Size matters? The role of small parties in the UK’s two-party system
Due to the nature of the UK’s ‘First Past the Post’ (FPTP) system, it has historically been hard for new, smaller parties to gain political leverage. This has been seen by the domination of both the Conservatives and Labour Party in general elections, with smaller parties very rarely wielding political power. However, in recent years, this norm has had a transformative shift. The Hung Parliament in 2010, allowed the smaller Party, the Liberal Democrats to gain power in a coalition and even more recently with the emergence of parties such as Reform UK and the Reclaim Party which have received much attention, as a threat
to the Conservatives. This seismic shift is a recent phenomenon, but why? What has led to this threat to the traditional two-party system?
Photograph: Roberto Monaldo Lapress/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/REX/Shutterstock
UKIP has been staunchly argued to be one of the core reasons for the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU in 2016. Their influence was seen to be significant as, ‘classically, UKIP took an issue neither party has addressed effectively — immigration — and used it to build a substantial third-party challenge.’ (Parker, Vox, 2016) Although historically a Party that held little political power and influence, this all changed once UKIP took a step towards being the Party that defined ‘anti-immigration’ and placed the blame on the EU. As a result, the leader, Nigel Farage, became the face of Brexit, during the years of the referendum. UKIP and Farage’s success, ‘benefited from the groundwork laid by UKIP over the past several election cycles in local council elections — increasingly, elections won at the expense of Labour.’ (Parker, Vox, 2016) This sudden shift, led to the eventual pressure on the larger parties, mainly the Conservatives who promised a referendum on membership of the EU in the 2015 General Election, in which the UK did leave. This showed how much leverage UKIP really had over the political system at this time and is an example of a smaller party gaining huge influence, on such monumental political decisions without being elected.
Additionally, smaller parties have gained more influence in recent years with the example of the Liberal Democrats gaining political power after the 2010 election. Although being the third-largest party at general elections, they have had little power over those years and even though have had a
decent vote share over the years, due to the electoral system this was not reflected in tangible power. However, there was a shift in this norm in 2010. The hung parliament led to the Liberal Democrats going into coalition with the Conservatives, therefore holding power and being able to enact certain policies. This is another argument that smaller parties have in recent decades gained more power than they had previously through different means. However, the Liberal Democrats’ participation in the coalition government was seen to be their downfall with the then Foreign Secretary, William Hague, reportedly told his wife, ‘I think I’ve just killed the Liberal Democrats.’ (Cutts & Russell, 2015, p.70) Although this ended up being true, with their popularity rapidly decreasing in years after the 2015 election, it showed that smaller parties do have a chance in the usually infamous two-party system.
However, although these examples show smaller parties having a level of success in pushing their agenda and holding influence, this view can be challenged. With historical examples such as the Social Democrat Party. Formed by MPs from the Labour Party, who defected due to differing opinions from Michael Foot, the Labour leader. The SDP were, ‘openly of the desirability of ‘breaking the mould’ of British politics by the formation of a new centre party.’ (Bochel & Denver, 1984, p. 386) Despite this seemingly exciting new party, this optimism mounted into little success. The party only reached significant success when eventually morphed into the Liberal Democrats.
A similar scenario played out in 2019 when the formation of Change UK occurred. Consisting of initially Labour MPs and soon after Conservatives. With its main objective to have a second referendum on EU membership, the party reached no success. This was seen when all MPs lost their seats in the 2019 General election, leading to the formal deregistering from the electoral commission in summer 2020. Both these examples of the SDP and Change UK, show breakaway parties are unsuccessful in the British political system, mainly due to the electoral system making it hard for new, smaller parties and therefore challenge the status quo.
Overall, although there are many examples of newly formed, smaller parties historically and up to the present finding it hard to gain much traction within the political system, this could be shifting especially in recent years since the Brexit referendum. this can be seen with UKIP’s influence and even more recently new parties like Reform UK have been a seeming threat to the Conservatives seen in recent by-elections with them taking a significant chunk of the vote share and therefore could be evidence of the electoral system changing.
Reference list
Adams, T. (2020) ‘A year on, did Change UK change anything?’ accessed at: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/apr/19/a-year-on-did-change-uk-change-anything. Accessed on the 16th February 2024.
Bochel, J. M., & Denver, D. T. (1984). The SDP and the Left-Right Dimension. British Journal of Political Science, 14(3), 386–392.
Cutts, D., & Russell, A. (2015). From coalition to catastrophe: the electoral meltdown of the Liberal Democrats. Parliamentary Affairs, 68(suppl_1), 70-87.
No Author. No date. ‘Historic Election Results.’ https://www.libdems.org.uk/internal-elections/election-results.Accessed on the 16th February 2024.
No Author. No Date. ‘What is a Hung Parliament?’ https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/general/hung-parliament/. Accessed on the 16th February 2024.
