Minor Parties GapFill

Since 1997, a number of minor political parties have increased in significance considerably. In the UK there are two main types of minor party. The first are  independenceleft-wingnationalistfactional parties which run only in certain nations in the UK that they seek to represent. There are four of these parties which have consistently won representation in Parliament since 1997, as well as played a role in running their own devolved governments. In Scotland there is  the Scottish National Partythe Green PartyPlaid CymruUKIP, which currently has 47 MPs in Parliament and runs the Scottish Government as a minority administration. In Wales   UKIPthe Scottish National Partythe Green PartyPlaid Cymru has periodically governed in coalition with Labour and currently has four MPs in Parliament. In Northern Ireland  UKIPthe Green Partythe Democratic Unionist Partythe Scottish National Party is a senior partner in the power-sharing government, and has eight MPs, while its junior partner,   Sinn Feinthe Democratic Unionist PartyUKIPthe Green Party, has seven MPs, although they practice a policy of abstention in Westminster politics and as a result do not take up their seats. Of these four parties, the only one that does not favour independence from the UK for its nation is  the Scottish National Partythe Green PartyUKIPthe Democratic Unionist Party, while the only party that also stands for government in another country is  UKIPSinn Feinthe Democratic Unionist Partythe Green Party, which won the 2020 general election in the Republic of Ireland.

The other type of minor party that has gained prominence since 1997 is the   left-wingindependencesingle-issuefactional parties, which tend to stand on a platform nationwide, and aim to 'outflank' the major parties. The two most prominent of these parties are   the Scottish Nationalist PartyUKIPPlaid Cymruthe Green Party, which focuses on the environment and positions itself to the left of Labour, and   Plaid Cymruthe Scottish Nationalist PartyUKIPthe Green Party, which focuses on the issue of Europe and positions itself to the right of the Conservatives. While the former has had one MP in Parliament since 2010, the latter has largely disbanded since the Leave result in the 2016 referendum on European Union membership, and has largely been replaced by the Brexit Party.

The primary reason why these parties have been more successful since 1997 can be attributed to dissatisfaction with the two major parties. The nationalist parties could be said to offer a more attractive and relatable alternative for those living in Scotland and Wales, while the introduction of devolution has made them a more credible option than in previous years. The situation is different in Northern Ireland, where an entirely different set of parties compete. The two single-issue parties can be said to have benefited from the major parties moving to the centre ground during the 2000s, as well as perceived inaction over their major areas of focus - the environment and Europe.

The   2005201020152001 general election saw the two major parties receive only 67% of the vote between them, their lowest in history. It was a high point in the success of minor parties, who have since gone backwards in their electoral performance. It is possible that the resurgent support for the major parties is due their moving away from the centre ground again since 2015, as well as divisions over Brexit.