Emerging & Minor UK Political Parties (Edexcel A Level Politics): Revision Note

The importance of other parties in the UK

• Although the UK is often described as a two-party system, other parties still play an important role

  • They influence national debate, shape the policies of larger parties, and achieve significant representation in devolved governments and sometimes at Westminster.

• Below are key examples of minor parties, their principles, policies, and electoral performance, followed by their wider impact on UK politics

Reform UK

Political principles

• National sovereignty

  • A state’s independent authority to make its own laws, control its borders, and govern without interference from external powers

• Individual freedoms

  • Rights that allow people to act, speak and live without undue restriction from the state, as long as they do not harm others

• Smaller government

  • political belief favouring reduced state intervention, lower taxes, fewer regulations and a more limited role for government in people’s lives and the economy

2024 Manifesto

• Freeze on non-essential immigration

• Tax cuts for businesses (first £100k tax-free) and raising the VAT threshold

• Scrap Net Zero targets

• Tax relief on independent school fees

• £17 billion for the NHS to eradicate waiting lists

• Scrap HS2

• Leave the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)

2024 election result

• 4.1m votes (14.3%), 5 MPs

Green Party

Political principles

• Social justice

  • Fair distribution of wealth, opportunities and power in society, ensuring everyone has equal rights and can meet their basic needs

• Environmental justice

  • Protecting the planet while ensuring that environmental benefits and burdens are shared fairly, so no group suffers disproportionately from pollution or climate impacts

• Grassroots democracy

  • Decision-making led from the bottom up, giving local members and communities real influence rather than concentrating power in party leaders or central institutions

2024 Manifesto

• £8 billion investment in the NHS; £28 billion by 2030

• 1% tax on assets over £10 million

• Higher taxes for higher-rate earners

• Scrap university tuition fees

• Net Zero by 2040

• Scrap Trident

• Nationalise railways, water and energy

2024 election result

• 1.8m votes (6.4%), 4 MPs

Scottish National Party (SNP)

Political principles

• National sovereignty

• Social justice and equality

• Internationalism

  • The belief that countries should cooperate closely with one another, recognising mutual interests and shared global challenges

  • It emphasises collaboration, peace, fair trade, human rights and collective action on issues like climate change, rather than prioritising narrow national interests

2024 Manifesto

• Begin independence from the United Kingdom talks

• £1.6 billion increase in NHS spending

• Scrap the two-child benefit cap

• Rejoin the EU

• Scrap Trident

2024 election result

• 725,000 votes (2.5%), 9 MPs

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)

Political principles

• Unionism

  • A political belief supporting the continued unity of the United Kingdom, opposing independence for nations like Scotland or Wales

• Social conservatism

  • A viewpoint that prioritises traditional social values, favouring policies that protect family structures, cultural norms and long-established moral principles

• Public spending on services

2024 Manifesto

• Restore Northern Ireland’s place in the UK; reform the Windsor Framework

• Legal migration to tackle labour shortages

• Oppose assisted suicide

• Increase support for farms and agriculture

2024 election result

• 172,000 votes (0.6%), 5 MPs

The importance and impact of minor parties

• Although minor parties rarely form UK governments, they influence policy, public debate and sometimes parliamentary outcomes

• UKIP and Brexit

  • Rising UKIP support pushed the Conservative Party to include an EU referendum pledge in its 2015 manifesto

  • Led directly to the 2016 Brexit referendum

• Liberal Democrats in coalition (2010–15)

  • As part of the Coalition Agreement, pushed for a referendum on electoral reform

  • Resulted in the 2011 AV referendum

• Scottish National Party (SNP)

  • Their growth after devolution contributed to the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum

  • Continue to campaign for a second referendum

• Reform UK

  • Increased pressure on Conservative immigration policy

  • Contributed to the push behind policies such as the Rwanda scheme

• Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)

  • Supported Theresa May’s minority government in a confidence-and-supply agreement (2017)

  • Secured significant funding for Northern Ireland as part of the deal

  • The DUP refused to participate in power–sharing in Northern Ireland over the Windsor Framework (the implementation of Brexit in Northern Ireland) which resulted in changes to the framework