UK Political Parties

Although there are many political parties in Britain, there are just three that are dominant in the House of Commons: Labour, Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

There are additional parties that share dominance in the regional assemblies, such as the various Unionist parties and Sinn Fein of Northern Ireland, Plaid Cymru in Wales and the Scottish National Party in Scotland. These regional parties are also represented at Westminster.

In addition to a number of smaller parties such as RESPECT, the Green Party and Veritas, there are a few independent candidates who have gained seats in the House of Commons or in the European Parliament.

In the House of Lords there are a significant number of members (crossbenchers) who are not aligned to a political party.