What are the parties in the UK Parliament?

Answer 1

The Conservative Party (Tories) - currently joined with the Liberal Democrats in a coalition, as the Tories won the most votes and seats in the 2010 election, but not enough to control the House as a majority. The Tories are the dominant right-wing party, advocating a free economy, a small but busy government, reduced taxes and government spending and a strong, united Britain. Their leader is Prime Minister David Cameron MP.

The Labour Party - were in power between 1997 and 2010, originally under Tony Blair and later Gordon Brown. The Labour Party are the dominant left-wing party, advocating investment in social welfare, healthcare, education and development. They also support giving Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland some degree of autonomy. As the party are the key opponents to the ruling coalition, their new leader (Ed Miliband MP) is the Leader of the Opposition.

The Liberal Democrat Party (Lib Dems) - the centrist party was formed in the 1980s when the Liberal Party and Social Democrat Parties merged. Originally, the Liberal Party was the dominant left-wing party but it was pushed to the centre by the rise of the Labour Party. The party currently gets about 1/10 of the seats in Parliament but much more than 1/10 of the popular vote. For this reason, the party has always campaigned for reforming the electoral system. After forming the coalition, their influence has greatly increased. Their leader is the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg MP.

National Parties - a small group with about 15 seats between them. The Scottish National Party gets about 1/10 of the seats and the popular vote in Scotland, but has more influence in the Scottish Parliament. The SNP have independence of Scotland as their long-term goal, and advocate Scottish culture. The equivalent for Wales is the Plaid Cymru, and for Northern Ireland either the SDLP or the Sinn Fein. Unlike the other national parties, members of the Sinn Fein who win the vote refuse to swear loyalty to the Queen, and are not allowed to sit in Parliament as a result.

Northern Ireland Parties - Northern Ireland has 18 seats and has separate political parties to the mainland. The Democratic Unionist Party is supported by Protestants; Catholics vote for either the Sinn Fein or SDLP; a few other parties exist.

Others worthy of note - These parties get some media attention even though they rarely get in the House of Commons:

The United Kingdom Indepedence Party (UKIP) is more right-wing than the Tories. It supports British withdrawal from the EU, as well as curbing Immigration. It has seats in the EU Parliament, but none in the House of Commons.

The noticeably more controversial British National Party (BNP) is more concerned with stopping immigration; it recently gained a seat in the EU Parliament, but none in the House of Commons.

The Green Party, as its names suggests, focusses on environmental issues and recently won a seat in the House of Commons (for a Brighton consituency), otherwise its political stance is similar to the Lib Dems, but it doesn't support the EU.

Answer 2

The political parties currently in the Parliament of the United Kingdom as of 18 September 2012 are as follows;

HM Government (Coalition)

Conservative Party (304 seats)

Liberal Democrats (54 seats)

HM Offical Opposition

Labour Party (254 seats)

Other Opposition Parties

Democratic Unionist Party (8 seats)

Scottish National Party (6 seats)

Sinn Féin (5 abstained seats)

Plaid Cymru (3 seats)

Social Democratic and Labour Party (3 seats)

Independent's (2 seats)

Allience Party of Northern Ireland (1 seat)

Green Party of England and Wales (1 seat)

Respect Party (1 seat)

Speaker

Speaker and Deputies (4 seats)