List of political parties in the United Kingdom

Brief History and overview

Prior to the mid 19th century British politics was dominated by the Whigs and the Tories. These were not political parties in the modern sense. The whigs were associated with the newly emerging moneyed industrial classes, whereas the Tories were associated with the landed gentry.

By the mid 19th century the Tories had evolved into the Conservative Party, and the Whigs had evolved into the Liberal Party.

These two parties dominated the political scene until the 1920s. When internal divisions caused the Liberal Party to fall apart. It was replaced as the main left-wing party by the newly emerging Labour Party, who represented the mass working classes.

Since then the Conservative and Labour Parties have dominated British politics, and have alternated in government ever since. The UK is nearly but not quite a two-party system however. The Liberals in their new incarnation as the Liberal Democrats are a sizeable third party whose electoral performance has improved in recent years.

The UK's First Past the Post electoral system leaves small parties disadvantaged. The only minor parties represented in Parliament are regionally-based.

In recent years, proportional representation-based voting systems have been adopted for elections to the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the London Assembly and the UK's seats in the European Parliament. In these bodies, minor parties have had some amount of success.

The following political parties are active in the United Kingdom:

Major Parties

Three parties dominate politics in the House of Commons. They all operate throughout Great Britain, and also comprise most of the British Members of the European Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, and the Welsh Assembly.

• The Conservative Party, Centre-right
• The Labour Party, Centre-left,
  • The Co-operative Party (all Co-op MPs are also Labour MPs as part of a long-standing electoral agreement)
• Liberal Democrats, Centre-left

Minor Parties

Parties with representation in the Scottish Parliament

• Scottish Green Party - (Environmentalist/for Scottish independence)
• Scottish National Party - (Centre left/for Scottish independence)
• Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party
• Scottish Socialist Party - (far left/for Scottish independence)

Parties with representation in the Welsh Assembly

• Plaid Cymru - (Centre left/ Welsh nationalist party)
• Forward Wales - (socialist party that evolved from the John Marek Independent Party)

Parties with representation in the Northern Ireland Assembly

Unionist

• Ulster Democratic Unionist Party
• Ulster Unionist Party
• Progressive Unionist Party
• UK Unionist Party

Republican/Nationalist

• Sinn Féin - (Republicans)
• Social Democratic and Labour Party - (Nationalists)

Neutral on the Constitutional Status

• Alliance Party of Northern Ireland

Other parties with representation in the European Parliament

• Green Party of England and Wales Generally centre-left
• UK Independence Party, eurosceptic, generally Thatcherite

Other parties

Left-wing parties

• Alliance for Workers Liberty
• Communist Party of Britain
• Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist)
• Communist Party of Great Britain (PCC)
• Independent Working Class Association
• International Socialist Group
• New Communist Party of Britain
• RESPECT Unity Coalition
• Revolutionary Communist Group
• Socialist Alliance
• Socialist Appeal
• Socialist Labour Party
• Socialist Party of England and Wales
• Socialist Party of Great Britain
• Socialist Workers Party
• Spartacist League
• Workers Power

Regional parties

• Clannasaor - (for Scottish independence)
• Communist Party of Scotland
• Cornish Nationalist Party - (Cornish secessionist party)
• Cymru Annibynnol - (for Welsh independence)
• Cymru Goch - for an independent socialist Wales
• English National Party - (seeking devolution for England)
• Heald Green Ratepayers - (Tiny party with council seats in Stockport)
• Isle of Wight Party
• Mebyon Kernow - (Cornish secessionist party)
• Northern Ireland Unionist Party
• Northern Ireland Women's Coalition
• Scottish Fishing Party
• Scottish Independence Party - (for Scottish independence)
• Scottish Pensioners Party
• Scottish Unionist Party
• Welsh Socialist Alliance
• Wessex Regionalist Party - (seeking devolution for Wessex)
• The Workers Party (Ireland) - (evolved from Official Sinn Féin)

Right-wing parties

• British National Party
• Freedom Party
• National Democrats
• Populist Party (UK)
• British National Socialist Movement
• National Front
• White Nationalist Party

Joke parties

• Church of the Militant Elvis Party
• Fancy Dress Party
• Millennium Bean Party
• MP3 Party
• Official Monster Raving Loony Party
• Rock'n'roll Loony Party
• Stuckist Party
• Teddy Bear's Alliance

Religion-based parties

• Christian Peoples Alliance
• Islamic Party of Britain
• Muslim Party
• People's Justice Party
• Natural Law Party

Single-issue parties

• Legalise Cannabis Alliance
• Prolife Alliance

Miscellaneous parties

• Countryside Party
• Democratic Party
• Humanist Party
• Liberal Party (Not the same as the historic Liberal Party)
• The Consensus
• Third Way (UK)
• UK Social and Countryside Party

Defunct Parties

Far left parties

• British Socialist Party (1911-20)
• Communist Party of Great Britain (1920-1991)
• Independent Labour Party (1893-1975)
• International Marxist Group (1968-1981)
• Labour Party of Scotland (1973)
• Revoutionary Communist Party (1944-50)
• Revolutionary Socialist League (1938-1944)
• Scottish Militant Labour
• Scottish Republican Socialist Party (1982-98)
• Scottish Socialist Party (1987-1990)
• Scottish Workers Republican Party
• Social Democratic Federation (1884-1911)
• Socialist Labour Party (1903-1980)
• Socialist League (1886-1903)
• Workers International League (1937-1944)
• Workers Socialist Federation (1914-1921)
• Workers Revolutionary Party (1950-1988)

Regional parties

• Highland Land League (1909-1920s)
• Highlands and Islands Alliance
• Irish Parliamentary Party
• John Marek Independent Party (2003) - evolved into Forward Wales
• National Party of Scotland (1928-34)
• Scottish Labour Party (1976-79)
• Scottish Party (1932-34)
• United Unionist Assembly Party (1998-2003)
• Vectis National Party

Far right and fascist parties

• British Union of Fascists (1930s)
• Union Movement

Religion-based parties

• Liverpool Protestant Party
• Protestant Unionist Party

Single-issue parties

• Scottish Prohibition Party

Miscellaneous parties

• Campaign for Social Democracry (1973-1974)
• Democratic Labour (1972-1979)
• Liberal Party
• Liberal Unionist Party (1886-1912)
• National Liberal Party
• National Socialist Party (1916-1919)
• New Party (1931-1932)
• Referendum Party 1997 election
• Social Democratic Party (1981-1990)
• Socialist National Defence League
• Women's Party

See also

British politics, List of political parties in Scotland, List of political parties in Northern Ireland, List of political parties in the Isle of Man (a British crown dependency), List of political parties in Gibraltar (a British Overseas Territory)

External links

• List of parties that stood candidates in the 2001 general elections