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30. Political parties in the UK - discuss. The main political parties in Britain today Right-wing or conservative parties

The Conservative Party This is the British party of the right, including a broad range of traditional conservatives and royalists, neo-liberals and social conservatives

The Conservative Party thinks that individuals should own and control businesses and services and make profits from them; the government should not interfere with these things.

If this creates a gap between rich and poor, then it's not down to the government to sort it out. It's all about survival of the fittest

Tax should be low, so that you can keep as much of what you earn as possible. As businesses and services are privately owned, it's thought that people will have more money to spend on these things

instead of the government taking your money and choosing for you. In turn this will improve public services, because in order to get you to use them, they need to be good.

Traditional values should be encouraged to help build strong communities and families. Strict discipline and respect will cut crime and criminals should be treated harshly.

UKIP - The UK Independence Party is surprisingly popular with voters disgruntled with the perceived failures of the main parties.

BNP - British National Party An extreme right-wing party, with nationalistic and xenophobic views.

Parties of the centre

he Liberal Democrat party - the Liberal Democrats, or Lib Dems A party of the centre, formed in 1988 by the merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (SPD)

the latter being made up of dissidents from the Labour party. The Lib Dems are thus a mixture of social conservatives and social democrats

In the 2015 election, the Lib Dems lost most of their MPs. However, following the election of left-winger Jeremy Corbyn to the head of the Labour party in September 2015

many are predicting an unexpected revival in the fortunes of the Liberal Democrats as disaffected social democrats abandon Labour.

The Lib Dems, as they're called for short, are somewhere between the Labour and Conservative parties in their beliefs.

They believe in personal freedom and a fair and open society where there is equality for everyone and strong communities.

This can be achieved through free healthcare and education for all and by encouraging business to flourish but not interfering.

The poor and those in need should receive help from the government. This would probably mean an increase in income tax.

The environment can only be saved by reducing pollution from cars. The party believes there should be a strong and effective transport system.

The Greens - The Green Party A centre-left party, in many ways rather middle-class, committed to the promotion of environmental issues.

The parties of the Left

he Labour Party The Labour party covers virtually the whole spectrum of left wing politics in Britain. Until 2010, since the time of Tony Blair, it had been dominated by the social-liberal centre-left

initially known as New Labour. From 2010 to 2015, under the leadership of Ed Miliband, it remained essentially a centre-left party; but in September 2015, with the election to the leadership of a radical left-winger Jeremy Corbyn

the Labour party has moved into a new period in its history. He’s the most left-wing leader the party has ever had. For Corbyn's supporters, his election marks a return by the Labour party to its core socialist values

The government should work with private companies to provide good public services. The government should be involved in helping to close the gap between rich and poor by providing opportunities for those in need.

The government should work with private companies to provide good public services. The government should be involved in helping to close the gap between rich and poor by providing opportunities for those in need.

All public services such as schools and hospitals need to receive funding from the government in order to provide good-quality services that are available for everyone to use

There need to be different levels of tax depending on how much you earn. The more you earn, the more you should pay –

otherwise you end up with a group of very, very rich people and a group of very, very poor people. The tax is used to provide services for everybody, rich and poor.

Communities need to be strong by promoting tolerance of and respect for all and by all

Everyone should enjoy their individual rights but they must also understand that they have responsibilities to those around them.

Respect The party of a populist left-wing Labour party dissident, George Galloway, who was its sole MP.

The Communist Party of Great Britain Very marginal; it was never a mass party.

Main regional and nationalist parties England does not have any serious regional parties, however, regional or nationalist parties are now very important in the political landscape of other countries that make up the United Kingdom.

SNP - Scottish Nationalist party Currently the most important political party in Scotland, and the party in power in the Scottish Parliament

Plaid Cymru - Welsh nationalist party Major Welsh party, which did control the Welsh Assembly, but is now on a par with the Labor Party, which is also very well established in this part of the United Kingdom

Democratic Unionist Party 2 The DUP, the conservative Protestant majority party in Northern Ireland, is very favorable to the maintenance of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom.

Sinn Fein 2 The majority party among the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland, in favour of the withdrawal of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, and the reunification of Ireland

SDLP Social Democratic Party and Labour Party of Northern Ireland, a non-sectarian social democratic party made up of both Catholics and Protestants.

Democrative Unionist Party Green Party Labour Party Liberal Democrats Plaid Cymru Respect Party Scottish National Party Sinn Féin Social Democratic and Labour Party UK Independence Party