AO1: AO1 Third parties have only limited success as they fail to gain the necessary support from the electorate in the long term – for example UKIP in the UK and the Tea Party in the USA AO2: AO2 Both countries use first past the post which lends itself to a two-party system because of the need to have a plurality of votes and a majority of seats to form government. Third parties struggle to gain the level of necessary support to gain even a chance of forming government or gaining power AO1: Competing ideologies do co-exist within the main parties: in the UK there are both Euro-sceptics and Europhiles in parties, and in the USA there are both pro- and anti- gun Democrats AO2: Both have parties that are wide ranging in beliefs, and ideologies that retain largely mass appeal, meaning that third parties often struggle to create policy that offers something different to the electorate AO1: The threat posed by third parties often provokes a reaction in the main parties – the Republican Party in the USA responded to the threat of the Tea Party by moving right, as seen with the rebellion against Boehner, and the AO2: Conservatives in the UK promised an EU referendum in response to the threat of UKIP AO1: The main parties in both countries tend to co-opt policies where a third party has gained popularity, meaning that any support they did gain often drifts back to the major parties once they adopt similar policies AO2: Many MPs/Congressmen are simply re-elected, which limits the chances of any other parties. In the USA, 95% of the AO1: House of Representatives was re-elected in 2014, and in the UK, where the MP Ken Clarke served his constituency from 1970 to 2019 AO2: The incumbent candidate has a large advantage over competitors, their name recognition and the funding opportunities this brings makes it difficult for third parties to compete effectively AO1: The expense of elections is difficult for third parties – in the USA the 2008 election topped $1bn for the first time and the AO2: UK 2015 election cost approximately £46m. AO1: In order to run an effective election, it remains necessary to have considerable finances and only the major parties can manage this level of funding.