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In the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, factions and tendencies are intra-party ginger groups, caucuses or alliances made up of members of Parliament (MPs) who cooperate to pressure or influence their party's leadership or policy platform in order to advance their political goals. These groups may take the form of regional groups, subject groups or research groups, or may be united by ideology.
Intra-party pressure groups or ginger groups have existed in the parties of the House of Commons since at least the 19th century and have become the norm in British politics. Political scientists categorise these groups into factions and tendences, as defined by the political scientist Richard Rose in 1964. Factions are characterised by their strong organisation
intra-party pressure groups or ginger groups, known as factions or tendencies, have existed since at least the 19th century. In Parliament, these groups organise likeminded MPs in their party to influence or pressure the party leadership. They typically include factions formed along ideological lines, but may also include regional groups and subject groups.
UK parliamentary caucuses are political organisations in the House of Commons. Parliament has currently dissolved due to the 2024 United Kingdom general election, names and numbers of the groups and parties reflect the situation at the dissolution of Parliament.
Definition and typology
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Intra-party groups have existed in the parties of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since at least the 19th century.[1][2] These groups, which are known as factions or tendencies,[3][4] are ginger groups, caucuses or alliances made up of members of Parliament (MPs) with shared goals or beliefs who work together in their party to pressure or influence the party leadership, or to influence the party's policy platform, in order to advance their political goals.[3][5][6] These groups may take the form of regional groups, subject groups or research groups, or may be united by ideology. They are not to be confused with all-party parliamentary groups, which are non-partisan and include members of several parties.[7]
Political scientists divide the intra-party groups of the House of Commons into two categories, factions and tendencies. The political scientist Richard Rose first defined the two types of group in 1964.[8][4] He defined factions as organised and sustained intra-party groups of MPs, united by a strong, disciplined and cohesive organisational structure, which aim to further a wide range of ideologically influenced policies in their party through "consciously organised political activity".[4][9][8] Rose defined tendencies as intra-party parliamentary ginger groups or alliances which, unlike factions, are loosely organised, have a largely amorphous membership, and tend to focus on a single issue.[9][4] Although united around an ideological or political position, tendencies do not have the discipline, organisation and collective cohesion of a faction.[8] They are also not necessarily organised into a formal group, and may instead serve as a decentralised or amorphous ideological force within their party, unlike factions.[10]
Britain's two-party system perpetuates the system of factions and tendencies, as the dominant Labour and Conservative parties act as "broad churches" in order to widen their appeal under the first-past-the-post electoral system. As a result, the parties contain ideologically diverse memberships, leading to common disagreements between their members, who may organise in groups and tendencies to compete for power in the party.
History
[edit]Historically, political parties in the United Kingdom were decentralised, with no formal leader or party platform. Politicians and voters usually aligned themselves with smaller factions within a party rather than the party as a whole.[2] A formalisation of political parties occurred in the 1800s, with the Whigs turning into the Liberal Party and the Tories turning into the Conservative Party, the two main parties in Britain's two-party system until the 20th century.[11] In the 19th century, both parties would experience rebellions by intra-party factions, such as the Peelites who split from the Conservatives in 1846 and the Liberal Unionists who split from the Liberals in 1886.[12] Factionalism also emerged in Ireland, which was ruled by Britain at the time, with the Irish nationalist Young Ireland group breaking away from the Irish nationalist Repeal Association.[13]
Going into the 20th century, factionalism continued to encourage splits within British parties. The expansion of voting rights and the emergence of socialist parties encouraged further intra-party infighting between groups.[12] The Labour Party, which superseded the Liberal Party in Britain's two-party system in the 1920s, was split from its formative years on its interpretation of socialism and its commitment to nationalisation between two main tendencies, the more radical Labour left which included Marxists, communists and progressives who supported a controlled economy on the Soviet model and the more moderate Labour right which included trade unionists and social democrats who supported gradual reforms to capitalism with a somewhat limited role for state intervention.[14] In the 1930s, the Conservative, Liberal and Labour parties remained split along factional lines, with the Conservatives divided between factions which opposed state intervention and supported free-market economics and factions which supported a mixed economy with welfare.[14] The Liberals, meanwhile, were split over the adoption of a social democratic platform.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ Baggott, Rob (1995). Pressure Groups Today. Manchester University Press. pp. 5–6. ISBN 978-0-7190-3579-1. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ a b "Breaking the Political Mould: a new 18th-century political party". The History of Parliament. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ a b Watts, Duncan (2012). British Government and Politics: A Comparative Guide. Edinburgh University Press. p. 286. ISBN 978-0-7486-4455-1. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d Rose, Richard (1964). "Parties, Factions and Tendencies in Britain". Political Studies. 12 (1): 33–46. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9248.1964.tb00609.x. ISSN 0032-3217. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ Wilson, Christopher (2003). Understanding A/S Level Government Politics. Manchester University Press. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-7190-6081-6. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ Ghosh, Sunanda (1991). Parliament and Information Flow: A Study of the Lok Sabha. Uppal Publishing House. p. 64. ISBN 978-81-85024-98-1. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ Davis, David (1989). The BBC Viewer's Guide to Parliament. BBC Books. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-563-20800-6. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ a b c Bale, Tim (28 October 2020). "Northern Research Group: faction or tendency?". UK in a Changing Europe. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ a b Bale, Tim (30 March 2023). "Rebels with a cause: Backbench groups in the parliamentary Conservative Party". Hansard Society. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ "The Study of Political Party Factions". International Review of History and Political Science: 57. 1973. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ Kłos, Jan (2023). Truth and Responsibility: A Personalist Reading of Newman. BRILL. p. 49. ISBN 978-90-04-68281-8. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ a b Ceron, Andrea (2019). Leaders, Factions and the Game of Intra-Party Politics. Routledge. pp. 15–16. ISBN 978-1-351-37770-6. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
- ^ Kinealy, Christine (2013). Charity and the Great Hunger in Ireland: The Kindness of Strangers. A&C Black. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-4411-1758-8. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
- ^ a b c Cox, Andrew (2002). Adversary Politics and Land: The Conflict Over Land and Property Policy in Post-War Britain. Cambridge University Press. pp. 32–33. ISBN 978-0-521-52641-8. Retrieved 4 November 2024.