There are many established UK political parties. However, they have a range of views on many issues and have had internal debates over some issues for many years. This blog post will highlight the policies of the traditional and emerging UK political parties.
This blog post has been updated as of November 2026.
UK Political Parties: An Overview
Five UK political parties now poll at around 10% or more, which is unusual under First Past the Post. There are hundreds of registered UK political parties; however, only a few stand for election across several constituencies. Some, such as the SNP and Plaid Cymru, stand only in Scotland or Wales, while others contest almost every seat in Great Britain.
In YouGov’s poll of 25 to 26 October 2026, Labour led on 27%, ahead of the Conservatives on 22%, Reform UK on 20%, the Liberal Democrats on 11% and the Greens on 10%. Reform UK and the Greens have both fallen back from their peaks earlier in the Parliament, while Labour and the Conservatives have recovered from record lows. Polls are a snapshot, not a prediction.
The voting system matters too. In 2024, Labour won 411 of 650 seats on roughly a third of the vote, while Reform UK won five seats on about 14%. That gap between votes and seats is why electoral reform keeps returning to the agenda.
The Labour Party
Labour is the governing UK political party, led since July 2026 by Andy Burnham. It won 411 seats in 2024, ending 14 years of Conservative government, and has historically drawn on socialism and social democracy and on the support of trade unions and working-class voters.
Keir Starmer resigned as leader in June 2026 after pressure from his own MPs and poor results in the May local elections. Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, won a by-election in Makerfield to return to Parliament, was elected Labour leader unopposed on 17 July, and became prime minister on 20 July. Starmer had positioned Labour as a centrist party of the Third Way tradition. Burnham describes his approach as a break from 40 years of neoliberalism, while promising to be pro-business and to keep to the existing fiscal rules.
At Labour’s September 2026 conference, Burnham announced several major policies:
- A free, NHS-style national care service in England, paid for by changing the pensions triple lock from 2030.
- Legislation to repeal the ban on public ownership of water companies, and a publicly owned player in the electricity grid.
- A national commission on electoral reform, with Burnham saying he supports a form of proportional representation.
- A warmer approach to the EU, although Labour’s 2024 red lines against rejoining the single market or customs union have not been dropped.
Chancellor John Healey delivered his first Budget on 28 October 2026, centred on help with energy bills. Critics, including the Conservatives, say the plans will not fix the country’s long-term problems. Some trade unions oppose funding social care through the triple lock.
The Conservative Party
The Conservatives are the official opposition UK political party, led by Kemi Badenoch since November 2024. They won 121 seats in 2024, their worst result in history, and have since lost several MPs to Reform UK, including Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman. Following the ideology of conservatism, they traditionally favour lower taxes, a market economy, a strong justice system and a meritocracy.
The party has been in turmoil. In January 2026 Badenoch sacked Robert Jenrick, her main rival, after saying he was plotting to defect. He joined Reform UK the same day, followed by several other Conservative MPs including Suella Braverman. The party also lost ground in the May 2026 local elections.
Since 2025 the Conservatives have announced plans to:
- Leave the European Convention on Human Rights.
- Scrap stamp duty on main homes.
- Replace the Climate Change Act with a strategy built around cheaper energy.
At the October 2026 conference, Badenoch added pledges to cut inheritance tax, halve employer National Insurance for 21 to 24-year-olds, tighten welfare and expand prison capacity. She also set out her philosophy in a document called “The Right Way”, and presented the party as new and different from the one defeated in 2024. Some commentators note that several of the 2025 policies reverse decisions taken by the last Conservative government.
Reform UK
Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, is a populist, right-wing party that started life as the Brexit Party in 2019. It won five seats in 2024 and had eight MPs by early 2026 after Conservative defections. It led most national polls through 2025 and early 2026, but its support has slipped to around 20% since then.
