Oh, and a quick overview of the parties. All left-right descriptions are within the UK’s mainstream Overton window:
LAB (red): Labour. Currently in power, centre-left to centre. Rooted in trade unions, though that relationship has grown increasingly strained.
LD (orange): Liberal Democrats, colloquially Lib Dems. Usually found somewhere between the two major parties, like economic liberalism a lot.
GRN (green): Greens. Specifically, Green Party of England and Wales, as the Scottish and Northern Irish Green parties are separate things. Progressive, pro-environmentalism, and anti-nuclear (power and weapons)
SNP (yellow): Scottish National Party. A little left of Labour on most issues, but not hugely. The big distinction is that they are pro-Scottish-independence or, failing that, in favour of increased autonomy for Scotland within the UK. Not ethnonationalist, thankfully. Currently in power in the Scottish parliament and the most successful party in Scotland in UK general elections.
PC (dark green): Plaid Cymru. Take the SNP description and replace “Scotland” with “Wales” and the policies are pretty much there. Less electorally successful than the SNP, but doing well recently.
REF (light blue): Reform UK. Populist right / far right. Basically just the latest vehicle for the biggest anti-EU voice in British politics, Nigel Farage (the guy who recently got challenged by Count Binface). Currently positioned to, potentially, remove the Conservatives from their extremely long run as one of the UK’s two big parties.
CON (dark blue): Conservatives, colloquially Tories. Traditionally on the rightward end of mainstream British politics, started drifting ever further right as their prior run in government stretched on. Sort of struggling to figure out exactly what their deal is and rebuild in the wake of that mess, particularly as heaps of their members and voters went to Reform.
Oh, and a quick overview of the parties. All left-right descriptions are within the UK’s mainstream Overton window:
LAB (red): Labour. Currently in power, centre-left to centre. Rooted in trade unions, though that relationship has grown increasingly strained.
LD (orange): Liberal Democrats, colloquially Lib Dems. Usually found somewhere between the two major parties, like economic liberalism a lot.
GRN (green): Greens. Specifically, Green Party of England and Wales, as the Scottish and Northern Irish Green parties are separate things. Progressive, pro-environmentalism, and anti-nuclear (power and weapons)
SNP (yellow): Scottish National Party. A little left of Labour on most issues, but not hugely. The big distinction is that they are pro-Scottish-independence or, failing that, in favour of increased autonomy for Scotland within the UK. Not ethnonationalist, thankfully. Currently in power in the Scottish parliament and the most successful party in Scotland in UK general elections.
PC (dark green): Plaid Cymru. Take the SNP description and replace “Scotland” with “Wales” and the policies are pretty much there. Less electorally successful than the SNP, but doing well recently.
REF (light blue): Reform UK. Populist right / far right. Basically just the latest vehicle for the biggest anti-EU voice in British politics, Nigel Farage (the guy who recently got challenged by Count Binface). Currently positioned to, potentially, remove the Conservatives from their extremely long run as one of the UK’s two big parties.
CON (dark blue): Conservatives, colloquially Tories. Traditionally on the rightward end of mainstream British politics, started drifting ever further right as their prior run in government stretched on. Sort of struggling to figure out exactly what their deal is and rebuild in the wake of that mess, particularly as heaps of their members and voters went to Reform.