Eric Strawser, Kim Smith, Gretchen Sturm Per. 4

General Party System and Major Issues Defence/Terrorism Race relations/immigration The NHS Education Law and order Pensions and benefits The state of the economy European integration and the single currency Housing and house prices Taxation LabourConservativeLib-Dems Minor national parties Regional parties Coalitions

Founded: 1900 Ideology: Democratic Socialism Leader: Tony Blair

Labour Policy + Issues Defence: In support of increasing budget. Crime: Value tradition of offering safe haven to those fleeing persecution but won’t tolerate abuse of our asylum system. Education: Committed to extending high quality education personalized to each and fair to all. Pension: Main priority is to boost in the incomes of poorest pensioner. Wants all pensioners to have a decent & secure income in retirement. Economy: Building prosperity, achieving social justice, & maintaining investment in public service. Housing: Investing in local communities: safer, cleaner, greener places to live. Improve social housing stock, promote greater homeownership, and give more people a share in their home. Blair (not party) turning to Conservatism Gordon Brown scandal  was supposed to succeed Blair Loss of confidence by people and party in Blair, ie. Smoking ban

Founded: 1830 Ideology: Conservatism Leader: Michael Howard (until election results are in)

Conservative Policy + Issues Manifesto: Want more police, cleaner hospitals, lower taxes, school discipline, controlled immigration and accountability. In support of cutting local taxes and to improve environment of Britain. Want to cut back on government interference and regulation. Increase state pension by earnings. Longer sentences for criminals and improve discipline in schools, and build a more highly-skilled economy. Eurosceptic vs. europhile Traditionalists vs. modernists Party is unable to keep a steady leader

Definitions Europhile: Person who wants to increase cooperation b/t govt. within the EU. They believe the benefits of sharing sovereignty outweigh the disadvantages and this term can be used in a pejorative (opposing) sense. Eurosceptic: 1) Scepticism about, or disagreement with, the purposes of the EU, sometimes coupled with a wish to preserve national sovereignty. 2) Person, especially a politician, who opposes closer connections b/t Britain and the EU.

Founded: 1988 Ideology: Social Liberalism Political Spectrum: Right & Left Leader: Charles Kennedy

Lib-Dem’s Policy + Issues Support civil liberties, decentralisation of power, propose a substantial non-means tested increase in pensions, abolish university tuition fees, introducing local income tax, in place of current council tax, government to extend protections for gay people, favour of full UK participation in EU. Do they stay at current stance or regress to gain more Tory votes Iraq war stance Political factions  tension between laissez-faire or government control economy

Parties/# of Seats

Branches of Parties Political Parties in the United Kingdom Represented in the House of Commons: House of Commons LabourLabour (356) | Conservatives (198) | Liberal Democrats (62) | DUP (9) | SNP (6) | Sinn Féin (5) | Plaid Cymru (3) | SDLP (3) | UUP (1) | IKHH (1) | Respect (1)Liberal DemocratsDUPSNPSinn FéinPlaid CymruSDLPUUPIKHHRespect Represented in the Scottish Parliament: Scottish Parliament LabourLabour (50) | SNP (26) | Conservative and Unionists (17) | Liberal Democrats (17) | Scottish Green Party (7) | Scottish Socialist Party (6) | Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party (1)SNPLiberal DemocratsScottish Green PartyScottish Socialist PartyScottish Senior Citizens Unity Party Represented in the Welsh Assembly: Welsh Assembly LabourLabour (29) | Plaid Cymru (12) | Conservatives (11) | Liberal Democrats (6) | Forward Wales (1)Plaid CymruLiberal DemocratsForward Wales Represented in the Northern Ireland Assembly (suspended): Northern Ireland Assembly DUPDUP (33) | UUP (24) | Sinn Féin (24) | SDLP (18) | Alliance Party (6) | UK Unionist Party (1) | Progressive Unionist Party (1)UUPSinn FéinSDLPAlliance PartyUK Unionist PartyProgressive Unionist Party Represented in the European Parliament: European Parliament Conservative (27) | Labour (19) | Liberal Democrats (12) | UKIP (10) | Green Party of England and Wales (2) | SNP (2) | Plaid Cymru (1) | DUP (1) | UUP (1) | Sinn Féin (1)LabourLiberal DemocratsUKIPGreen Party of England and WalesSNPPlaid CymruDUPUUPSinn Féin Minor parties:British National PartyBritish National Party | Veritas | Socialist Labour | Liberal | English DemocratsVeritasSocialist LabourLiberalEnglish Democrats Chart from Wikipedia

Minor Parties/Coalition Parties British National Veritas Socialist Labour Liberal English Democrats Please go to Wikipedia & look it up under Unity Parties ( ie. Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party ) if you want to know about them. (there are about 200)

Regional Parties Scottish National: center-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence.Scottish National Sinn Fein (Irish): advocates united Ireland, leftist values.Sinn Fein Plaid Cymru (Welsh): center-left political party which advocates Welsh independence and promotion of Welsh culture.Plaid Cymru SDLP (Social Democrat & Labour Party): the smaller of the two major nationalist parties in Northern Ireland, socialist democratic and affiliated to the Socialist International.SDLP

Joke Parties Church of the Militant Elvis Party Fancy Dress Party Millennium Bean Party MP3 Party Official Monster Raving Loony Party, the most well-known joke partyOfficial Monster Raving Loony Party Rock'n'roll Loony Party Stuckist Party Teddy Bear's Alliance Vote For Yourself Rainbow Dream Ticket

Sources used: Bloomberg.com Brittania.com Conservatives.com Economist.com Forbes.com Labour.org.uk Libdems.org.uk Mirror.co.uk Scotsman.com Telegraph.co.uk Timesonline.co.uk Wikipedia.org

Actual footage of Tony Blair and George W. Bush discussing their decision to invade Iraq - "Can we go to war George? Can we? Can we? Please George? Can we? Pleeease?" 05%20blaire%20poodle.htm#