Class Distinction Plays Major Role In British Political Party Structure

"Unlike American elections, the outcome of a British election does make a difference, since there is not only party politics, but also party government," Samuel H. Beer, professor of Government, declared yesterday.

In an address to the Hillel Round Table of World Affairs, Beer maintained that the Social Democracy of the Socialist Labour party is quite different from the Tory Democracy of the Conservatives."

The structure of both parties is based upon a policy of class in society. But, Beer emphasized, there is a radical difference between the type of class distinction that each one makes. It is the philosophy behind this divergence that explains the different appeals and policies of the two parties.

In the Labour party approach, society is divided economically into the working class and the business class. The Conservatives bisect society politically into the governing and the governed, the leaders and the followers.

Thus, the Labour party has identified itself with the working class, Beer stated. Therefore, the platform of the party originates in its Conference, a meeting of the local party representatives. The initiative of the party comes from its constituents.

However, the Conservatives believe in a theory of authority, Beer noted. Due the inevitable inequality in the natural abilities of men and the subsequent differences in their education, certain people should rule and the others should defer to their judgment. "And there are plenty of deferential followers left in England today, or else politics there woudn't be what they are today," he insisted.