Major Parties in The House of Commons
Three parties dominate politics in the House of Commons. They all operate throughout Great Britain (only the Conservative and Unionist Party stands candidates in Northern Ireland). Most of the British Members of the European Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales represent one of these parties:
- Conservative and Unionist Party, centre-right (traditionally centre-right and pragmatic; has always been a diverse and not always harmonious coalition) (306 seats in the House of Commons)
- Labour Party, centre-left (a broad social-democratic party with Third Way policies, was traditionally democratic socialist in orientation) (258 seats)
- Co-operative Party (all Co-operative Party MPs are also Labour MPs as part of a long-standing electoral agreement)
- Liberal Democrats, radical-centrist (heavily influenced by social liberalism). (57 seats)
Read more about this topic: British Political Parties
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