politics,classandraceintheuk.ppt

Politics, Class and Race in the U.K. Unit 4 Contents: 1. General Elections 2. Political Parties 3. Recent Political Trends 4. Current Issues 5. Class 6. Race General Elections the process to its democracy in 1832: 5% of the adult by 1884: 25% by 1919: 75% in 1928: 99% General Elections The general election in Britain is held every 5 years and is controlled by the 2 principal parties--- the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. 1. 651 electoral areas/ constituencies 2. MP Political Parties There are 3 major national parties in Britain 1. The Labour Party 2. The Conservative Party 3. The Liberal Democrats The first 2 main political parties dominate the political scene. The Labour Party The Labour party was founded in 1900 by a union between 3 parts: 1. The Trade Union 2. The Independent Labour Party 3. T he Fabian Society It became the main opposition party after the WWI and won a majority in the House of Commons in 1945 under Attlee. Attlee The Prime Minister in Britain from 1945---1951 The Consertive Party The Conservative party developed out of the Tory Party. Tory Party was founded in 1679 when Parliament divided into 2 political groups over the dispute whether James II should be the heir to King Charles II. The supporters of James II formed the group known as “ Tory”, while the opponents formed the “ Whig”. The Tory Party changed its name into the Conservative party and Whig into Liberal Party in 1833. The Consertive Party The Conservative party was the “ Empire Party” during the 19th century. Before WWI, the conservative party and the Liberal party were 2 principal parties, taking turns in office. After 1922 the Labour Party ( formed in 1900) took the place of the Liberal Party as one of the 2 main parties. Now the Conservative Party has about 2 million members. It supports private enterprise and is generally opposed to nationalization and extending social services. The Liberal democrats The