The SNP, Plaid Cymru and Classifying the UK Party System
Nationalist parties campaign primarily for greater self-government or independence for a specific nation within the UK: the Scottish National Party (SNP) for Scottish independence, and Plaid Cymru for greater self-government or independence for Wales.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn the aims of the Scottish National Party, independence for Scotland, and Plaid Cymru, greater self-government or independence for Wales, and how they differ from UK-wide parties in only contesting seats in their own nation.
- Learn the SNP's electoral breakthrough at the 2015 general election, when it won the great majority of Scotland's Westminster seats, and its role in leading the devolved Scottish Government for extended periods since 2007.
- Learn the definitions of the main party system types: a two-party system, two parties dominate and alternate in government; a two-and-a-half party system, two dominant parties plus a smaller party that can hold the balance of power; and a multi-party system, several parties realistically compete for power.
- Learn the case for describing the UK as a two-party system: Labour and the Conservatives have alternated in forming UK governments and have consistently taken the largest share of Westminster seats between them.
- Learn the case for describing the UK as a two-and-a-half or multi-party system: the Liberal Democrats' sustained presence, the SNP's dominance within Scotland, and the more genuinely multi-party competition seen in devolved and local elections that use more proportional systems.
- Learn that a country's party system can be classified differently at different levels of government, Westminster versus devolved versus local, since the SNP dominates Scottish Westminster and Holyrood seats but does not compete in the rest of the UK at all.
- For 'assess'/'evaluate' questions on party system classification, weigh evidence supporting one classification against evidence supporting another in each paragraph and reach a supported judgement, rather than asserting a single label without considering the alternative.
Worked example
Scotland sends 59 seats to the House of Commons. Explain, using the concept of party system classification, why a UK-wide two-party system claim needs to be qualified once you look specifically at how Scotland's Westminster seats have been won since 2015.
- Recall the two-party system claim: at UK level, Labour and the Conservatives have historically taken the great majority of Westminster seats between them and alternated in forming governments.
- Note what happened in Scotland from 2015: the SNP won the great majority of Scotland's Westminster seats, a result that broke the previous pattern of Labour and Conservative dominance within Scotland specifically.
- Compare this with the rest of the UK: outside Scotland, Labour and the Conservatives have generally continued to win the large majority of seats between them, so the two-party pattern still describes England and, to a lesser extent, Wales reasonably well.
- Draw the conclusion: a single, UK-wide 'two-party system' label understates how dominant a third party, the SNP, has become within one nation of the UK, showing that party system classification can depend on which geographical level is being examined.
- State the wider point: this is why analysts often describe the UK's Westminster party system as closer to a two-party system with one dominant regional party rather than a simple two-party system, once regional variation is taken into account.
Practice questions
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Q1What is the primary political aim of the Scottish National Party (SNP)?Show answer
Answer: Independence for Scotland from the rest of the United Kingdom.
Q2What is the primary political aim of Plaid Cymru?Show answer
Answer: Greater self-government or independence for Wales.
Q3What happened to the SNP's number of Westminster seats at the 2015 general election?Show answer
Answer: It won the great majority of Scotland's Westminster seats, a dramatic increase from its previous small number of seats.
Q4Define a two-party system.Show answer
Answer: A party system in which two parties dominate electoral competition and realistically alternate in forming the government.
Q5Define a two-and-a-half party system.Show answer
Answer: A party system with two dominant parties plus a smaller party that, while unlikely to form a government alone, can hold enough seats to influence the outcome, for example in a coalition.
Q6Give one piece of evidence that the UK's Westminster party system is not a simple two-party system.Show answer
Answer: The SNP's dominance of Scotland's Westminster seats since 2015 (or the Liberal Democrats' sustained presence as a smaller UK-wide party).
Q7Give one reason party system classification can differ between Westminster and devolved government in the UK.Show answer
Answer: Devolved elections use more proportional systems, such as the Additional Member System, which allow more parties to win seats than First Past the Post typically does at Westminster.
Q8Since which year has the SNP led the devolved Scottish Government for extended periods?Show answer
Answer: Since 2007.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a A Level Politics exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Using the SNP as an example, explain why classifying the UK as having a single, unified party system can be misleading.
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'The UK no longer has a two-party system.' Analyse and evaluate this statement.
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See real A Level Politics past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
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