When New Labour (led by Tony Blair) came to power the Labour Party adopted a more centralised position whilst still leaning to the left and The Conservative Party (led by David Cameron) adopted a more central position whilst still leaning to the right. This has changed again recently with The Conservative Party moving more towards the right (as Teresa May has responded to the post-Brexit changes to the political landscape) and The Labour Party moving back towards a more traditional left (as Jeremy Corben represents a more socialist politics).
‘The Left’ is associated with ‘Liberalism’ (L) - ‘Socialism’ (L+) and ‘Communism’ (L++). This means that people who represent this party - Labour’s Members of Parliament (MPs) - and those who vote Labour share a set of values and ideology that tend to be more liberal. People who vote Labour are sometimes referred to as being more ‘Left Wing’. Communism would be an extreme left position.
‘The Right’ is associated with ‘Conservatism’ (R) and ‘Nationalism’ (R+). This means that people who represent this party - The Conservative Party’s Members of Parliament (MPs) - and those who vote Conservative share a set of values and ideology that tend to be more conservative. People who vote Conservative are sometimes referred to as being more ‘Right Wing’. Nationalism (BNP) would be an extreme right position.
Task: Revise these key points about the Political Landscape in the UK and then answer the following questions in your notes.
- Consider what would some examples be of more liberal values / opinions? Why would someone vote Labour?
- Consider what would some examples be of more conservative values / opinions? Why would someone vote Conservative?
- Where do other parties fit in to this Left - Right continuum (e.g. Liberal Democrats, The Green Party, UKIP, etc.)?
- Why would a group of people (e.g. a political party) change their stance in terms of key issues?
- Why would an organisation support a certain political party through its media products?
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