Parker, D. (2016). ‘The UK Independence Party was central to the Brexit vote’ accessed at: https://www.vox.com/mischiefs-of-faction/2016/7/1/12060504/ukip-brexit-vote Accessed on the 16th February 2024.
Quinn, B. (2024) https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/jan/06/more-harm-than-ukip-reform-uks-threat-to-the-conservatives. Accessed on the 16th February 2024.
Scott, J. (2019). ‘Who were the Social Democrat Party?’ accessed at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-47280218 Accessed on the 16th February 2024.
The opening paragraph gives a very well rounded explanation on both arguments that FPTP systemically helps uphold the two-party system. However, the writer also goes on to quickly address that we have seen quick changes to this tradition, by acknowledging Reform and the 2010 hung parliament. Which the writer addresses as being a threat the Conservative Party. Which we have seen become a catalyst in previous years for extensive party leadership turnover, unfortunately hasn’t be highlighted by the writer, as this could have aided in further analysis of certain consequences that may arise. The writer also highlights a very valid opinion on the fact, neither new party like Reform or UKIP has substantially made any effective changes to immigration issues. We have seen play out as these parties, especially Nigel Farage were main players in the leave Brexit campaign. Which is a perfect example by the Writer as UKIP a smaller party, became the face of the harsh Brexit leave campaign. Pushing the issue of immigration to the forefront. Undermining the two other parties. However, the writer does go on to mention the downside of smaller parties becoming engulfed or more powerful by highlighting the extensive run for the liberal democrats in the 2010 hung parliament. Which was highlighted immensely by the writer as having killed the parties stance in any political arena. Which was a nice explanation of the consequences of smaller, inexperienced parties gaining more power and recognition in Parliament. However, forgot to mention the recent hung parliament under Theresa May, which ultimately led to her resignation due to the complicated relationship with the DUP, which showed a smaller political party undermining one of the main two parties in parliament.
This article’s introduction sets out the former struggles for relevance in Parliament that smaller parties faced and explains that the party dynamics with UK politics is shifting. The author highlights the huge influence of the arguably quite small UKIP and discusses the party’s steps to success in relation to their shift to anti-immigrant policy and their use of Nigel Farage as a face for their movement, which gave them support they had not previously seen. The author also highlights the role of the Liberal Democrats in the coalition government after the 2010 election which clearly evidences that smaller parties can play a role in the running of the government. The author mentions the establishment of many new small parties in recent years such as the Change UK party but reinforces that these parties struggle to succeed in a political landscape which is dominated by Labour and Conservative.
I thought the author’s provision of historical context by discussing past elections and political movements was helpful in understanding the evolution of smaller parties’ influence in the UK political system. I found the inclusion of specific examples such as the cases of UKIP and the Liberal Democrats to be successful in illustrating the varying degrees of success and challenges faced by smaller parties.
I thought this blog was effective in discussing the impact of the First Past the Post electoral system on smaller parties’ ability to gain political leverage, displaying clearly the structural barriers they can face as smaller parties.
Another prominent recent example in UK politics of a smaller party being able to influence the system came in 2017, when PM Theresa May called for a general election, with the goal of increasing her power in Parliament ahead of Brexit discussions.
As it turned out, Conservatives ended up losing seats and her party no longer had a majority of MPs. As a result of this, the PM had to enter into a confidence and supply agreement with the DUP, where they agreed to back her party in key votes. This was a win for the DUP as it resulted in supplying them with the leverage to obtain a number of their desired outcomes, including £1bn more being provided to Northern Ireland over the following two years than previously planned, as well as obtaining agreement from the UK government to increase state pensions by 2.5% a year, to maintain defense spending and to maintain agriculture spending in NI.
I also found the authors analysis of Reform UK as a threat to the conservatives to be insightful, particularly in consideration of the fact that recent polls displaying voting intentions in the upcoming UK general election have displayed that many Conservative voters who are defecting to other parties are most likely to vote not for Labour, but rather for Reform UK, making the authors point about the UK electoral system moving away from a two party system seem extremely plausible.
The writer provides an interesting incite into how smaller parties with strong ideals can have an impact in a system that doesn’t provide it with much support. The discussion on how small right wing parties like UKIP and now Reform have had a threatening effect on the Conservative party was particularly notable. I would be interested to her more on how the rise in right wing parties may have led to an ideology shift on parties trying to keep up with the popular issues at the movement and what effect they think these smaller parties have had. Overall its a well written and well rounded piece that highlights how politics is changing from relying on just the two smaller parties into something new, and what effect this could have on the upcoming election.
