Paper one politics edexcel essay plans
Using the source, evaluate the view that the major parties still remain the dominant force in
UK politics. - correct answer-AGREE
the source leads to the view that it would be difficult to operate our current system of
representative democracy without the major political parties, they dominate both the process
and ideas of mainstream politics
• other parties have always existed but the sheer dominance of the major parties ensures
their continued supremacy. AO1 major parties operate all the main functions of government
at local and national level, they are established and experienced with the infrastructure to
dominate the political process (AO2), their capacity to develop new ideas and cover new
ground means that they are always evolving to capture the majority of public opinion (AO3)
• the hard facts of the first past the post electoral system is that smaller parties stand no real
chance of getting enough seats to make a difference, for example when the Conservative
opposition had their vote radically reduced (1997) they still easily formed the official
opposition. A minor party has to get 30% of the vote nationally or have a strong
concentration of votes in certain regions (heartlands) to make any impact and this is a
formidable task. • FPTP system means that major parties have numerous safe seats and
heartlands, where other parties cannot have an impact. Minor parties will never dominate
Westminster (AO2), therefore the pattern of two-party domination will be likely to continue
unless the FPTP voting system is reformed, but there seems little appetite for this (AO3) •
• the source draws out that the major parties capture and have polices on all the main issues
of the day - from the economy to the environment. This means that minor parties have few
unique selling points or different policies for them to stand out. minor parties, such as UKIP
will fade away, largely because they are constructed on a single issue and once t
) Evaluate the extent to which general elections in the UK are lost by the government rather
than won by the opposition. - correct answer-p1
Evaluate the extent to which social factors determine voting behaviour. - correct answer-
source questions structure - correct answer-• Demonstrates thorough and in-depth
knowledge and understanding of political institutions, processes, concepts, theories and
issues, which are effectively selected in order to underpin analysis and evaluation (AO1).
• Perceptive comparative analysis of political information, with sustained, logical chains of
reasoning, drawing on similarities and differences within political information, which make
cohesive and convincing connections between ideas and concepts (AO2).
Using the source, evaluate the view that the major parties still remain the dominant force in
UK politics. - correct answer-AGREE
the source leads to the view that it would be difficult to operate our current system of
representative democracy without the major political parties, they dominate both the process
and ideas of mainstream politics
• other parties have always existed but the sheer dominance of the major parties ensures
their continued supremacy. AO1 major parties operate all the main functions of government
at local and national level, they are established and experienced with the infrastructure to
dominate the political process (AO2), their capacity to develop new ideas and cover new
ground means that they are always evolving to capture the majority of public opinion (AO3)
• the hard facts of the first past the post electoral system is that smaller parties stand no real
chance of getting enough seats to make a difference, for example when the Conservative
opposition had their vote radically reduced (1997) they still easily formed the official
opposition. A minor party has to get 30% of the vote nationally or have a strong
concentration of votes in certain regions (heartlands) to make any impact and this is a
formidable task. • FPTP system means that major parties have numerous safe seats and
heartlands, where other parties cannot have an impact. Minor parties will never dominate
Westminster (AO2), therefore the pattern of two-party domination will be likely to continue
unless the FPTP voting system is reformed, but there seems little appetite for this (AO3) •
• the source draws out that the major parties capture and have polices on all the main issues
of the day - from the economy to the environment. This means that minor parties have few
unique selling points or different policies for them to stand out. minor parties, such as UKIP
will fade away, largely because they are constructed on a single issue and once t
) Evaluate the extent to which general elections in the UK are lost by the government rather
than won by the opposition. - correct answer-p1
Evaluate the extent to which social factors determine voting behaviour. - correct answer-
source questions structure - correct answer-• Demonstrates thorough and in-depth
knowledge and understanding of political institutions, processes, concepts, theories and
issues, which are effectively selected in order to underpin analysis and evaluation (AO1).
• Perceptive comparative analysis of political information, with sustained, logical chains of
reasoning, drawing on similarities and differences within political information, which make
cohesive and convincing connections between ideas and concepts (AO2).