Reform’s main policy is a tougher approach to immigration. It says it would leave the European Convention on Human Rights, repeal the Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights. It also says it would detain and deport people who arrive illegally, with Farage suggesting up to 600,000 removals during a first term. Reform estimates the plan would cost £10 billion but save £7 billion currently spent on illegal migration. Other parties dispute whether it is affordable or workable.
On the economy, Reform favours lower taxes, more oil and gas production, more nuclear energy and the repeal of net zero targets. Its other 2026 pledges include support for pubs.
Reform made large gains in the May 2026 English local elections. It also became the joint second-largest party in the Scottish Parliament and the second-largest in the Welsh Senedd. Its challenge now comes from two sides: a recovering Conservative Party, and Restore Britain, a rival party on the far right.
The Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats, led by Sir Ed Davey, are the third-largest party in the House of Commons. They won 72 seats in 2024, their best result since 1923, up from 12 at the 2019 election. The party formed in 1988 when the Social Democratic Party merged with the Liberal Party, and it served in government for the first time in the 2010 coalition.
Subscribing to liberalism, the party stresses individual freedom, civil liberties and fair access to public services. Its policies include replacing First Past the Post with a more proportional system. At their September 2026 conference in Brighton, the party said it would focus on tax cuts paid for by growth from rejoining the EU single market and customs union. The Lib Dems do not currently call for a full return to the EU, and Davey has said that argument must be won with more voters first.
Other priorities include social care reform, cutting energy bills and reducing NHS waiting times. Davey refused to rule out joining a coalition after the next election. Despite their strong 2024 result, the Lib Dems are polling at around 11% to 12%, and some commentators question whether the party has cut through since then.
Green Party
The Green Party of England and Wales, led by Zack Polanski since September 2025, is the UK’s largest ecologist party, developing from the Ecology Party in the 1980s. It won four seats in 2024 and a fifth in February 2026, when Hannah Spencer took Gorton and Denton from Labour in a by-election.
Polanski calls himself an eco-populist and has moved the party further left. Its flagship policy is a wealth tax of 1% on wealth over £10 million and 2% over £1 billion, which the party says would raise around £15 billion a year. The Greens also back rent controls, public ownership of water and energy, replacing the government’s fiscal rules with independent “fiscal referees”, extensive climate legislation and the UK rejoining the EU.
The Greens’ polling rose from around 10% to roughly 20% in early 2026, but has since fallen back to around 10%. In October 2026 Polanski stood in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, the seat Keir Starmer left. Labour held it with 45% of the vote to his 33%, and Polanski said he would stay on as leader.
The Scottish Greens are a separate party. They won a record 15 seats at Holyrood in May 2026.
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP), led by First Minister John Swinney, has governed Scotland since 2007. It lost most of its Westminster seats in 2024, falling from 48 to nine. Its main policy is a second referendum on Scottish independence, and it combines ideas from social democracy and liberalism.
In the May 2026 Holyrood election the SNP won 58 of 129 seats, its fifth consecutive win but seven short of a majority (65 seats). Labour and Reform UK tied for second place on 17 seats each, the Scottish Greens won a record 15, the Conservatives had their worst-ever result with 12, and the Liberal Democrats won 10. The SNP and the Greens, which also back independence, hold a combined majority, but aren’t in a formal coalition.
To hold a legally recognised referendum, the Scottish Government needs the UK Government to issue a Section 30 order. The Scottish Parliament backed Swinney’s request for one, but the UK Government has not agreed. Andy Burnham first said a referendum was off the table, then said one could be considered if public opinion showed demand for it, while his spokesperson says Labour does not support independence or another referendum. Swinney has written to Burnham asking for talks on an agreed legal mechanism and says he will keep pushing.
Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru, Welsh for the Party of Wales, now leads the Welsh Government under First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth. It is a left-of-centre party that supports Welsh independence, and it won four Westminster seats in 2024.
