What are the pros and cons of the conservatives, labour and the liberal democrats?
I am eighteen, and know nothing about politics, but I want to vote. I have heard generalizations about each of the parties, for example how the conservatives only really cater for the richer people (i dont know if this is true). I dont want to read each of the parties' policies, i just want an overview (i dont mind if its really biased)
Why is The UK a politically conservative country?
Traditionally it is a conservative country, but there are definite class differences. Recently there have been movements in politics, mainly due to Margaret Thatcher whereby the Conservatives and Labour moved towards the centre. This resulted in a more right wing Labour party, and bear in mind that Labour was originally socialist. And a more Left wing Conservative party, who had held office in one form or another throughout most of Britains history. People will also tell you that there isn't a 2 party system in the UK, that is nonsense, Labour and the Conservatives have been known to 'work together' to belittle the Liberal Democrats. Don't forget whatever political party you may vote or in 'the western world' they still belong to the people that hold the purse strings. Take the USA, if Obama wins their may be change, as is promised but it would need to fall in line with what the people who own the Federal reserve say. Same in UK, except the owners of the Bank of England (same group of people btw) would decide.
What differentiates pro-Euro Conservatives from Liberal Democrats and Blairite Labour in their respective policies and philosophies?
In 2004 a committee of Liberal Democrats which included future Deputy PM Nick Clegg, Vince Cable, Chris Huhne and David Laws wrote The Orange Book - Reclaiming Liberalism. This book espouses a set of policies which sought to build on the basic principles of classical liberalism to make a modern Third Way philosophy fit for the 21st Century. It proposes radical reform of the UK health service, replacing the NHS with a system based on National Health Insurance, reform of the EU with commitment to a non-federal future, scrapping of the “corporatist” DTI, and a new pensions arrangement emphasising personal responsibility.This philosophy is closely aligned with Blairism and the politics of the pro-EU Conservative faction, and the book’s contributors all participated in the coalition government of 2010.Since then there has been a divergence of interests. Under Tim Farron the Liberal Democrats have moved somewhat to the left, and the pro-EU voice within the Conservative Party has been marginalised. The Orange Bookers are no longer the dominant force in the Liberal Democrats and Europhile Tories are being coerced into supporting Brexit by Theresa May’s government. There is potential for future co-operation, but the two camps are not as close as they were in the run-up to 2010.
Is the Labour Party in Britain the Conservative party?
If so , what is the liberal party called? Is there two main parties like in the US? Or do you have more? Will one of my British friends please clear it up? Thanx!
Why don't the UK Liberal Democrats join Labour as one party?
Liberals, Liberal Democats, or Free Democrats are not the same as Socialists. They believe in personal and economic freedom with the minimal interference from the state. They also believe in the value of community and internationalism, but again based on the value of the individual. It is a bottom up political philosophy unlike Socialism which is a top down philosophy, or traditional Conservativism which also likes to tell people what's good for them. However, in practical politics it is often necessary or for the common good to ally or compromise with other parties. Liberalism is closer to Conservatism but not so afraid of change but Liberals could never combine fully with Marxism or its offshoots
Why don’t traditional parties (Tories, Labour, Lib Dems) stand in any constituencies in Northern Ireland?
Local concerns loom largest in the minds of Northern Ireland voters and the political parties reflect that. The party now known as the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) used to be the Northern Ireland affiliate of the British Tories (whose official name still is the Conservative and Unionist Party), but the formal link was severed in the mid 1980s.There was also a Northern Ireland Labour Party, which was meant to be a sister organization to both the Irish and British Labour parties. The NILP tried to straddle the sectarian divide but eventually fell apart at the onset of the Troubles. Most nationalist NILP supporters ended up in the Social Democratic & Labour Party (SDLP) whereas unionist labourites migrated to either the UUP or DUP.
What are the different factions within the UK Liberal Democrats?
There are two main factions.Economic liberals, otherwise known as Orange Book liberals after a 2004 book outlining their basic principles. This faction was the dominant one under the Clegg leadership and many Orange Bookers filled the top Lib Dem posts in the Coalition government (Nick Clegg of course, Danny Alexander, David Laws). They stress the importance of the free market in public policy, but are not as dedicated to market forces as Thatcherite Conservatives.Social liberals, also known as Beveridigian liberals and sometimes social democrats. Amongst older members of the Lib Dems, many in this faction might have previously belonged to the SDP in the 1980s, such as Vince Cable and the late Charles Kennedy. This faction places more emphasis on the state as the means of ensuring the welfare of its citizens and draws its economic and political philosophy from two great liberal minds of the 1930s and ’40s - John Maynard Keynes and William Beveridge. The current leader, Tim Farron, can be seen as belonging to this faction, whilst previous social liberal leaders include Charles Kennedy and Paddy Ashdown.The factionalism within the Lib Dems is nowhere near the level it is in the Labour or Conservative parties, with the two groups coexisting fairly harmoniously. There is little disagreement over social issues; the division mainly being based around economic affairs.