| super_etecoon said: Can someone who is familiar with both the American political party system and the British political party system draw parallels between each...if they exist? Don't really know much about the British system. |
The Labour party has a "third-way" liberal wing (most similar to Clinton), and a democratic socialist wing, each of which can be subdivided further, and then also miscellaneous left-wingers (Rawlsians liberals, luck egalitarians, feminists, etc.) When I say Democratic Socialist I mean real Democratic Socialism, where they aim to put key industries in to the hands of the state by nationalizing them.
The Conservative party has civic nationalists, right liberals, and centrists.
The Lib-Dem party has classical liberals ( think John Stuart Mill) and social democrats (think modern Bernie Sanders.)
Socially the Conservative party is much less religious and culturally conservative than Republicans. It aims more toward conserving the traditional British institutions (monarchy, aristocracy, church, capitalism, etc.)
Culturally the Labour party has much less of a liberal consensus than the Democratic party. It is much more accepting of anti-semitism, and much less strict about gay marriage, internationalism, etc. This is because of its working class demographic.
The lib-dem party is the most similar to the Democratic party as far as cultural issues go.
Roughly, think of the Conservatives as moderate Republicans, the Labour as a coalition of third-way Democrats and socialists (the latter of which we don't have an American analogue), and the Liberal Democrats as a mix of moderate Libertarians and left-wing (Bernie Sanders) Democrats.
There is also UKIP which is very much like the Trumpian/paleo-conservative wing of the Republican party, and other more fringe right-wing and left-wing parties.
Corbyn is a Democratic Socialist to the left of modern Bernie Sanders, and May is a civic nationalist economically to the left of Republicans, but just as nationalist as Republicans.
