AO1: The source leads to the view that it would be difficult to operate our current system of representative democracy without the major political parties; they dominate both the process and ideas of mainstream politics. AO2: Major parties operate all the main functions of government at local and national level; they are established and experienced with the infrastructure to dominate the political process. AO3: Their capacity to develop new ideas and cover new ground means that they are always evolving to capture the majority of public opinion. AO1: Other parties have always existed but the sheer dominance of the major parties ensures their continued supremacy. AO2: Minor parties such as UKIP will fade away, largely because they are constructed on a single issue and once that issue has been decided they lose their cause to exist. Minor parties tend to have vague policy in other areas not connected to their protest and they do not represent a clear, cohesive political vision. AO3: This shows that only the major parties can offer voters cohesive policies on governing the UK and that minor parties tend to 'come and go' depending on political trends of the time; the major parties are established and permanent. AO1: The hard fact of the first-past-the-post electoral system is that smaller parties stand no real chance of getting enough seats to make a difference, for example when the Conservative opposition had its vote radically reduced (1997) they still easily formed the official opposition. A minor party has to get 30% of the vote nationally or have a strong concentration of votes in certain regions (heartlands) to make any impact and this is a formidable task. AO2: FPTP system means that major parties have numerous safe seats and heartlands, where other parties cannot have an impact. Minor parties will never dominate Westminster. AO3: Therefore the pattern of two-party domination will be likely to continue unless the FPTP voting system is reformed, but there seems little appetite for this. AO1: The source draws out that the major parties capture and have policies on all the main issues of the day - from the economy to the environment. This means that minor parties have few unique selling points or different policies for them to stand out. AO2: The major parties command such widespread ground on all policy areas which makes it difficult for the minor parties to appear unique and effective. AO3: History has shown that the large parties will always dominate and that they are there for the long run, whereas minor parties exist only on the fringes and never have a significant impact.

AO1: Traditional voting patterns for the major UK parties are changing, with a shift towards minor parties. AO2: From the 1970s, fatigue started to affect the popularity of the two main parties, which gave rise in the regions to nationalist parties. The Liberals witnessed a huge surge in support in by-elections. In 2015, as the source says, UKIP increased in popularity at the expense of the major parties. AO3: Consequently this trend of support for minor parties is likely to continue, as the electorate has broken away from its normal voting pattern and the political climate allows for this divergence. AO1: The major parties are now not even attaining a sizeable minority of the eligible vote. They are gaining 100% of the power on the basis of less than a quarter of the votes - this shift shows no sign of reverse in recent elections and calls into question the validity of their mandate and the fairness of the electoral system that gives them power. AO2: No party since before the Second World War has gained at least 50% support from the electorate. In the 1970s the figure dropped to below 40% and remains well below half of all votes cast. AO3: Major political parties cannot claim a mandate or legitimacy for the power which they wield. AO1: A coalition, which was the outcome of the 2010 election, is now just as likely an outcome at a general election as is single-party government. AO2: The major parties can no longer assure themselves that they will take turns in holding power as a hung Parliament is a more likely outcome. AO3: This means that the majority parties may have to broker power with minority parties in order to form a government. AO1: The source shows that the minor parties are becoming an increasingly important feature of UK politics, if not a dominant presence at Westminster. They are significant in regional and local politics and the policy options they present do differ from the major parties. AO2: Minor parties have made a difference to political policy, for instance the call by UKIP for a referendum on EU membership became government policy. Similarly, minor parties control many regional councils and are building up bases of support. AO3: Collectively this shows that the minor parties are making policy and electoral progress.