Essay --

Can political parties adequately perform their functions within the British political system now that their memberships are so small? Within the British political system, there are three dominant political parties, Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. These political parties have become a vital part in carrying out the main functions of government. There are several factors, which can hinder political parties from performing their functions adequately. In this essay I will be focusing on the recent decline in party membership and the effects it has had on each of the functions. I will be discussing why they don’t perform their functions as well because the decline in party membership (finish this off) The division created between Britain’s major political parties and the electorate in recent years has been enormous. An indication of this is seen at the turn out of elections. In ‘2005, only 61.5% of voters cast their votes. This was the second worst turn out since 1918.’ People don’t associate themselves with political parties as much as they used to a few years ago. It seems as though the decline in turnout is due political parties themselves. Citizens should be encouraged by parties to get involved with politics. There are other factors, which initiate people to vote such as the sociological characters; class, religion and gender. However, it should be the parties that should address these issues in the first place. If particular political parties speak of an issue, which reflects the ideology of many, people are more likely interested and are more likely to participate and vote. However, because voters look at the ideologies of parties and if parties do not represent their ideologies, they are likely not to vote. Thi... ...r peers. You have a prime minister who gets to appoint bishops of a creed he does not believe in or even respect. I could go on and on, but suffice to say, whatever conditions kept the U.K. floating no longer exist. Quite why a priest should think that declining political party memberships is a bad thing though I have no idea. I suppose being a U.K. resident, there is confusion in thinking that the state and the Church have the same ends. If anything we should be happy that people - freed from party affiliation - will be more eager to the Gospel of the Church. Sadly, however, decreased party affiliation has come with an all-encompassing state, and it's hard to see how we'll penetrate the wall of misinformation that all 3 major parties have managed to create through control of the school system, public broadcasters, and a multitude of publicly-funded lobbying groups.