The main political parties

The 3 main political parties in the UK are the Labour Party - currently in power - the Conservative Party and Liberal Democrat Party.

A number of other smaller parties are represented in the UK and European parliaments, and in the devolved bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

There are nationalist parties in Scotland - the Scottish National Party - and Wales - Plaid Cymru.

Northern Ireland has a number of parties divided predominantly on ethnic and religious lines, including the Ulster Unionists, the Democratic Unionists, the Social Democratic and Labour Party and Sinn Féin.

The Green Party and the UK Independence Party also have a fair amount of support.

You can find a complete list of UK political parties on the No 10 Downing Street website.

Elections to the UK Parliament

The party that wins most seats - although not necessarily the most votes - or which has the support of a majority of members in the House of Commons, usually becomes the government after a UK general election.

By tradition, the monarch invites the leader of that party to form a government.

Find out more about elections to the UK Parliament and visit our UK Parliament and Government section.

Elections to the devolved bodies

Voting in the Welsh Assembly, Northern Ireland Assembly and the Scottish Parliament is decided by proportional representation, which means that the seats a party wins are in proportion to the votes cast for it.

Unlike Westminster, which operates a 'first past the post' system, this means the likelihood of coalition government made up of members of more than 1 political party is much higher.

Elections to the European Parliament

Elections to the European Parliament are held every 5 years in all the 27 member states. UK electors vote bya regional list system of proportional representation which means that the seats a party receives is in proportion to the votes cast for it. The Parliament has 785 Members (MEPs), 78 of whom represent the UK.

These elected MEPs from all the member states then become part of different officially-supported political groups, reflecting the sorts of policies they support.

Find out more about how the European elections are organised.

History of UK political parties

UK political parties emerged in the mid-19th century. From thenuntil the 1920s, the Conservative and the Liberal parties dominated the political scene.

However, in 1923 the Labour Party - which was an alliance between the trade unions and various socialist societies - won a general election and took power for a short time.

During World War II between 1939 and 1945, the UK Government was effectively a 3-party coalition.

From the end of the War in 1945 the Conservative and Labour parties have dominated British politics, alternating power between them ever since.

The Liberals merged with the relatively new Social Democrat Party in 1988 to create the Liberal Democrats and become the UK's third main party.

These 3 parties dominate the UK delegation to the European Parliament and the devolved bodies in Scotland and Wales.

Northern Ireland is unique in the UK in that party affiliation is based mainly on a person's ethnic and religious background. Liberal Democrats and Labour do not fight elections there. The Conservatives do contest seats but have received only limited support at recent elections.