What do political parties do, and how healthy is the UK party system?
Political parties: their functions, the main UK and Welsh parties and their ideas, the nature of the party system, and debates about party funding and party decline.
A WJEC AS Unit 2 study of political parties: their functions, the main parties at Westminster and in Wales and their broad ideas, the two-party and multi-party debate, and controversies over party funding and party membership decline.
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What this dot point is asking
This WJEC AS topic asks you to explain what political parties do, the nature of the party system, and the debates surrounding parties, especially funding and decline. You need the functions of parties, the broad positions of the main UK and Welsh parties, the two-party and multi-party debate, and the controversy over how parties are financed.
The answer
The functions of parties
The main parties and their ideas
UK politics is shaped by a small number of major parties with broad ideological positions, alongside nationalist and smaller parties.
- The main UK-wide parties occupy broadly centre-left and centre-right positions, differing on the role of the state, taxation and public services.
- Plaid Cymru is the party of Welsh nationalism, prominent in the Senedd, campaigning for Welsh interests and greater self-government.
- Smaller and single-issue parties (including Green and other parties) add further choice and can win representation under more proportional systems.
Because WJEC focuses on Wales, you should be able to discuss the Welsh party landscape, including Plaid Cymru, as well as the Westminster parties.
The party system
Westminster has often been described as a two-party system, but the picture is more multi-party in the devolved nations, where systems such as AMS and the strength of nationalist parties produce coalition and minority governments.
Funding and decline
Two debates dominate. Party funding: parties rely heavily on donations, raising concerns about the influence of wealthy donors and calls for state funding or tighter caps and transparency. Party decline: long-term falls in membership and weakening partisan loyalty (partisan dealignment) raise questions about whether parties still connect with voters, though they remain essential to forming governments.
Examples in context
Two systems in one country. The party-system debate is settled differently at different levels of UK government. At Westminster, first-past-the-post tends to reward the two largest parties and squeeze others, supporting the "two-party system" description. In the Senedd, the additional member system and the strength of Plaid Cymru produce a more genuinely multi-party pattern, with coalition and minority governments. The same voters therefore sustain a more two-party contest in one election and a more multi-party one in another, which is why strong essays describe the UK as having different party systems at different levels.
Try this
Q1. Name three functions of political parties. [3 marks]
- Cue. Any three of representation, participation, recruiting leaders, policy formulation, and organising government and opposition.
Q2. What is the difference between a two-party and a multi-party system? [2 marks]
- Cue. A two-party system is dominated by two major parties; a multi-party system has several with a genuine chance of sharing power.
Q3. To what extent should political parties be funded by the state? [25 marks]
- What the marker wants. A judgement weighing cleaner funding and a level playing field against taxpayer objections and alternatives such as donation caps.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC AS Unit 210 marksExplain the functions of political parties.Show worked answer →
A short-answer question testing AO1 knowledge of parties.
Functions include: representation (aggregating the views of supporters), participation (giving members a way to engage), recruitment of political leaders (selecting candidates and training future ministers), policy formulation (developing programmes set out in manifestos), and organising government and opposition (forming a government or holding it to account).
The best answers explain each function with an example, for example the manifesto as policy formulation, rather than listing functions without illustration.
WJEC AS Unit 220 marksTo what extent should political parties be funded by the state?Show worked answer →
An extended evaluation requiring a balanced judgement.
Case for state funding: it would reduce reliance on wealthy donors and the risk of undue influence, create a more level playing field, and let parties focus on policy rather than fundraising.
Case against state funding: it would force taxpayers to fund parties they oppose, could entrench existing parties and weaken their links to members, and the problem might be better solved by tighter caps and transparency rules.
The top band weighs the case for cleaner funding against taxpayer objections and alternatives such as donation caps, and reaches a supported judgement.
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