TheElectoral Commission's Register of Political Parties[1] lists the details ofpolitical parties registered to contestelections in the United Kingdom, including their registered name. Under current electoral law, including theRegistration of Political Parties Act 1998, theElectoral Administration Act 2006, and thePolitical Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, only registered party names can be used on ballot papers by those wishing to contest elections. Candidates who do not belong to a registered party can use "independent" or no label at all. As of 25 May 2024[update], the Electoral Commission showed the number of registered political parties in Great Britain and Northern Ireland as 393.[2]
Before the middle of the 19th century,politics in the United Kingdom was dominated by theWhigs and theTories. These were not political parties in the modern sense but somewhat loose alliances of interests and individuals. The Whigs included many of the leading aristocratic dynasties committed to the Protestant succession, and later drew support from elements of the emerging industrial interests and wealthy merchants, while the Tories were associated with thelanded gentry, theChurch of England and theChurch of Scotland.
By the mid 19th century, the Tories had evolved into theConservative Party, and the Whigs had evolved into theLiberal Party. The concept of right and left came originally from France, where the supporters of a monarchy (constitutional or absolute) sat on the right wing of the National Assembly, and republicans on the left. In the late 19th century, the Liberal Party began to lean towards the left.Liberal Unionists split off from the Liberals overIrish Home Rule and moved closer to the Conservatives over time.
The Liberals and Conservatives dominated the political scene until the 1920s, when the Liberal Party declined in popularity and suffered a long stream of resignations. It was replaced as the main anti-Tory opposition party by the newly emergingLabour Party, which represented an alliance between thelabour movement, organisedtrades unions and varioussocialist societies.
Since then, the Conservative and Labour parties have dominated British politics, and have alternated in government ever since. However, the UK is not a two-party system as other parties have significant support. TheLiberal Democrats were the third largest party until the2015 general election when they were overtaken by theScottish National Party in terms of seats and UK political party membership, and by theUK Independence Party (UKIP) in terms of votes. The Liberal Democrats regained the status of the third largest political party in the UK by seats with the outcome of the2024 United Kingdom general election, although in the2025 United Kingdom local electionsReform beat the Lib Dems both in vote share and in number of councils gained.
The UK'sfirst-past-the-post electoral system leaves small parties disadvantaged on a UK-wide scale. It can, however, allow parties with concentrations of supporters in theconstituent countries to flourish. In the 2015 election, there was widespread controversy[3][4][5] when theUK Independence Party (UKIP) and theGreen Party of England and Wales received 4.9 million votes[6] (12.6% of the total vote for UKIP and 3.8% for the Greens) yet only gained one seat each in theHouse of Commons. After that election, UKIP, the Liberal Democrats, theScottish National Party,Plaid Cymru, and the Green Party of England and Wales, together with its Scottish and Northern Ireland affiliated parties, delivered a petition signed by 477,000[7] people toDowning Street demandingelectoral reform.
Since 1997,proportional representation-based voting systems have been adopted for elections to theScottish Parliament, theSenedd (Welsh Parliament), theNorthern Ireland Assembly, theLondon Assembly and (untilBrexit in 2020) the UK's seats in theEuropean Parliament. In these bodies, other parties have had success.
Traditionally political parties have been private organisations with no official recognition by the state. TheRegistration of Political Parties Act 1998 changed that by creating a register of parties.
Membership of political parties has been in decline in the UK since the 1950s. Membership has fallen by over 65% since 1983, from 4% of the electorate to 1.3% in 2005.[8]
There are a few political parties in the United Kingdom that do not have representation in the House of Commons, but have elected representatives in theNorthern Ireland Assembly andScottish Parliament. These are:
| Party | Date founded | Political position | Ideology | Current leader | Scottish Parliament | Northern Ireland Assembly | Local government[11] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottish Greens | 1990 | Centre-left toleft-wing | Green politics Scottish independence Scottish republicanism | Ross Greer, Gillian Mackay (job share) | 7 / 129 | — | 35 / 19,103 [12] | |
| People Before Profit (PBP) | 2005 | Left-wing tofar-left | Socialism Trotskyism Anti-capitalism Irish reunification | Richard Boyd Barrett | — | 1 / 90 | 2 / 19,103 | |
| Party | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | Asocial democratic party that has its roots in thetrade union movement. The party has several internal factions, which include:Progressive Britain, which promotes a continuation ofNew Labour policies and is considered to be on the right of the party; the soft-leftOpen Labour;Momentum, which represents the party'sleft-wing, democratic socialist grouping; andBlue Labour, which promotes socially andculturally conservative values while remaining committed tolabour rights andleft-wing economics. Labour also has candidates who stand on a split-ticket with the Co-operative Party. | |
| Co-operative Party | A party that promotescooperative principles and values, providing political representation for theBritish co-operative movement. Since 1927, the party has been in an electoral alliance with the Labour Party, standing joint candidates under theLabour and Co-operative label. | |
| Conservative and Unionist Party | Apolitically conservative party loosely divided into three categories: theOne Nation Conservatives, theThatcherites, who strongly support a free market with restrained government spending and tend to beEurosceptic; and theCornerstone Group. | |
| Liberal Democrats | Aliberal party; its main branches are social liberals based around theSocial Liberal Forum, and the more centristLiberal Reform grouping, which places more of an emphasis oneconomic liberalism. There is also asocial democratic faction and influence within the party. | |
| Scottish National Party (SNP) | Scottish nationalist andsocial democratic party which supportsScottish independence and membership of theEuropean Union or furtherdevolution for Scotland. | |
| Sinn Féin | Irish republican party dedicated to thereunification of Ireland and the creation of a new republic based ondemocratic socialist values. It holds a policy ofabstentionism for the House of Commons, with its MPs not taking their seats in this legislature. | |
| Reform UK | Right-wing populist andEurosceptic party. | |
| Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) | StronglyBritish unionist party inNorthern Ireland which promotessocial andnational conservatism. | |
| Green Party of England and Wales | Green party that combinesenvironmentalism andsustainability with left-wing economic policy, while taking aprogressive approach on social issues. The party also haseco-socialist andanti-capitalist factions, such as theGreen Left grouping. | |
| Plaid Cymru | Centre-left,social democratic, andWelsh nationalist party in favour ofWelsh independence or further devolution of powers to Wales while Wales remains part of the UK. | |
| Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) | Irish nationalist andsocial-democratic party supporting aunited Ireland. | |
| Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI) | Liberal,nonsectarian andpro-European political party in Northern Ireland. | |
| Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) | Conservative andUnionist party in Northern Ireland, taking a somewhat "softer" stance on social issues than the DUP. The party was formerly tied to the Conservative Party in Great Britain. | |
| Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) | Stronglysocial andnational conservativeunionist party in Northern Ireland. It has formed analliance with Reform UK. | |
| Scottish Greens | Green party in favour ofScottish independence andScottish republicanism. | |
| People Before Profit (PBP) | Socialist andTrotskyist party that is active in both theRepublic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. | |
This is a table ofnotable minor parties. Many parties are registered with theElectoral Commission but do not qualify for this list as they have not received significant independent coverage. Parties active acrossIreland may have representation in theRepublic of Ireland but notNorthern Ireland.
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