Evaluate the view that the UK is no longer a two-party system [30 marks]

1. UK remains a two-party system

- All the governments formed since 1945 have been led by either a
Conservative or Labour Prime Minister.
- The Conservative and Labour Parties dominate in terms of the
percentage of votes and number of seats.
- First-past-the-post favours the main two parties.

However,
- Evidence shows that a two-party system has not been the case in the UK
since 1974 due to the breakdown of strong party identification,
class-based voting and the emergence of new political issues that have
fragmented the party system.
- Labour was the dominant party in Scotland until the independence
debate in 2014, where traditional Labour voters were put off by seeing
Labour and Tories campaigning side by side against independence while
35% of Labour supporters voted for independence. In 2010, Labour won
41 of the 59 seats but in 2015 Labour won only one seat, with the SNP
picking up 56 out of 59 seats.
 2. Two main parties still set the political agenda and dominat the media.
- Key policy ideas are still generated by the main parties, while the
main parties are the only parties that can realistically win power
and deliver on their promises.
- Media coverage remains focused on the main parties, and their
leaders in particular.

However,
- Increasingly the political agenda is being shaped by minor and emerging
parties.
- Both the EU Referendum in 2016 and the Scottish Independence
Referendum of 2014 emerged from the policy platforms of minor
parties.
- The potential and Brexit Party to take voters from both main parties has
seen policy shifts on the EU and immigration by both the Conservatives
and Labour.
- The Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland (DUP), in return for its
support of the Conservative Government on 2017, won additional annual
spending commitments for Northern Ireland.
 3. While other elections are important, the key elections take place for
Westminster as this is the seat of power in the UK.
- At Westminster the big two parties continue to dominate, winning
87.3% of the seats in 2019.
- Westminster sets the direction; while the SNP opposes the
Conservative Party’s Brexit approach and wants a second
referendum, ultimately the government will take the decisions.

However,
- Outside of Westminster, the two-party system has fragmented into a
multi-party system.
- The Scottish Parliament was controlled until 2007 by a Labour-Liberal
Democrat coalition, but a minority SNP administrator was formed, with a
majority SNP government being elected in 2011 and an SNP minority
government in 2016.
- The Welsh Parliament had four different types of government: a majority
Labour administrator, a minority Labour administration, a Labour-Liberal
Democrat coalition and a coalition between Labour and Plaid Cymru.