Example UK Politics Essay: are the UK’s political parties ideologically distinct?

A political party is a group of people who share similar views on how a country should be governed. The UK is usually described as having a two-party system (Conservatives and Labour), although there are some sizeable third parties (e.g. SNP, Liberal Democrats) and many other smaller parties. Political parties have a number of roles, including:

• The creation of policies (via a manifesto)
• Encourage participation in politics and wider society
• Representing the views of large groups of people in society
• Educate the general public on important issues by encouraging debate and raising awareness