Political parties are of eminent importance in guiding the activity of modern liberal democracies and they simultaneously act to support and to subvert the principles that envelop democracy. The organisation of the masses into cohesive entities where political power can be aggregated is one of the most important functions carried out by political parties as it feasibly allows the average member of the populace to participate in the democratic political process. Accountability of the ruling government is a key fixture of modern liberal democracies and political parties provide a basis through which a viable alternative government is legitimised through the formation of opposition parties and shadow ministries. The relationship between pressure
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The notion of ‘responsible government’ that underpins the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy is intimately intertwined with political parties, as the executive arm of government must command the confidence of the lower chamber of Parliament which in effect compels the executive to rely on the support of the political parties that represent the electorate. The tremendous impact of political parties in their relation to responsible government was perhaps most sensationally evident in the events surrounding the successful 1979 motion of no confidence in the British Labour government of James Callaghan; this motion, which passed by merely one vote, was conducted almost entirely along party lines which demonstrates that political parties are in practice the most fundamental and important unit of organisation towards determining the nature and composition of the government. In addition, political parties provide an additional avenue through which the government can be held to account by enabling the largest opposition party (or coalition of parties) to form a shadow ministry. The Shadow Cabinet in Australia is an important institution towards coalescing the Opposition into an entity that can viably be considered as an alternative government and as such it has been described as “the primary way in which an Opposition can legitimise itself …show more content…
Pressure groups have historically been a key influencing force in establishing the agenda pursued by political parties and in some instances, such as the relation between trade unions and the Australian Labor Party, both the pressure group and the party have essentially become completely reliant on each other’s continued support to maintain their power. When discussing the merits of pressure group politics it is necessary to continually refer back to the role of political parties because the nature of the relationship between interest groups and institutions of power is largely shaped by the position on the political spectrum of the party in which they seek to influence. In some respects, the prominent position of pressure groups in modern democratic politics can be thought of as a positive development due to the premise that they “offer a means of representation which supplements the electoral system” which is often used to further the agenda of minority groups such as AIDS victims in instances where they would otherwise be overlooked by traditional electoral politics. Conversely, critics of the close relationship between pressure groups and political parties assert that in many cases the will of the people as expressed through elections is undermined
The notion of ‘responsible government’ that underpins the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy is intimately intertwined with political parties, as the executive arm of government must command the confidence of the lower chamber of Parliament which in effect compels the executive to rely on the support of the political parties that represent the electorate. The tremendous impact of political parties in their relation to responsible government was perhaps most sensationally evident in the events surrounding the successful 1979 motion of no confidence in the British Labour government of James Callaghan; this motion, which passed by merely one vote, was conducted almost entirely along party lines which demonstrates that political parties are in practice the most fundamental and important unit of organisation towards determining the nature and composition of the government. In addition, political parties provide an additional avenue through which the government can be held to account by enabling the largest opposition party (or coalition of parties) to form a shadow ministry. The Shadow Cabinet in Australia is an important institution towards coalescing the Opposition into an entity that can viably be considered as an alternative government and as such it has been described as “the primary way in which an Opposition can legitimise itself …show more content…
Pressure groups have historically been a key influencing force in establishing the agenda pursued by political parties and in some instances, such as the relation between trade unions and the Australian Labor Party, both the pressure group and the party have essentially become completely reliant on each other’s continued support to maintain their power. When discussing the merits of pressure group politics it is necessary to continually refer back to the role of political parties because the nature of the relationship between interest groups and institutions of power is largely shaped by the position on the political spectrum of the party in which they seek to influence. In some respects, the prominent position of pressure groups in modern democratic politics can be thought of as a positive development due to the premise that they “offer a means of representation which supplements the electoral system” which is often used to further the agenda of minority groups such as AIDS victims in instances where they would otherwise be overlooked by traditional electoral politics. Conversely, critics of the close relationship between pressure groups and political parties assert that in many cases the will of the people as expressed through elections is undermined