Established political parties: ideas and policies | Edexcel A-Level Politics
Updated: Nov 2
For Specification 9PL0
Edexcel A-Level Politics | Free Revision Notes
Estimated study time:Â 60 minutes
The Conservative Party, Labour Party and Liberal Democrats developed from different ideological traditions, but modern parties also adapt their policies to changing political circumstances and electoral demands. This Established political parties: ideas and policies A-Level Politics revision page examines the ideas shaping all three parties and compares their approaches to the economy, welfare, law and order and foreign affairs. Edexcel specifically requires these policy areas to be understood in relation to each party's historical development. This builds directly on how the parties developed historically and prepares you to compare them with other UK parties.
Learning Objectives 🎯
By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:
Explain the main ideological traditions influencing the Conservative Party, Labour Party and Liberal Democrats.
Compare the parties' approaches to economic policy.
Compare the parties' approaches to welfare and the role of the state.
Compare their approaches to law and order.
Compare their approaches to foreign affairs.
Analyse the extent to which current party positions continue to reflect historical ideological traditions.
Evaluate whether ideological differences between the established parties remain significant.
Revision Notes đź“š
What does Edexcel require you to know?
For the three established political parties, the specification requires knowledge and understanding of:
the Conservative Party
the Labour Party
the Liberal Democrat Party
their historical development
how their development has shaped their ideas
their current policies on the economy, law and order, welfare and foreign affairs.
This means you should not revise party policies as an isolated list.
Instead, think in terms of:
ideological tradition → political idea → policy position
For example:
New Right → preference for free markets → support for reducing economic state intervention
This allows you to analyse rather than merely describe party policy.
A note on current policies
⚠️ The word current matters in this topic.
The specification requires students to know contemporary party policies, and the 2025 examiner report explicitly praised students who used very recent political developments rather than relying only on older examples.
For that reason, this page distinguishes carefully between:
the ideological approaches that the supplied specification securely requires
specific policy examples explicitly supported by the supplied Edexcel materials.
Do not assume that an older examination example automatically remains a party's current policy. In your own revision, contemporary policies should be kept up to date.
The ideological starting point
The three parties can initially be understood through different ideological traditions.
Party | Important traditions identified by Edexcel |
Conservative Party | One Nation conservatism and the New Right |
Labour Party | Old Labour and New Labour |
Liberal Democrats | Classical liberalism and modern liberalism |
These traditions were examined in the parties' historical development.
The crucial next step is to consider how far they continue to explain party policy.
The Conservative Party: ideas
One Nation conservatism
One Nation conservatism is a paternalistic Conservative tradition.
It accepts:
inequality within society
obligations on wealthier groups towards poorer groups
some role for government in maintaining social cohesion
the importance of protecting vulnerable people.
One Nation thinking therefore allows a Conservative government to support state action where this protects social stability.
The New Right
The New Right contains two elements.
Neo-liberalism
Neo-liberalism favours:
free markets
individual economic freedom
reducing government interference in economic activity
rolling back the state in people's lives and businesses.
Neo-conservatism
Neo-conservatism favours:
stronger authority
a more authoritarian state on morality
a strong approach towards law and order.
These two elements can produce a combination of:
economic freedom + social authority
The Conservative Party therefore contains traditions that do not always point towards identical policies.
Conservative policy and ideological tension
The 2024 Edexcel mark scheme identifies this tension clearly.
One interpretation is that Conservative policies continue to combine:
free-market ideas, reflecting the New Right
concern for vulnerable members of society, reflecting One Nation conservatism.
The competing interpretation is that more recent Conservative politics has sometimes been shaped by issues such as:
Europe
immigration
populist political pressures
in ways that do not fit neatly into either historical tradition.
This makes ideological classification an argument, not simply a labelling exercise.
The Labour Party: ideas
Old Labour
Old Labour is associated with social democracy.
The specification identifies:
nationalisation
redistribution of wealth from rich to poor
continually improving welfare and state services
rejection of much of the Thatcherite free-market settlement.
