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Whigs, Tories and the beginning of party politics

Study note

Once Parliament held real power, the monarch needed ministers who could command a majority of votes there in order to govern at all. Members of Parliament began to organise into two main groups, known as the Whigs and the Tories. This grouping into rival sides is regarded as the beginning of party politics in Britain, so the two answers to remember are the Whigs and the Tories, not the later Chartists or the Jacobites.

These early parties are not just history. The modern Conservative Party is still sometimes nicknamed the Tories today, a direct link back to one of these original groups. The Whig tradition fed into later liberal politics. Understanding this rivalry helps explain how government by competing parties developed over the following centuries.

Memory tip: Two early parties: Whigs and Tories. 'Tories' still nickname the Conservatives today.

Practise this topic

Question 1 of 3 · choose two

Select the TWO main groups in Parliament that marked the beginning of party politics.

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Show all questions and answers for Whigs, Tories and the beginning of party politics(3 questions with explanations)

Whigs, Tories and the beginning of party politics: questions, answers and explanations

  1. 1. Select the TWO main groups in Parliament that marked the beginning of party politics.

    • The Jacobites
    • The Chartists
    • The Whigs
    • The Tories

    Correct answer: The Whigs and The Tories

    The Whigs and the Tories were the two main early political groups in Parliament.

  2. 2. Which modern political party is still sometimes referred to as the Tories?

    • The Liberal Democrats
    • The Labour Party
    • The Green Party
    • The Conservative Party

    Correct answer: The Conservative Party

    The modern Conservative Party is still sometimes called the Tories.

  3. 3. The Whigs and Tories represented the beginning of party politics in Britain.

    • True
    • False

    Correct answer: True

    True. The rivalry of Whigs and Tories began party politics.

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