Top Down = Autocratic – When
the 3-top people in a party decide what goes into the manifesto and
what policies are included.
Bottom
Up = Democratic – When people who are perhaps lower down in the
party decide what goes into the manifesto and what polices are
included.
What
Are The Differences In How The Three Main Parties Establish Policy:
- Up until the 1990s, the Conservatives policy was created by its leader
- The leader was expected to canvass the views of senior colleagues on the front benches – a top down process.
- 2010 GE manifesto was written by Cameron and a few others
- Labour’s party conference was a genuine policy making event
- From 1997, they adopted a 2-year policy making cycle
- Policy forum appointed a commissions in the national executive and then the polices were announced at the conference.
- Argued that it has reduced the conference to a rubber stamp for polices which were agreed upon
- Miliband wrote the 2010 and the 2015 GE manifesto
- Lib Dems were once believed to have been the most democratic in terms of policy making, the parties leaders influence over to a federal policy committee has steered policy making.
The
Changing Basis of Party Funding:
- Most parties receive income from membership subscriptions
- Up until the 1990s the majority of Labour’s funding came from Trade Unions
- Conservatives’ funding was said to have come from wealthy, business people
- Decline in membership of parties has made funding decrease
- Decrease in trade unions for Labour has decreased funding for them.
Controversy
& Regulation:
- People think political influence can be brought e.g Eccleston paid £1 million to the Labour party and the ban on tobacco in F1 as slowly reduced
- Political Parties, Elections And Referendums 2000: Imported an overall limit on party spending of £30k per constituent and additional spending on devolved bodies. Also requires parties to declare any donations over £5k.
- Political Parties Elections Act: Improved the regulations on spending making them tighter in the run-up for an election for an candidate. Allowing the electoral commission to investigate cases and issue fines and restrict donations from non-UK residents and reducing the threshold for the declaration of donations.