Starter Guide to British Politics

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Political
Party
Most candidates that run for an election are part of a political party,
such as the Conservative Party, Labour Party, or the Liberal Democrats.
There are many different parties all with separate methods and goals,
so take care when voting and make sure you research a wide variety of
parties to see which you agree with.
Candidates that aren’t part of any party, are called Independents.
In the House of Commons, the political party that has the most
constituencies (over 51%) wins control of the House of Commons
for the next five years.
Important to note: During 2010, there was a Coalition. This meant
that no political party had over half of the constituencies, and there
was a ‘Hung Parliament’. To solve this, two parties worked together
to form a Coalition Government, the Conservative Party and the
Liberal Democrats.
Why is this important to me?
Knowing about who runs the Government is important because - for
example - the Conservatives could share the views you do, and
could make changes you want to see if they were in power.
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