Abstract
The general election of 2024 saw a significant breakthrough for smaller parties. During the campaign, the political commentator Laura Kuenssberg (2024) observed that ‘voices from the edge’ were ‘making big parties nervous’. In the end, the two main parties received less than 60% of the vote for the first time since universal suffrage, and the spread of parliamentary seats amongst other parties was broader than ever before. Six Independents, five Reform UK candidates and four Greens became MPs, contributing to this parliamentary diversity. Nigel Farage became an MP at the eighth attempt, the Greens quadrupled their seats, and the Labour
party’s perceived position on the Israel-Hamas conflict cost it a handful of seats to Independents. The 2015 general election saw a rise in the number of votes going to parties other than Conservative or Labour, but support for the two main parties rallied thereafter. In 2024, the pendulum of support again swung away from the big two, to an even greater extent. In the theoretical literature there is debate over what constitutes a small party, and the critical factors which aid such a party’s development (Copus et al. 2009). The Greens and Reform UK are now the biggest of the small parties in Britain, based on their electoral performance and
influence on the political agenda. In this contribution, we aim to explain the small party breakthrough of 2024 and assess where this leaves British politics. The analysis is centred on the Greens and Reform UK, but we also consider the Independents elected. We address the ideological and policy character of the Greens and Reform UK and examine why the general election of 2024 proved successful for these parties. We argue that the single-member plurality electoral system is a major obstacle to further progress in Britain’s state-wide parliamentary arena, but that comparative experiences of similar parties across Europe suggest a process of
‘normalisation’ may be taking place, whereby green and radical right parties become regular actors in modern parliamentary systems
party’s perceived position on the Israel-Hamas conflict cost it a handful of seats to Independents. The 2015 general election saw a rise in the number of votes going to parties other than Conservative or Labour, but support for the two main parties rallied thereafter. In 2024, the pendulum of support again swung away from the big two, to an even greater extent. In the theoretical literature there is debate over what constitutes a small party, and the critical factors which aid such a party’s development (Copus et al. 2009). The Greens and Reform UK are now the biggest of the small parties in Britain, based on their electoral performance and
influence on the political agenda. In this contribution, we aim to explain the small party breakthrough of 2024 and assess where this leaves British politics. The analysis is centred on the Greens and Reform UK, but we also consider the Independents elected. We address the ideological and policy character of the Greens and Reform UK and examine why the general election of 2024 proved successful for these parties. We argue that the single-member plurality electoral system is a major obstacle to further progress in Britain’s state-wide parliamentary arena, but that comparative experiences of similar parties across Europe suggest a process of
‘normalisation’ may be taking place, whereby green and radical right parties become regular actors in modern parliamentary systems
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Parliamentary Affairs |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 25 Feb 2025 |