Old Labour therefore supports a significant economic and social role for government.
New Labour
New Labour, or the Third Way, revised traditional Labour thinking.
It involved:
less emphasis on Labour as exclusively a working-class party
an attempt to appeal to a wider class base
a less robust alliance with trade unions
greater acceptance of the market economy.
New Labour therefore moved Labour towards the political centre without necessarily removing all of the party's traditional concern with welfare and social inequality.
Labour policy and ideological tension
The 2024 Edexcel mark scheme explicitly recognises that Labour policies may show elements of both traditions:
welfare policy may reflect Old Labour ideas
acceptance of the free market may reflect New Labour.
This creates an important analytical question:
Is Labour still fundamentally a social democratic party, or has New Labour permanently altered its ideological character?
The supplied materials do not prescribe one correct answer.
Strong examination responses should use policy evidence to reach a judgement.
The Liberal Democrats: ideas
Classical liberalism
Classical liberals believe individual freedom is best achieved when the state plays a relatively minimal role.
This can support:
personal autonomy
limits on state interference
support for market mechanisms.
Modern liberalism
Modern liberalism developed from the argument that simply leaving people alone may not produce genuine freedom.
Economic or social disadvantage can prevent individuals from making meaningful choices.
Modern liberals therefore accept a greater role for government in creating the conditions in which people can exercise freedom.
Liberal Democrat policy and ideological tension
The 2024 Edexcel mark scheme identifies both traditions within Liberal Democrat politics.
It characterises the party as:
pro-free market, showing classical liberal influence
possessing a strong social conscience, linking it to modern liberalism.
The same examination material also presents an alternative argument.
The Liberal Democrats can be interpreted as increasingly pragmatic, positioning themselves as an alternative to both Labour and the Conservatives rather than simply following classical or modern liberal doctrine.
The supplied 2024 material also identifies:
a clear pro-European position
a strong green agenda
as examples of ways in which the party has sought to distinguish itself.
The key examination issue is therefore not simply:
"Are the Liberal Democrats liberal?"
It is:
"How useful are classical and modern liberalism for explaining what the party actually supports?"
Comparing economic ideas
Conservative approach
The strongest ideological influence on Conservative economic policy from the specification is neo-liberalism.
This supports:
free markets
less government intervention in business
rolling back the economic role of the state.
However, One Nation influence may support state action where economic or social problems threaten vulnerable groups or social cohesion.
Labour approach
Labour contains a much clearer historical tension.
Old Labour supports:
nationalisation
redistribution
extensive public provision.
New Labour accepts much more of the market economy.
This means Labour economic policy can involve an attempt to combine:
market economics + greater state responsibility for social outcomes
Liberal Democrat approach
The supplied Edexcel material characterises the Liberal Democrats as retaining support for the free market while also displaying a strong social conscience.
This reflects tension between:
classical liberal concern about excessive state intervention
modern liberal willingness to use the state to expand genuine individual freedom.
Economy: ideological comparison
Conservative Party | Labour Party | Liberal Democrats |
Strong New Right tradition of free markets | Old Labour tradition of greater economic state intervention | Classical liberal support for market freedom |
Neo-liberal preference for rolling back the economic state | New Labour acceptance of much of the market economy | Modern liberal concern about inequalities restricting freedom |
One Nation tradition can justify intervention to protect social cohesion | Greater traditional emphasis on redistribution | Combines market economics with a social conscience |
Where is there similarity?
There can be substantial overlap.
The supplied Edexcel material makes clear that:
Conservatives have a free-market tradition
New Labour accepted important aspects of the free market
Liberal Democrats can also support a market economy.
Therefore, a simple claim that:
Conservatives support capitalism while Labour and the Liberal Democrats oppose it
would be inaccurate.
Where is there difference?
Differences remain over:
how extensively the state should intervene
redistribution
nationalisation
public provision
the balance between market outcomes and social objectives.
The difference is therefore often about the degree and purpose of state intervention, not whether markets should exist at all.