The writer provides an interesting incite into how smaller parties with strong ideals can have an impact in a system that doesn’t provide it with much support. The discussion on how small right wing parties like UKIP and now Reform have had a threatening effect on the Conservative party was particularly notable. I would be interested to hear more on how the rise in right wing parties may have led to an ideology shift on parties trying to keep up with the popular issues and what effect they think these smaller parties have had. Overall its a well written and well rounded piece that highlights how politics is changing from relying on just the two smaller parties into something new, and what effect this could have on the upcoming election.
This blog immediately stands out and catches the eye with a snappy and humorous title. This is a very good blog which is assiduous in its analysis of the role of smaller parties in recent years and how they have been able to exert a strong influence over Parliament despite their size.
This blog is particularly strong in its analysis of the rise of UKIP, and how the party was able to utilise the issue of immigration to garner support and how the party was able to pressurise the Conservatives into holding a referendum on EU membership, despite only having one elected MP in the House of Commons.
Additionally, the frequent use of links provides further context to readers who may not have much prior knowledge of this topic and helps them understand key terms such as a ‘hung parliament’.
This blog also provides a counter-analysis and considers smaller parties who have not been as successful such as the Social Democrat Party and Change UK, although this should be explored further.
The author affirms that these parties have received minimal electoral success but generally fails to explain why, with only a passing reference in the introduction to the First-Past-The-Post voting system which makes it harder for smaller parties to win seats. It would be beneficial to explain this further and explore the reasons why these parties failed to succeed more in-depth as this would strengthen the blog’s analysis on the challenges that smaller parties face.
Overall, this is a very informative and insightful blog.
The blog post expertly examines the obstacles that small parties confront in the UK’s largely two-party system, as well as their ability to impact national politics. However, another viewpoint that could contribute to this issue is the importance of regional dynamics for determining the influence of small parties. Parties such as the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Plaid Cymru have significant effects on regional government and local identity politics, in addition to their representation numerically in parliament.
For example, the Scottish National Party (SNP) has had a major impact on Scottish politics and policy by advocating for Scottish independence and gaining an overwhelming majority in the Scottish Parliament, proving how regional parties can exercise tremendous power over national problems. Comparably Plaid Cymru’s dominance in Welsh politics frequently advances specific agendas relevant to Wales, influencing overall UK policy talks, notably those involving devolution and autonomy for regional areas.
Integrating an examination of how these regional dynamics interact with the UK’s broader political landscape may give an improved comprehension of the multifaceted role small parties play in affecting policy, transcending their parliamentary strength. This inclusion would demonstrate small parties’ greater significance by emphasising their essential function in reflecting and pushing for regional concerns within the UK’s complicated political tapestry.
The author provides a helpful insight into the history of the UK’s party system, showing the rise of smaller parties and these smaller parties challenging the ‘big two’ parties. It highlights problems within the system, noting that even though a party be third biggest, they are unable to exercise any sort of power. Furthermore, the author highlights the issues which arise because of this system – smaller parties can not grow. The use of examples of the Lib Dems, UKIP and Change UK proved to be interesting cases. To conclude, this is well written and provides a good insight into the UK’s political party system.
This blog post provides a good review of how the UK’s electoral system facilitates two-party dominance, and prevents smaller parties gaining power. The author is right to talk about the Liberal Democrats, who are the best example of a party disadvantaged by the electoral system.
The author should have provided more detail on the nature of the First Past The Post voting system. Specifically, the author could have discussed how the system, especially for smaller parties, is not proportional and fails to deliver small parties the number of seats at Westminster that corresponds to their vote share.
In addition, when discussing the threat to two-party dominance, it would have been useful to discuss the rise of nationalist parties, particularly the SNP in Scotland, which has replaced Labour as the largest party representing Scotland at Westminster.
Overall, a good blog post and an interesting read.
This is an engaging blog. It does well to express the chosen topic in detail with many different angles explored. The use of both historical and contemporary examples of small parties infiltrating the two-party system is a nice touch. If I were to add something, I would consider including smaller parties from other parts of the UK as examples. The blog, as is, is England-centric. However, the blog is still an educated summary of small parties in parliament. I particularly enjoyed the expression of both left-wing third parties like the Liberal Democrats as well as right-wing third parties like UKIP taking votes away from their respective “two-parties”.
This blog post presents a detailed analysis of the shifting dynamics in the UK political system, especially by highlighting the challenges that smaller parties face as the Conservatives and Labour usually dominates the two-party system. I enjoyed how the author explained that smaller parties can exert extraordinary pressure onto larger parties and shape political decisions through campaigning, the authors use of Brexit and UKIP’s focus on immigration particularly interesting. The authors analysis of the coalition government between the conservatives and LibDems was also insightful, specifically how the author examined it causing a decline in their popularity but still illustrating it as a way in which smaller parties can accumulate power. To conclude, this blog post gives a structured view of the changing role of smaller parties in Britain, I really enjoyed the use of historical examples combined with current developments. It will be interesting to see how new formed parties such as reform UK can potentially threaten traditional parties.