United Kingdom uses a parliamentary democratic system of governance led by the prime minister that exists alongside a constitutional monarchy led by the Queen. The prime minister is the head of government while and thus is considered the leader of the political party with the majority numbers. The electoral system in the UK adopts a majoritarian party with the labour party and the conservative party being the two dominant parties in parliament. However, in recent years, there UK Green party has emerged as a third wave in the country’s political landscape. However, the country remains mainly controlled by the two main parties; the Conservative Party and Labor Party.
My party, the Conservative party, upholds such values that lean towards a more liberal form of governance. They not only favour conservative beliefs in regards to the limited role of government but also believe that privatization of enterprise is an essential aspect of the economic. For them, the government must have a limited form of control in regards to such matters involving governance. Over the years, the ideological beliefs and values of the organization have significantly evolved. Some of the critical changes that have taken place include the Industrial Charter of 1947 when allowing more liberal economic principles and labour rights (Beswick and Hjort 563). As such, the party believes that the control of the economy should only be determined by the private enterprises themselves with very minimal interference by the state. More so, it considers that the role of government must always remain as an oversight for the organization.
The foundation of the ideological believes of the party is founded on the supply-economic theory that advocates for lower tax rates. Recently, the party as an effort to modernize has pushed for reforms of the current economy by advancing a balance between the free market and the social welfare of citizens. These new paradigms include a systemic change in the way that private enterprises contribute to the growth and development of the social aspect of society. Also, the party upholds ideological principles that advocate for increased resource allocation for projects that have a huge impact on the socio-economic welfare of the citizens such as infrastructure, health care and education (Mulé 177). The party also has taken a new paradigm towards accommodating the expanded role of government in supporting social welfare policy frameworks. The party has significantly changed over the years as the discussions above show. Currently, it not only supports the social market reform but also shifted the way that it embraces liberal ideas of culture and enterprise.
The framework of the government under the Conservative party involves advancing traditional cultural values and limited state control of the enterprise and individual growth. Until recently, the government had always held perceptual views that do prioritize the social welfare of her citizens. As such, the Conservatives believe in the independence of the efforts of citizens towards financing their matters, including education and health. However, this is not to mean that the party does not support the active role of government towards promoting social welfare.
Also, the conservative party believes in the relationship between the government, and her citizens should be limited to the protection of the fundamental rights as enshrined in the constitution. As such, the state control on the individual freedoms must significantly rely on the fundamental freedoms doctrines embedded in the different legislation.
Currently, the party is an advocate for a change in the way that the country engages with the EU towards the creation of a more unified state of political governance.
The party appeals to voters who greatly value the traditional cultural beliefs and market leaders. The huge majority of the members are composed of the elite class who value the traditional structures of a hierarchical society. In recent years, following the significant reforms that have prioritized social welfare reforms, the party has greatly expanded its traditional membership to include ethnic minorities and the middle class voters (Martin 181). To this, the middle-class social class has also become a huge part of its membership. They have shifted their perspectives of the party because of their way that the party have become more conscious of the social market reforms. More, their stand on limited control of the government on the economy also helps to create an appeal to its members.
The existing institutions have significantly impacted the Conservative Party in the country, including the monarch, the Bank of England and the Law courts. For example, the values and beliefs of the economic models have borrowed a great from the traditional banking system of England that has always advocated for Free Market. Also, the Monarchial cultural values have been very instrumental in the particular beliefs that the party upholds in regards to matters such as marriage and the role of Church in society. The Legal institutions have also been a huge source of the fundamental doctrines that party embraces especially in regards to the rule of law and human freedoms. Also, the nature of the relationship between citizens and government borrow significantly from the legal frameworks.
The current electoral system of England helps to broaden the party ideology towards accommodating the specific values, especially in regards to accommodating pluralistic beliefs of governance. Some of the pros for the electoral system for the party include the way that it helps to ensure that the winner in an election with the majority MPS forms the government. This helps the party gain power in parliament because it enjoys huge support of many of the constituencies.
Works Cited
Beswick, Danielle, and Mattias Hjort. “A missing link in understanding Party policy change? Conservative Party international volunteering projects and UK development policy (2007–2017).” The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, vol. 21, no. 3, 2019, pp. 559-575.
Martin, Nicole. “Ethnic Minority Voters in 2015: A Breakthrough for the Conservative Party?” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2016.
Mulé, Rosa. “The political economy of subsidiarity in labour market reforms: the United Kingdom and Italy in times of crises.” Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, vol. 57, no. 2, 2019, pp. 172-192.
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