Comparing welfare ideas
Conservative approach
The Conservative Party again contains tension.
One Nation influence
One Nation Conservatives accept obligations towards vulnerable sections of society.
This can justify welfare provision as a means of:
protecting those unable to support themselves
maintaining social cohesion.
New Right influence
The New Right is more suspicious of extensive state intervention and favours rolling back the state in people's lives.
This creates disagreement over how extensive welfare provision should be.
The 2025 examiner materials highlight continuing Conservative difficulties in reconciling demands for improvements to public services with pressures for lower taxation.
Labour approach
Welfare is particularly closely associated with Labour's historical traditions.
Old Labour emphasises:
continually improving welfare
state services
redistribution.
New Labour revised the party's traditional approach but did not remove welfare from Labour's ideological identity.
The 2025 examiner materials show that welfare remained an important area of contemporary internal debate, including disagreements concerning welfare reductions, winter fuel payments and the two-child cap.
These examples are useful because they show that disagreement about welfare can exist within a party as well as between parties.
Liberal Democrat approach
Modern liberalism provides the clearest ideological basis for Liberal Democrat support for social provision.
If poverty or disadvantage prevents genuine freedom, government intervention may be justified in order to expand individual opportunity.
However, classical liberal influence places limits on how extensive state intervention should become.
The supplied Edexcel materials describe this combination as a free-market position with a social conscience.
Welfare: ideological comparison
Conservative Party | Labour Party | Liberal Democrats |
One Nation accepts obligations towards vulnerable citizens | Old Labour strongly supports welfare and state provision | Modern liberalism supports intervention to enable genuine freedom |
New Right seeks a smaller role for the state | New Labour revised traditional approaches | Classical liberalism places limits on excessive state intervention |
Internal tension over extent of welfare provision | Internal tension between traditional and revised Labour approaches | Tension between enabling state and individual autonomy |
Overall welfare comparison
Labour traditionally supports the greatest state responsibility.
The Conservatives traditionally contain the strongest ideological case for reducing state involvement, although One Nation conservatism complicates that position.
The Liberal Democrats can sit between these positions because modern liberalism supports social intervention while classical liberalism emphasises limits on state power.
However, modern party competition means policy differences may be smaller or more complex than these ideological labels initially suggest.
Comparing law and order
Why law and order particularly matters for conservatism
Law and order is explicitly connected to the neo-conservative element of the New Right in the Edexcel specification.
Neo-conservatives favour a more authoritarian role for the state in relation to:
morality
law
order.
This means a party may simultaneously favour a smaller state in the economy and a stronger state in maintaining authority.
That combination is central to understanding New Right conservatism.
Labour and law and order
The specification requires knowledge of Labour's current policies on law and order, but it does not define an equivalent Labour ideological tradition specifically around law and order.
Labour's position must therefore be examined through contemporary party policy rather than assuming that Old Labour or New Labour automatically produces one fixed approach.
Liberal Democrats and law and order
Liberal ideology creates a different starting point.
Both classical and modern liberalism place significant value on individual freedom, which can generate concern about excessive state power.
Law and order: secure ideological comparison
What can safely be concluded from the specification is:
New Right conservatism provides the clearest ideological justification for strong state authority in law and order
liberal traditions emphasise individual liberty and therefore provide a potential counterweight to excessive state authority
Labour's specific contemporary position must be learned through up-to-date policy evidence.
This is a good example of why political-party questions cannot be answered entirely from political ideology.
Comparing foreign affairs
Foreign affairs demonstrates especially clearly how contemporary issues can reshape political parties.
Conservative Party
The 2024 Edexcel materials identify:
Europe
immigration
as major issues that have reshaped modern Conservative politics.
The 2025 mark scheme also highlights continuing Conservative disagreement surrounding:
the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
the Human Rights Act (HRA)
the consequences of Brexit.
These examples show why a party's foreign-affairs position may not fit neatly into a simple One Nation versus New Right division.
Labour Party
The 2025 Edexcel mark scheme identifies continuing Labour disagreements in foreign affairs, including:
overseas aid
Gaza
relations with the US presidency.
