The Conservative and Labour Parties have been the big players in the UK
parliament since the Labour Party displaced the Liberal Party in the 1920s. For many years the Liberal Party had very few
MPs, but then in 1981 divisions in the Labour Party led to the creation of the
Social Democratic Party.
For a short
while, the SDP appeared to have considerable potential, but soon afterwards it
joined forces with the Liberal Party, and then merged with them in 1988 to form
the Liberal Democrats. As an
aside, the SDP was a modernising force in British politics, being the first
party to have a central membership register held on a computer, and also the
first party to allow membership fees to be paid by credit card.
The British National Party came into existence in 1982,
following a split in the National Front, but for many years made little
impact. It was nevertheless perhaps the
leading anti-EU party in Britain, prior to the launch of the United Kingdom
Independence Party in 1993. For much of
the period between 1999 and 2010, there was an unfriendly rivalry between the
two parties. UKIP always performed
better in European Parliament elections, but the BNP frequently outperformed
UKIP in local elections.
Nowadays both parties enjoy little support, and so there is
arguably a void in British politics which is waiting to be filled. Britain First has recently decided to start
contesting elections on a much larger scale than before. Britain First is well known for its
confrontational activities, but it has also shown considerable enterprise in
developing online campaigning strategies.
Another party which deserves mention however is the newlyformed Veterans’ and People’s Party, which apparently has eight thousand
members – an impressive figure for a young party. Its policies include the return of the death
penalty, and it cannot be ruled out as a potential growing force in British
politics.
The third party which deserves a mention does not yet
exist. Many people in the Labour Party
are displeased with the current leadership, and are plotting to form another
breakaway party – which could at its outset boast far more MPs than the Liberal
Democrats have, as well as high profile financial backers. Apparently the party’s central policies would
include trying to thwart Brexit, as well as furthering the warmongering aims of
former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Further comment would perhaps be premature. Nevertheless there does appear to be a void
in British politics at the moment, and time will tell which party will emerge
to fill that void.
Related previous posts include:
