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What do political parties do?

I can explain why political parties exist, what they do and how they can be categorised.

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New
New

What do political parties do?

I can explain why political parties exist, what they do and how they can be categorised.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Link copied to clipboard

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A political party is an organised group of people who share similar beliefs and goals about how society should be run.
  2. Political party policies align with their values. This influences what their manifesto is.
  3. There are many UK political parties to ensure that different ideas are represented and that every voice can be heard.
  4. The political spectrum shows where parties stand on political issues, from left wing to right wing.

Keywords

  • Political party - an organised group of people who share similar beliefs and goals about how society should be run

  • Policies - courses of action or goals that people plan to carry out, or are in the process of carrying out

  • Political spectrum - a concept that models political beliefs and ideologies as a continuum (from left wing to right wing)

Common misconception

Political parties are all either left wing or right wing.

Many parties mix both views or focus on specific issues, like regional concerns. Some parties are centrist or have ideas that don’t fit neatly into either side.

Look at the current UK political party manifestos without showing the pupils the names of the parties. How do the pupils feel about these parties' views in relation to their own? Which party would they support? Reveal the names of the parties. Are they surprised in any way?
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the following terms to their correct definitions.
Correct Answer:election,when people vote to choose their leaders or representatives.

when people vote to choose their leaders or representatives.

Correct Answer:majority,holds more than half of the total seats in a legislative body

holds more than half of the total seats in a legislative body

Correct Answer:opposition,the political parties that challenge the Government

the political parties that challenge the Government

Q2.
What happens immediately after a general election?
The new Prime Minister is chosen by the monarch.
Correct answer: The winning party’s leader is invited by the monarch to form a government.
The leader of the opposition automatically becomes Prime Minister.
Q3.
What is a minority government?
Correct answer: a government formed by a party that does not have a majority of MPs
a government where the opposition takes turns in leading
a government that does not make any decisions
Q4.
What do political parties do?
Correct answer: They campaign, create policies and compete in elections.
They only debate issues, but do not run for elections.
They make laws without input from Parliament.
Q5.
What happens if no party wins a majority in a UK general election?
The party with the most votes automatically forms the government.
Correct answer: Parties may negotiate to form a coalition or try to govern as a minority.
A second election is ordered to be held immediately.
Q6.
A government formed by more than one political party is called a government.
Correct Answer: coalition

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the following terms to the correct definitions.
Correct Answer:political party,a group who share similar beliefs about how society should be run

a group who share similar beliefs about how society should be run

Correct Answer:policies,goals that people plan to carry out

goals that people plan to carry out

Correct Answer:political spectrum,a concept that models political beliefs and ideologies as a continuum

a concept that models political beliefs and ideologies as a continuum

Q2.
What is the purpose of a political party?
to entertain people with debates and speeches about how a country should run
Correct answer: to organise a group of people with shared beliefs about how a country should run
to make laws how a country should run without public input
Q3.
Why are there multiple political parties in the UK?
Correct answer: to ensure that different ideas and perspectives are represented
because people enjoy voting for different things
to make elections more complicated and last longer
Q4.
What is the main purpose of a political party’s policies?
Correct answer: to outline what a political party plans to do if they are elected
to make sure all political parties have the same goals
to confuse voters before an election
Q5.
Which of these statements is true about the political spectrum?
It shows where parties stand on political issues, from left wing to right wing.
It only includes left wing and right wing parties, with no middle ground.
Correct answer: It shows where parties stand on political issues, from left wing to right wing.
Q6.
A political party’s outlines its key policies and goals for an election.
Correct Answer: manifesto

Additional material

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Lesson appears in

UnitCitizenship / How does the political system work in the UK?

Citizenship

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