The significance here is not that Edexcel requires one prescribed answer to each of these issues.
Instead, these examples demonstrate that foreign affairs can reveal ideological and strategic divisions within a party.
Liberal Democrats
The 2024 Edexcel material identifies the Liberal Democrats as clearly pro-European and presents this as one way in which the party has distinguished itself from the other established parties.
This is one of the clearest source-supported examples of a distinctive Liberal Democrat position.
However, the supplied sources do not contain a comprehensive current Liberal Democrat foreign-policy programme beyond these indications.
Comparing the four policy areas
Source-supported overview
Policy area | Conservatives | Labour | Liberal Democrats |
Economy | New Right free-market influence, balanced to some extent by One Nation intervention | Old Labour intervention and redistribution versus New Labour acceptance of markets | Free-market influence combined with modern liberal social concern |
Welfare | One Nation paternalism versus New Right desire to reduce state intervention | Strong Old Labour welfare tradition, modified by New Labour | Modern liberal enabling state balanced against classical liberal limits |
Law and order | Neo-conservative emphasis on authority and order | Detailed current programme not sufficiently provided in supplied material | Liberal concern for individual freedom, but detailed current programme not sufficiently provided |
Foreign affairs | Europe and Brexit have been major defining and divisive issues | Contemporary divisions identified over aid, Gaza and relations with the USA | Supplied Edexcel material identifies a distinctive pro-European position |
This table should be treated as an ideological framework for comparison, not as a substitute for maintaining up-to-date knowledge of party manifestos.
Are the established parties still clearly left and right?
This is one of the most important evaluative debates in the topic.
The 2022 Edexcel paper explicitly presented competing arguments about whether traditional Left-Right politics remained useful or had been replaced by a more flexible "pick-and-mix" approach to policy.
Argument: left and right still matter
There are strong reasons to maintain a left-right distinction.
Conservatives
The New Right provides a recognisably right-wing approach through:
free markets
reducing economic state intervention
stronger authority.
Labour
Old Labour provides a recognisably left-wing approach through:
redistribution
nationalisation
welfare
public services.
Liberal Democrats
The party contains liberal positions that may cut across a simple socialist-conservative divide, but classical and modern liberal principles still give policies an ideological foundation.
From this perspective, party policies continue to be shaped by recognisable traditions.
Argument: ideological differences have narrowed
There is also significant evidence of convergence.
For example:
New Labour accepted much of the market economy
Liberal Democrats can support free markets
One Nation Conservatives accept some social intervention
parties may alter policy in order to appeal to a wider electorate.
This can make modern parties resemble catch-all parties, seeking support from broad sections of society rather than appealing only to a narrow ideological constituency.
The 2024 mark scheme explicitly recognised the argument that all three established parties can adapt or abandon historical policies in pursuit of electoral success.
Ideological convergence
Ideological convergence occurs when political parties move closer together in their ideas or policies.
Economic policy provides an important example.
If:
Conservatives accept some government intervention
Labour accepts market economics
Liberal Democrats combine markets with social intervention
then the gap between them can be narrower than their historical origins suggest.
This matters because elections may then involve disagreement about:
scale
priorities
implementation
rather than completely opposing political systems.
Ideological divergence
However, similarity should not be exaggerated.
Differences can remain significant over:
redistribution
the size and role of the state
individual liberty
welfare
authority
Europe and international relationships.
Internal divisions also matter.
A Conservative influenced by One Nation ideas may differ significantly from a New Right Conservative.
An Old Labour-oriented politician may differ from a New Labour-oriented politician.
A classical liberal may disagree with a modern liberal about how much intervention freedom requires.
Therefore, there may be:
differences between parties + differences within parties
at the same time.
Policy as a compromise between party traditions
This is one of the most useful insights for examination answers.
The 2025 examiner report noted that the strongest students recognised that current party policies often represent compromises between different traditions or wings within the party.
