Features of Political Parties GapFill

Political parties play a central role in representative democracies, performing multiple crucial functions. Firstly, political parties act as a means of representation for different interests and sections of society, and competition between them can be said to represent societal disagreements on a political level. Secondly, political parties offer a coherent programme for government by producing   a manifestoa drafta budgeta bill prior to each election. This helps to ensure that policies being advocated do not contradict each other and form a comprehensive offer to the electorate. In addition, political parties provide a platform for individuals to become office holders in politics, in either government, Parliament or local authorities.

Political party systems differ in different countries. The two most common types of political party system are a  two-partyno-partyone-party dominantmultiparty system, such as that in the United States, and a  one-party dominantmultipartytwo-partyno-party system, which is common across much of Europe. The former tends to promote  adversaryconsensusmore outdatedmore representative politics due to the direct competition of major parties, while the latter tends to promote   more outdatedmore representativeconsensusadversary politics, due to the need for compromise in order to form coalition governments of multiple parties. The UK has a system somewhere between these two: although there are only two major parties that are likely to form a government, there are multiple parties that win parliamentary representation, and also multiple devolved governments run by a variety of parties. The UK is sometimes described as a  no-partytwo-and-a-half-partymultipartyone-party dominant system, historically due to the role of   Plaid Cymruthe Scottish National PartySinn Feinthe Liberal Democrats, who entered government in coalition between 2010 and 2015, and more recently due to the role of   Sinn Feinthe Scottish National Partythe Liberal DemocratsPlaid Cymru, who have had the third-largest share of Members of Parliament since 2015.

One controversial political issue is that of party funding. Traditionally, the Conservative Party is funded by  state fundingtrade unionscharitiesbig businesses and the Labour Party is funded by  trade unionsstate fundingbusinessescharities, while both have benefited from  trade unionsindividual donationscharitiesstate funding. However, as party membership has increased in recent years,   state fundingtrade unionsmembership feescharities have played an increased role, especially for minor parties. Funding is controversial as donors can buy political influence, contributing to corruption.   Trade unionsCharitiesState fundingBig businesses of political parties is considered an alternative, although there has failed to be any cross-party consensus on this issue. It is also controversial as many people dislike the idea of their taxes helping to fund political parties that they do not support.