UK Political Parties

Conservatives

Who are they?

The Conservative Party was founded in the nineteenth century, with the promise to back necessary public reform. The party supports rolling back the state and expanding the free market to create a spirit of competition and entrepreneurship.

The Conservatives are the largest party in Parliament with over 300 MPs. After the 2017 General Election the Conservatives formed a minority government and signed a “confidence and supply” agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party. This means that the DUP will back the Conservatives on votes in the House of Commons.

What are they doing?

The Conservatives are currently led by Boris Johnson who took over when Theresa May stood-down as Prime Minister in July following the insuccess of completing Brexit.

As the governing party, the Conservatives can introduce bills which are a way of turning their policies into laws. You can read all about these bills in our Laws section, which is a good way of seeing what policies the Conservatives are trying to implement.

The Conservatives have a long-term economic plan which focuses on:

• Reducing the deficit
• Cutting income tax
• Creating jobs
• Capping welfare and immigration
• Delivering the best schools and skills for young people

The Conservatives are also committed to honouring the result of the EU referendum and making sure that Britain gets a good deal from the Brexit negotiations.  

Labour

Who are they?

Labour emerged from the trade union and socialist movements at the beginning of the twentieth century in order to represent workers in Parliament. They believe in tackling inequality and want society and the economy to be run in the interests of working people.

Being led by Jeremy Corbyn with over 200 MPs, Labour are the second biggest party in Parliament and the official opposition to the government.

What are they doing?

Labour are currently led by Jeremy Corbyn and are concerned with building a grassroots movement against austerity (cuts to public services). Recently, they have focused on:

Challenging the Government’s cuts to the police force

Challenging the Government’s changes to Universal Credit and protecting free school meals for less well-off children

Campaigning to keep the NHS public and opposing Government cuts to NHS funding

Scottish National Party

Who are they?

The SNP are the largest party in the Scottish Parliament. They want to make Scotland independent from the rest of the UK and create a larger state, where many services are provided for free.

The SNP have over 30 MPs, making them the third-biggest party in Parliament.

What are they doing?

The SNP lost the independence referendum in 2014, and subsequently Nicola Sturgeon replaced Alex Salmond as leader when he stood down. Since the Brexit vote, however, Nicola Sturgeon has said that Scotland should have another independence referendum.

Apart from Scottish independence the SNP focus on other policy areas including:

Campaigning to end homelessness

Promoting an “alternative to austerity” and increasing public spending

Campaigning for constitutional reform as a gateway to Scottish independence

Liberal Democrats

Who are they?

The Lib Dems formed in the 1980s, combining the existing Liberal Party and the Social Democrats, a group of MPs who split from Labour. They aim to create a society that values freedom, tolerance and social mobility.

The Lib Dems currently have over 10 MPs.

What are they doing?

The Lib Dems are led by Jo Swinson, who took over from Vince Cable who stood down on the 22nd July 2019e. The Lib Dems have firmly positioned themselves as pro-EU and identified several key campaigning opportunities for the party. These include:

Protecting Britain’s place in Europe and campaigning to keep the UK in the single market

Campaigning to protect the NHS and proposing an extra penny in the pound on income tax to invest in health and social care

Demanding a fairer tax system where people earning less than the minimum wage do not pay tax    

Greens

Who are they?

The Green Party take a strong stand on environmental issues, such as reducing climate change, and aim to create a more equal society, putting forward policies such as a basic income for all citizens and a ‘Robin Hood’ tax on banks.

The Greens currently have 1 MP - Caroline Lucas.

What are they doing?

Caroline Lucas MP stepped down from her co-leadership of the party and in September 2018 Sian Berry was elected as co-leader with Jonathan Bartley. Recently, they have focussed on:

Campaigning for action on climate change and arguing that fossil fuels should be phased out

Opposing austerity measures and campaigning for fairer taxation

Working with other parties to secure proportional representation by 2021

UKIP

Who are they?

The UK Independence Party (UKIP) is led by Richard Braine, who took over from Nigel Farage in 2019. UKIP is a Eurosceptic political party, whose main aim is to take Britain out of the European Union. They are strong supporters of the free market and lower taxes, but with higher government spending on defence.

UKIP do not have any Members of Parliament.

What are they doing?

UKIP’s main point of campaign is still to get the UK out of the EU as soon as possible.

UKIP has a manifesto for local regions which promotes diverting money from foreign aid and spending it on local housing and keeping council tax as low as possible