For example:
Conservative compromise
A policy may try to combine:
low-tax or market-oriented goals + protection of public services
This reflects the tension between New Right and One Nation priorities.
Labour compromise
A policy may try to combine:
market economics + redistribution or welfare objectives
This reflects tension between New Labour and Old Labour.
Liberal Democrat compromise
A policy may combine:
market freedom + state action to expand genuine opportunity
This reflects tension between classical and modern liberalism.
This is much stronger analysis than simply writing:
"Conservatives are right wing, Labour is left wing and Liberal Democrats are in the middle."
Ideas versus electoral strategy
Party policies are not shaped only by ideology.
The supplied Edexcel materials also recognise pragmatism and electoral advantage.
The 2024 examination source presents the argument that established parties increasingly try to appeal to as wide an electorate as possible and may therefore move away from historical ideological positions.
This gives you two competing explanations for party policy.
Ideological explanation
Parties adopt policies because they reflect:
One Nation
New Right
Old Labour
New Labour
classical liberal
modern liberal ideas.
Electoral explanation
Parties alter policies because they want to:
broaden their electoral appeal
respond to changing voter concerns
distinguish themselves from competitors
win elections.
A strong essay can evaluate which explanation is more convincing.
Why contemporary examples matter
Party policy is unusually dynamic.
Unlike an historical topic, a policy position can change during your course.
The 2025 examiner report was very clear that strong responses used detailed contemporary political developments, sometimes from only days before the examination.
This means your revision should not stop at learning ideological labels.
For each party, keep an up-to-date example for:
the economy
welfare
law and order
foreign affairs.
Then connect that example to an ideological tradition.
Your notes should look like this:
Policy example → ideological link → comparison → judgement
rather than:
Policy example → another policy example → another policy example
A strong comparison method
When comparing parties, organise your answer by policy area, not by political party.
For example:
Paragraph 1: Economy
Conservative position
Labour comparison
Liberal Democrat comparison
ideological explanation
judgement about similarity or difference
Paragraph 2: Welfare
Repeat the same process.
Paragraph 3: Law and order
Repeat.
Paragraph 4: Foreign affairs
Repeat.
This creates direct comparison.
It also reflects examiner guidance. The 2025 report praised answers structured around themes such as economic, social/welfare and foreign policy because this encouraged effective comparison.
How significant are the ideological differences?
There are three possible overall judgements.
Judgement 1: differences remain highly significant
You could argue:
Conservatives retain distinctive New Right ideas
Labour retains a greater commitment to redistribution and welfare
Liberal Democrats retain a distinctive commitment to liberal freedom
foreign-affairs differences can be substantial.
Therefore ideological identity still structures political choice.
Judgement 2: differences have become much less significant
You could argue:
all three accept substantial elements of a market economy
parties increasingly seek broad electoral appeal
historical ideologies do not perfectly predict current policies
pragmatism can matter more than ideological purity.
This supports the argument that parties increasingly behave as catch-all organisations.
Judgement 3: the differences depend on the policy area
This is often the strongest conclusion.
For example:
economic positions may show substantial convergence
welfare may expose clearer ideological differences
law and order may distinguish authoritarian and liberal approaches
foreign affairs may produce divisions that cut across traditional left-right politics.
The significance of ideology is therefore uneven rather than absent.
Linking party policy to electoral success
Policies are not developed in a vacuum.
Parties must persuade voters to support them.
Their ideological positioning therefore connects directly with:
manifestos
electoral competition
voter behaviour
party success.
You will explore why some parties succeed while others fail in the wider party system.
Party policies also matter when analysing individual elections. For example, understanding New Labour's ideological repositioning is useful when studying the Labour victory of 1997.
Overall judgement
The Conservative Party, Labour Party and Liberal Democrats remain influenced by recognisable ideological traditions.
However, those traditions do not produce fixed policy programmes.
Instead:
Conservatives balance One Nation and New Right influences
Labour balances Old Labour and New Labour influences
Liberal Democrats balance classical and modern liberal ideas
all three may adapt their policies for changing circumstances and electoral advantage.
