Discuss the relationship between ideology and political parties.

In this essay I will begin by outlining what we mean by the concept ideology. I will then discuss the political parties related to these particular ideologies. In the scope of this essay I will focus on the Conservative and Labour parties only.

It is helpful to think of ideology as 'applied philosophy' because it takes philosophical ideas out of the realms of theory and applies them to the real world. It provides a perspective for understanding human society and a schema from which policies can be developed. As with all philosophical perspectives, there are arguments for and against as well as competing and opposing perspectives.

The most common way of classifying ideologies is the left-right continuum. Right-wingers value freedom and the right for the individual to do as they please and develop their own lives without interference, particularly from governments. Left-wingers on the other hand, believe that this kind of freedom is won by the strong at the expense of the weak. They value equality as the more important value and highlight the collective interest of the community above that of the individual. In terms of the economy, the Right strongly support Capitalism; the right of individuals to form their own businesses to reap what rewards they can from the provision of goods and services. However, the Left argue that Capitalism is a flawed system that creates poverty where there is plenty and that it is much better to have collective ownership of industries so that workers get the full benefit of their labour. In the Centre, politicians dismiss both these positions as extreme and damaging to the harmony of national life. They tend to argue for combinations and compromises between them: in practice a mixed economy combined with efficient welfare services.

As we will see for the two main UK parties: Conservative and Labour which once upon a time represented the right and left, there has been a dramatic shift to the centre.










Dispatches

On the same day the British public heard details of the unprecedented cuts in government spending that will affect almost everyone in the country, taxpayers also learnt they'd have to pay extra hundreds of millions of pounds a year to Brussels, as MEPs voted in favour of an increase in their budget.
Calling the proposed 5.9% increase 'completely irresponsible and unacceptable', David Cameron has just managed to get the EU to limit the budget rise to 2.9%.
Dispatches reveals that, despite the worldwide credit crunch, it's still possible to get rich out of Europe. The programme details the exceptionally generous package of salary, pension and expenses that MEPs receive and how some have abused the rules to pocket as much cash as possible. While Westminster has tightened up on the expenses system, Brussels still hands out some cash allowances without the need for receipts.
The programme also looks at the system of agricultural payments, which are supposed to help those British farmers struggling to earn a livelihood and continue producing food. Dispatches shows how millions of pounds in grants have ended up going to some of the best known - and richest - landowners in the country.
Dispatches also examines how money meant to help deprived areas has actually been spent. In one case the programme discovers that hundreds of UK workers are being laid off and their jobs moved to Poland, funded in part by a multi-million-pound European grant.
In another case the programme investigates allegations of fraud when a man with a criminal conviction for dishonesty ended up running a project given hundreds of thousands of pounds of EU money.