The UK: Political Parties


There are three main political parties in Great Britain: the Conservative Party, the  Labour Party, and the Liberal Democrats, as well as numerous small parties, such as the great Party, which is supported by the environmentalists. 
The Conservative Party is the most powerful party and is sometimes called a ‘party of business directors’. It is supported by the richest sections of society- the monopolists, landowners, business owners. They are for minimal government interference in the economy. Their social and economic policy is wage restraint, drastic cuts in social service, promotion of private property and enterprise, maintenance of a strong military and foreign policy and preservation of traditional cultural values and institutions. Most of the money needed to run the party comes from large firms and companies. Among the outstanding Conservatives was Margaret Thatcher, who became Britain’s first woman prime minister in 1979.

The Conservative Party is known informally by the nickname of Tories, especially used in newspapers as it takes less space. The word ‘tory’ means an Irish highwayman and was applied to the Conservatives by their opponents; later the Conservatives adopted this nickname.
The Labour Party was founded in 1900 by the trade unions. Thus it represents the working class, plus a small middle-class intelligentsia. The Labour Party supports the weaker people in society and stands for equality and for more government involvement in the economy. Its concern is to provide full social services. Prime Minister Tony Blair (1997) represents the Labour Party.
The Liberal Democrats represent the middle class. The party supports individualism, private enterprise, human rights and promotion of social justice. It has always been strongly in favour of the European Union. It also places more emphasis on the environment than other parties.
The Liberal Democratic Party is nicknamed as the Whigs. A ‘whig’ was a Scottish preacher who could go on for 4 or 5 hours at a time preaching moralising sermons.
Government in Britain has alternated between only two political parties since 1945- the Conservative and the Labour party. No other party has been in office since then and there have been no coalitions. The Liberals enjoyed moments of success, but no member of the Liberal party has held government office since 1945.

Theresa Mary May is a British politician serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2016. She was first elected Member of Parliament for Maidenhead in the general election of 1997


Key vocabulary:
support – աջակցել
environmentalist – [inˌvaıǝrǝn'mentǝlist] -շրջակա միջավայրի պաշտպանության հետևորդ
be in office – պաշտոն զբաղեցնել
privileged – արտոնյալ
landowner – հողատեր, կալվածատեր
interference- [ˌintǝ'fıǝrǝns] - միջամտություն
wage –աշխատավարձ
restraint- սահմանափակում
drastic cuts – սուր կրճատումներ
enterprise – ձեռնարկում
maintenance -['meıntǝnǝns] - պահպանում
involvement - ներգրավվում
preacher - ['prı:tʃǝ]-քարոզիչ
sermon - ['sǝ:mǝn]- քարոզ
alternate – ['ɔ:ltǝneıt]- հաջորդել միմյանց

Talking points:
1.     Which are the main political parties in Great Britain?
2.     How are the Conservatives/the Liberals most frequently reffered to in the British press?
3.     Which party represents the rich/ the working class/ the middle class?
4.     What policy does each party support?
5.     Who is the present Prime Minister? Which party does he/she represent?