The dynamics of changes in British political parties and the party system in the 21st century

Abstract

The article is devoted to the dynamics of changes in British political parties and the British party system in the 21st century. The main objective of the analysis is to verify the hypothesis that the configuration of the party system of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland over the last quarter of a century was conditioned by changes in the ideological, programmatic and organisational spheres, as well as the model of party leadership in British political parties. This hypothesis will be verified by various research methods, including document content analysis, data analysis and comparative analysis. The authors analyse changes in the programme and organisational dimensions, as well as the evolution of the leadership model in British political parties. They also indicate the extent, to which such changes influence the transformation of the British party system – both in the electoral and parliamentary arenas.

Keywords

• political party
• party system
• two-party system
• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• the Conservative Party
• the Labour Party