The Electoral Commission's Register of Political Parties[1] lists the details of political parties registered to fight elections in the United Kingdom, including their registered name. Under current electoral law, including the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998, the Electoral Administration Act 2006, and the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, only registered party names can be used on ballot papers by those wishing to fight elections. Candidates who do not belong to a registered party can use "independent" or no label at all. As of 2 August 2019[update], the Electoral Commission showed the number of registered political parties in Great Britain and Northern Ireland as 408.[2]
Before the middle of the 19th century, politics in the United Kingdom was dominated by the Whigs and the Tories. These were not political parties in the modern sense but somewhat loose alliances of interests and individuals. The Whigs included many of the leading aristocratic dynasties committed to the Protestant succession, and later drew support from elements of the emerging industrial interests and wealthy merchants, while the Tories were associated with the landed gentry, the Church of England and the Church of Scotland.
By the mid 19th century, the Tories had evolved into the Conservative Party, and the Whigs had evolved into the Liberal Party. The concept of right and left came originally from France, where the supporters of a monarchy (constitutional or absolute) sat on the right wing of the National Assembly, and republicans on the left. In the late 19th century the Liberal Party began to lean towards the left. Liberal Unionists split off from the Liberals over Irish Home Rule and moved closer to the Conservatives over time.
The Liberals and Conservatives dominated the political scene until the 1920s, when the Liberal Party declined in popularity and suffered a long stream of resignations. It was replaced as the main anti-Tory opposition party by the newly emerging Labour Party, which represented an alliance between the labour movement, organised trades unions and various socialist societies.
Since then the Conservative and Labour parties have dominated British politics, and have alternated in government ever since. However, the UK is not quite a two-party system as other parties have significant support. The Liberal Democrats were the third largest party until the 2015 general election when they were overtaken by the Scottish National Party in terms of seats and UK political party membership, and by the UK Independence Party in terms of votes.
The UK's first-past-the-post electoral system leaves small parties disadvantaged on a UK-wide scale. It can, however, allow parties with concentrations of supporters in the constituent countries to flourish. In the 2015 election there was widespread controversy[3][4][5] when UKIP and the Green Party of England and Wales received 4.9 million votes[6] (12.6% of the total vote for UKIP and 3.8% for the Greens) yet only gained one seat each in the House of Commons. After that election, UKIP, the Liberal Democrats, and the Green Party of England and Wales, together with its Scottish and Northern Ireland affiliated parties, the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru, delivered a petition signed by 477,000[7] people to Downing Street demanding electoral reform.
Since 1997, proportional representation-based voting systems have been adopted for elections to the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the London Assembly and (until Brexit in 2020) the UK's seats in the European Parliament. In these bodies, other parties have had success.
Traditionally political parties have been private organisations with no official recognition by the state. The Registration of Political Parties Act 1998 changed that by creating a register of parties.
Membership of political parties has been in decline in the UK since the 1950s, falling by over 65% from 1983 (4% of the electorate) to 2005 (1.3%).[8]
There are a number of political parties in the United Kingdom that do not have representation in the House of Commons, but have elected representatives in the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Parliament, Northern Ireland Assembly, and/or the London Assembly. These are:
| Party | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative and Unionist Party | A party loosely divided into three categories; the Thatcherites, who strongly support a free market and tend to be Eurosceptic, the economically moderate and socially liberal One Nation Conservatives, and the socially conservative, Eurosceptic Cornerstone Group. | |
| Labour Party | A social democratic party with democratic socialist elements that has its roots in the trade union movement. The party in recent years is seen to have several internal factions, which include: Momentum, Open Labour, Progress, Blue Labour, and the Labour members who stand on a split ticket with the Co-operative Party. | |
| Scottish National Party | Scottish nationalist and social democratic party which supports Scottish Independence and membership of the European Union. | |
| Liberal Democrats | A Liberal party; it's main branches are the social liberals based around groups like the Social Liberal Forum, and the 'Orange Book' grouping, which supports classical liberalism. There is also a social democratic faction and influence within the party. Strongly supports membership of the European Union. | |
| Democratic Unionist Party | British Unionist and national conservative party in Northern Ireland. Socially conservative with close links to Protestantism. | |
| Sinn Féin | Irish republican party dedicated to the reunification of Ireland and the creation of a democratic socialist republic. | |
| Plaid Cymru | Democratic socialist, social democratic, and Welsh nationalist party in favour of Welsh independence. | |
| Social Democratic and Labour Party | Irish nationalist and social-democratic party supporting a United Ireland. | |
| Ulster Unionist Party | A conservative and Unionist party in Northern Ireland. | |
| Green Party of England and Wales | Green political party that favours eco-socialism,[24] environmentalism,[24] progressivism[25] and sustainability.[24] | |
| Scottish Greens | Green political party in favour of Scottish independence and Scottish republicanism. | |
| UK Independence Party | A British nationalist and Eurosceptic right-wing populist party. Socially conservative and economically liberal. | |
| Alliance Party of Northern Ireland | Liberal and nonsectarian political party in Northern Ireland. | |
| Green Party in Northern Ireland | Green political and nonsectarian party in Northern Ireland. | |
| Traditional Unionist Voice | Strongly social and national conservative unionist party in Northern Ireland, opposed to the St Andrews Agreement. | |
| People Before Profit | A socialist and Trotskyist party that is active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. | |
| Propel | Sovereignist party that advocates Wales becoming an independent sovereign state. | |
| Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party | A single-issue, anti-devolution party with the goal of abolishing the Welsh Parliament. | |
| Reform UK | A populist and Eurosceptic party led by Richard Tice. | |
| Heritage Party | A right-wing, social conservative party led by London Assembly member David Kurten. | |
| Alba Party | A pro-Scottish independence and Scottish nationalist party founded in February 2021. It is currently led by Alex Salmond, who was the First Minister of Scotland from May 2007 to November 2014. | |
| Party | Leader | Ideology | Political position | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independents for Frome | Lizzie Boyle (Convener) | Localism, Conservation | N/A | 17[70] | |
| Devizes Guardians | Nigel Carter | Localism, Conservation | N/A | 11[71] | |
| Official Monster Raving Loony Party | Howling Laud Hope | Political satirism, Populism | Big tent | 2 | |
| Women's Equality Party | Mandu Reid | Feminism, Egalitarianism, Pro-Europeanism | Centre-left | 1 | |
| Animal Welfare Party | Vanessa Hudson | Animal welfare | N/A | 1[72] | |
| Cornish Nationalist Party | Androw Hawke | Cornish nationalism, Cornish devolution, Pan-Celticism | Right-wing | 1 | |
| Hampshire Independents | Alan Stone | Localism | N/A | 1[73] | |
This is a table of notable minor parties. Many parties are registered with the Electoral Commission but do not qualify for this list as they have not received significant independent coverage. Parties active across Ireland may have representation in the Republic of Ireland but not Northern Ireland.
