What is a political party and what do they stand for?
I can explain the purpose of a political party and analyse the role they play in UK politics.
What is a political party and what do they stand for?
I can explain the purpose of a political party and analyse the role they play in UK politics.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- The main UK parties—Conservatives, Labour, and Liberal Democrats—each have distinct ideas, priorities, and policies.
- The political spectrum shows where parties like Conservatives and Labour are positioned based on their policies.
- Smaller parties like Reform UK, Green Party, the SNP and Plaid Cymru often focus on specific issues or policies.
- Smaller parties can influence decisions by forming coalitions or pushing larger parties' ideas.
Keywords
Political party - an organised group of people who share similar beliefs and goals about how society should be run
Manifesto - a document published by a person or group of people, such as a political party, or government, stating what their aims and policies are
Political spectrum - the concept that political beliefs and ideologies are on a continuum (from left wing to right wing)
Common misconception
Small political parties can’t make difference in the UK as they never win enough seats in Parliament.
Small parties can influence the Government by: raising important issues that main parties may ignore impacting election outcomes by taking votes away from larger parties; helping to shape policies; pushing their ideas into the national conversation.
To help you plan your year 11 citizenship lesson on: What is a political party and what do they stand for?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 11 citizenship lesson on: What is a political party and what do they stand for?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 4 citizenship lessons from the What are the different ways we can become involved in politics? unit, dive into the full secondary citizenship curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
a system where citizens elect representatives to make decisions
the activity of choosing someone or something in an election
a system where parties get seats based on the votes they win.
Exit quiz
6 Questions
a group of people with similar beliefs and goals about society
a voting system where the candidate with the most votes wins
a way of categorising political beliefs, from left wing to right wing