Year 8 - Citizenship
What do political parties do?
How does the political system work in the UK?
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Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils learn about the roles of government and parliament and how they are organised. They explore how elections work and what the role of political parties and MPs are.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to explain why political parties exist, what they do and how they can be categorised.
Key Notes
- A political party is an organised group of people who share similar beliefs and goals about how society should be run.
- Political party policies align with their values. This influences what their manifesto is.
- There are many UK political parties to ensure that different ideas are represented and that every voice can be heard.
- The political spectrum shows where parties stand on political issues, from left wing to right wing.
Vocabulary To Learn
- political party: an organised group of people who share similar beliefs and goals about how society should be run
- policies: courses of action or goals that people plan to carry out, or are in the process of carrying out
- political spectrum: a concept that models political beliefs and ideologies as a continuum (from left wing to right wing)
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Political parties are all either left wing or right wing.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
A political party is an organised group of people who share similar beliefs and goals about how society should be run. Political party policies align with their values. This influences what their manifesto is.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'political party'
an organised group of people who share similar beliefs and goals about how society should be run.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: Political parties are all either left wing or right wing. Correction: Many parties mix both views or focus on specific issues, like regional concerns. Some parties are centrist or have ideas that don't fit neatly into either side.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 8 Citizenship guide library.