The most accurate judgement is therefore that ideology continues to matter, but it operates alongside pragmatism and electoral competition.
This is why current policy evidence is essential. Ideological labels give you the framework, but contemporary examples allow you to test whether that framework still explains what the parties actually do.
Hints from the Examiner Reports đź’ˇ
Examiner hint:Â Keep your policy knowledge contemporary. The 2025 examiner report praised students who used very recent examples and specifically advised candidates to use detailed contemporary evidence rather than relying on older, generalised material.
Examiner hint:Â Structure comparisons by policy theme. Examiners found that organising essays around areas such as the economy, welfare and foreign policy helped students compare parties directly and strengthened AO2 analysis.
Examiner hint:Â Do not write one half of the essay on one party and the second half on another. This makes genuine comparison much harder. Pair opposing or similar policy positions within the same paragraph.
Examiner hint:Â Policy knowledge alone is not enough. After identifying a policy, explain what it reveals about the party's ideology and then judge the significance of the similarity or difference.
Examiner hint: Do not become overly historical when the question asks about the current situation. Historical traditions are valuable only when you connect them explicitly to contemporary ideas or policy.
Examiner hint:Â Recognise ideological complexity. The 2025 report noted that strong responses understood that current policies may be compromises between competing traditions or factions within the same party.
Common Mistakes ⚠️
Mistake: Describing historical ideology instead of current party politics
Why this is incorrect: Knowing One Nation, Old Labour or classical liberalism gives you the ideological background, but Edexcel also requires current policies.
How to improve: Use the structure:
current policy → ideological tradition → explanation of continuity or change
rather than writing a paragraph entirely about historical ideology.
Mistake: Assuming all Conservatives are New Right
Why this is incorrect: The specification also identifies One Nation conservatism as an important Conservative tradition.
How to improve:
Look for evidence of both:
reduced state intervention
paternalistic responsibility towards vulnerable groups.
Then judge which tradition better explains the policy being discussed.
Mistake: Saying Labour simply opposes the free market
Why this is incorrect: That may fit aspects of Old Labour but ignores New Labour's much greater acceptance of market economics.
How to improve: Distinguish carefully between Old Labour and New Labour, then determine which tradition the contemporary policy most closely reflects.
Mistake: Describing the Liberal Democrats as simply "in the middle"
Why this is incorrect: This says little about their ideology.
How to improve: Use classical liberalism and modern liberalism to explain why the party may combine market freedom, individual liberty and social intervention.
Mistake: Comparing parties in three separate blocks
Why this is incorrect: Writing everything about Conservatives, then everything about Labour, then everything about Liberal Democrats produces description rather than sustained comparison.
How to improve: Compare all relevant parties under a shared policy heading such as the economy or welfare.
Mistake: Assuming ideological convergence means the parties are identical
Why this is incorrect: Parties can agree on broad principles, such as using a market economy, while disagreeing significantly about taxation, redistribution, public provision or state intervention.
How to improve: Ask about degree, purpose and priorities, not simply whether both parties support the same broad system.
Exam-Style Questions ✍️
Question 1
Define New Labour. (2 marks)
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Answer:
New Labour is a Third Way revision of traditional Old Labour values which reduced the party's emphasis on the working class, sought a wider class base and developed a less robust alliance with trade unions.
Question 2
Explain one difference between One Nation conservatism and the New Right. (4 marks)
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Indicative content:
One Nation conservatism accepts paternalistic obligations towards poorer or vulnerable members of society and can therefore justify state intervention.
The New Right, particularly neo-liberalism, favours rolling back state intervention in economic life.
Credit should be given for an explained ideological contrast.
Question 3
Explain why the Liberal Democrats can be influenced by both classical and modern liberalism. (6 marks)
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Indicative content:
A strong response might explain:
both traditions value individual freedom
classical liberalism favours a relatively minimal state
modern liberalism argues that disadvantage can prevent genuine freedom
modern liberals therefore accept greater state intervention
Liberal Democrat policy can consequently combine market freedom with a social conscience.
