List of political parties in the United Kingdom

   

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This article is part of the series
Politics of the United Kingdom
Parliament
Crown
House of Lords
   Lord Chancellor
House of Commons
   Speaker
Prime Minister
Cabinet
Government Departments
Scottish Parliament
   Scottish Executive
National Assembly for Wales
   Welsh Assembly Government
Northern Ireland Assembly
   Northern Ireland Executive
Local government
Greater London Authority
Elections
Political Parties
Constitution

Brief history and overview

Prior to the mid-19th century British politics was dominated by the Whigs and the Tories. These were not political parties in the modern sense but somewhat loose alliances of interests and infividuals. The Whigs were associated with the newly emerging moneyed industrial classes, and the Tories were associated with the landed gentry and the Anglican Church.

By the mid 19th century the Tories had evolved into the Conservative Party, and the Whigs had evolved into the Liberal Party.

These two parties dominated the political scene until the 1920s, when the Liberal Party declined in popularity and suffered a long stream of resignations. It was replaced as the main left-wing party by the newly emerging Labour Party, who represented an alliance between the Trade Unions and various socialist socities..

Since then the Conservative and Labour Parties have dominated British politics, and have alternated in government ever since. The UK is nearly but not quite a two-party system however. The Liberals in their new incarnation as the Liberal Democrats are a sizeable third party whose electoral results have improved in recent years.

The UK's First Past the Post electoral system leaves small parties disadvantaged. The only minor parties represented in Parliament are regionally-based.

In recent years, proportional representation-based voting systems have been adopted for elections to the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the London Assembly and the UK's seats in the European Parliament. In these bodies, minor parties have had some amount of success.

Traditionally political parties have been private organisation with no official recognition by the state. The Registration of Political Parties Act 1998 changed that by creating a register of parties.

The following political parties are active in the United Kingdom:

Major Parties

Three parties dominate politics in the House of Commons. They all operate throughout Great Britain, and also comprise most of the British Members of the European Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, and the Welsh Assembly.

Minor Parties

Parties with representation in the House of Commons

Parties with representation in the Scottish Parliament

Parties with representation in the Welsh Assembly

Parties with representation in the Northern Ireland Assembly

Unionist

Republican/Nationalist

Neutral on the Constitutional Status

Other parties with representation in the European Parliament

Other parties

Far left parties

Regional parties

Far right parties

Joke parties

Religion-based parties

Single-issue parties

Miscellaneous parties

Defunct Parties

Far left parties

Regional parties

Far right and fascist parties

Religion-based parties

Single-issue parties

Miscellaneous parties

See also

External links


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