In the May 2026 Senedd election, held under a new proportional system for a Senedd enlarged to 96 members, Plaid Cymru became the largest party for the first time with 43 seats. Reform UK won 34 seats and became the main opposition, while Welsh Labour fell to nine seats and lost power for the first time since devolution. The Welsh Conservatives won seven seats and the Greens won two. Plaid Cymru governs as a minority, so it needs support from other parties to pass laws. Commentators now describe Welsh politics as largely a contest between Plaid Cymru and Reform UK.
Newer UK political parties
Two new UK political parties have formed since the 2024 general election, though neither is yet a major electoral force.
Restore Britain was founded by Rupert Lowe, MP for Great Yarmouth. He was elected for Reform UK in 2024, but Reform removed the whip from him in March 2025. Restore became a registered political party in February 2026 and takes a harder line than Reform on immigration, including mass deportations. It is polling at around 3% to 4% in YouGov polls, and Lowe is its only MP.
Your Party was announced in July 2025 by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana and registered with the Electoral Commission that September. It is a socialist party that wants wealth and power redistributed from billionaires and corporations. Its launch was difficult, with a public dispute between the two founders, and Corbyn’s faction is now in effective control. Corbyn has been its parliamentary leader since March 2026, and it is polling at around 1% or less.
Find out more about UK political parties
As mentioned earlier in this article, there are hundreds of registered UK political parties. They stand on a range of issues, ranging from Socialism, to rejoining the EU to the independence of Cornwall. This article has explained the policies and range of UK political parties, from traditional to emerging ones.
You can find out more about the policies of major and minor UK political parties as part of our Course Notes. Available with a Study Dog membership, you can access all of our A Level Politics resources in one place.
Frequently Asked Questions about UK political parties
What are the main political parties in the UK?
The parties with the most seats in the House of Commons have long been Labour and the Conservatives, with the Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, the Green Party, the SNP and Plaid Cymru also holding seats. Northern Ireland has its own parties, such as Sinn Féin, the DUP, the SDLP and the Alliance Party.
What does each UK political party stand for?
Broadly: Labour sits on the centre-left, with a focus on public services and fairness. The Conservatives are on the centre-right, with a focus on lower taxes, enterprise and tradition. The Liberal Democrats are centrist and liberal, focusing on civil liberties and constitutional reform. Reform UK is populist right, focusing on immigration and Brexit-style sovereignty. The Greens are on the left, focusing on the environment and social justice. The SNP and Plaid Cymru are centre-left nationalist parties.
What is the difference between left-wing and right-wing parties?
The left usually favours a bigger role for the state in the economy and public services and more redistribution. The right usually favours lower taxes, a smaller state and more individual responsibility. It is a spectrum, not two boxes, and parties move along it over time.
How do I find out who the current leader of each party is?
Check the party websites or the UK Parliament website, because leaders change between elections. As of November 2026, the current leaders are Andy Burnham (Labour), Kemi Badenoch (Conservatives), Sir Ed Davey (Liberal Democrats), Nigel Farage (Reform UK), Zack Polanski (Green Party), John Swinney (The SNP), and Rhyn Ap Iorwerth (Plaid Cymru).
What is the difference between the Commons party system and a two-party system?
The UK is often called a two-party system because Labour and the Conservatives have formed nearly every government since the 1920s. In practice it is considered a multi-party system, since smaller parties win seats, hold the balance in some parliaments and shape national debate. For example, Reform UK have worked to put immigration and a smaller state at the front of UK political debate in recent months.
Which political parties are in the A Level Politics specifications?
You need to know the main UK parties’ ideas, policies and electoral performance for UK Politics (Edexcel Paper 1, AQA Paper 1). The Edexcel and AQA specifications ask you to use up-to-date examples, so check the current spec and the latest election results. You must know the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, along with two other smaller parties.
How can I revise UK political parties for A Level Politics?
Learn each party’s core ideas and links to ideologies, then practise using recent examples in essays. Study Dog’s UK Politics course has notes, flashcards and quizzes on the parties, plus model answers that show how to use evidence.