Question 4
Analyse two reasons why the established political parties may have become ideologically closer on economic policy. (10 marks)
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Indicative content:
Possible arguments include:
New Labour accepted more of the market economy than Old Labour
Liberal Democrats can support free-market economics
One Nation Conservatism accepts some intervention, reducing the gap with other parties
electoral competition may encourage parties to broaden their appeal
catch-all strategies can weaken rigid left-right divisions.
Higher-level responses should explain why these developments amount to convergence rather than simply describe them.
Question 5
A political party supports private enterprise but also argues that government must protect vulnerable citizens and maintain effective public services.
Analyse why this combination cannot be classified straightforwardly as either a purely New Right or purely One Nation position. (10 marks)
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Indicative content:
Students could explain that:
support for private enterprise reflects New Right and neo-liberal ideas
protection of vulnerable citizens reflects One Nation paternalism
modern parties may combine traditions
policy may represent compromise between ideological wings
this demonstrates why contemporary party policy cannot always be placed into a single ideological category.
Question 6
Read the following original source.
Britain's established political parties remain ideologically distinct. Conservative support for markets and authority reflects the New Right, while Labour retains its greater commitment to welfare and redistribution. Liberal Democrats continue to place individual freedom at the centre of politics.However, the differences should not be exaggerated. Labour has accepted much of the market economy, Conservatives can support intervention to protect vulnerable citizens and Liberal Democrats combine free-market ideas with a social conscience. Electoral competition encourages all three parties to appeal beyond their traditional supporters.
Using the source, evaluate the view that ideological differences between the established parties remain significant. (30 marks)
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Mark scheme guidance:
A strong response should compare arguments including:
Conservative New Right ideas versus Labour's social democratic traditions
Liberal individualism as a distinctive ideological foundation
convergence around the market economy
One Nation intervention narrowing the Conservative-Labour gap
Liberal Democrat combinations of classical and modern liberalism
electoral pragmatism and catch-all politics.
For AO1, demonstrate detailed and accurate knowledge of relevant ideological traditions.
For AO2, compare competing claims directly and explain what party policies reveal about similarity and difference.
For AO3, judge whether the remaining differences are substantial enough to offer genuinely distinct political alternatives.
Question 7
Evaluate the view that economic policy now reveals more similarities than differences between the Conservative Party, Labour Party and Liberal Democrats. (30 marks)
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Indicative content:
Arguments supporting the view might include:
all three can accept the market economy
New Labour moved away from traditional Old Labour economic intervention
Liberal Democrats combine free-market principles with social concerns
Conservative One Nation ideas can justify intervention
electoral competition may encourage ideological convergence.
Alternative arguments might include:
Old Labour traditions continue to favour redistribution and intervention
the New Right remains more committed to reducing economic state intervention
modern liberalism justifies government action where markets prevent genuine freedom
significant differences remain over the appropriate scale and purpose of state involvement.
A high-level conclusion should judge how much convergence has occurred, not merely identify similarities.
Question 8
Evaluate the view that ideology is less important than electoral advantage in explaining the policies of Britain's established political parties. (30 marks)
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Indicative content:
Arguments that electoral advantage is more important could include:
established parties seek broad electoral support
parties may adapt policies to changing voter demands
catch-all politics can weaken traditional left-right divisions
contemporary issues may reshape parties in ways not predicted by historical ideology.
Arguments supporting the continuing importance of ideology could include:
One Nation and New Right remain useful for understanding Conservative policy
Old and New Labour continue to provide competing approaches within Labour
classical and modern liberalism explain important features of Liberal Democrat thinking
persistent differences over state intervention, welfare, authority and freedom reflect ideological traditions.
For AO3, the strongest responses should avoid treating ideology and electoral strategy as completely separate. Parties may alter policies for electoral reasons while still choosing from ideas made available by their ideological traditions.
A convincing judgement could therefore argue that electoral strategy affects which ideas parties emphasise, but ideology continues to shape the range of policies they consider politically acceptable.
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