They are traditionally the party of the upper and middle classes, of landowners and businessmen.The paty has ist voters in the rich south with ist high-tech and service industries.
The party is composed of two divergent tendencies, reflecting different views on social policies and on European integration.
Those on the left of the party, i.e. closer to the central position in the political spectrum, are inclined to a paternalistic view of social support and gradual economic reform; they are regarded as European enthusiasts, while those on the right tend to be Eurosceptics and strong supporters of the free market and individual responsibility.

Aims of the party:

-monetary policy: belief in a free market without government interference
-an economic policy of low inflation to create an atmosphere for business to flourish
-privatisation of nationalized industries and promotion of a property-owning democracy
 (share holding)
-firmness in foreign policy and defense
-limitation of the power of trade unions
-better targeting of Government expenditure
 

The Labour Party (Tony Blair)

It is traditionally the party of industrial workers and union members. The Labour Party consists of two opposing interest groups:
- unionists, Marxists and socialists with a strong left-wing bias, who demand the redistribution of private property, state control and nationalization of major industries
- social reformers who support the welfare state, but prefer a mixed economy policy

The Liberal Democrats (Paddy Ashdown)

Formerly one of the two great English parties, the Liberals declined after a split in the party in the 1920s from which they never recovered. They were traditionally the party of the middle classes, tradesmen, businessmen and left-wing intellectuals