The political spectrum

In order to start looking at whether or not political ideologies within the three main parties has changed (point 1 in my plan of research) I've decided that firstly I'm goingto have to define the politcal spectrum. This will allow me to place them on there at a beginning point and then see how they have changed.





I have found a useful book for this: Robert Leach, Political ideology in Britain (Palgrave Macmillan; 2nd Edition edition 2009), 10 - 11


These pages go into how to class ideologies on a spectrum of left and right. It also gives different ideas of spectrums. I will consider all these ideas and then search for some more to back them up and then decide which one I believe to be most relevant to the UK to use in my report.

It tells me how it is the "oldest ways of classifying ideologies" which comes from the "French Revolution, where the most revolutionary groups sat on the left and the more conservative or reactionary groups sat on the left". This is where the idea of the first scale comes from; Revolutionary groups being left and reaction groups being right. However, if we look at Lenin in Russia, The Bolsheviks continued to be regarded as left after they siezed power and established a new social and politcal system. This problem can also be seen with the radical right. "almost a contradiction in terms if the 'right' means opposition to change". Margaret Thatcher changed much in the UK, but she was considred further to the right than the 'One Nation' Conservatives within her party. Therefore, in modern terms I do not believe this scale can be used as it is not accurate within modern politics.

Another way it gives for interpreting the left-right scale is "in terms of attitudes to authority". Those who believe in individual liberty are on the left and those wanting discipline and order are on the right. This, as Robert Leach points out, also has its problems. Anarchists and communists are regarded as left and yet they have very different ideas on authority. Totalitarianism in the post-war period implied noth communism and facism which would usually both be at opposite ends of the scale. Therefore, again this spectrum does not work.

The spectrum can also be defined in terms of attitudes towards state intervention in the economy. Left would be ossociated with collectivism and right with the free market. This Robert Leach believes to be the most effective spectrum. he says it "is consistant with the description of communists and socialist as 'left' regardless of whether they constituted the establishment or the opposition, and also consistant with the common designation of free market Conservatives as more 'right wing' than the more interventionist 'One Nation' Conservatives." However, again he points out its flaws: "Fascism, commonly placed on the far right, favoured protection and substantial state direction rather than the free market."

These ideas will contribute to section 1 of my research plan as well as section 3. This is just one view and so I will collect together a few more before I decide on what politcal scale is most relevent to my report.