Political parties provide coherent government and disciplined opposition. This way of governance comes from the relation of the Government and the Opposition. A party expresses its programs in manifestoes. Parties also recruit and train politicians. Above all, parties act on a group of people, also on the voters. As a consequence, parties represent them.
The representatives of socialist societies and the trade unions that decided to achieve political representation in Parliament formed the Labour Party in 1900. It was called Labour Representation Committee. Since then, they eliminated their image as a socialist party and learnt campaign methods from the U.S. Democrats. The media also supports this party, by the increasing role of women and ethnic minorities.
However, the Conservative Party has an older history. That leads back to the 1830s when the old Tory Party turned into the Conservatives. The Conservative Party is the most successful modern party because since the end of the 19th Century it has dominated its rivals in power 2/3 of the time. It is due to the support of upper classes, its political ideologies and the weakness of its opponents. We can also mention, related to its success, the adaptability to changing circumstances, its cohesiveness as it was less damaged by fraction fights, its ethos that combines nationalism, and finally, its strong leadership that produced leaders who dominated their generation, like Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher.
The electoral system means universal suffrage to every adult who meets the demands of being an elector. The simple majority system is characterized by the secret balloting. It means that the candidate who gets the most votes in a constituency wins the seat in the House of Commons. On one hand, elections ensure to hold government accountable to the people and offer a choice to people in who is to represent them. On the other hand, it is criticized about the need for electoral reform, and accused of producing parliaments which, in their composition, do not reflect the way people voted. It has been also accused of discriminating smaller parties and of producing “elective dictatorship”.
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