Single-issue politics involves

political campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracy, democracies, political campaigns often refer to election, electoral campaigns, by which representatives a ...

ing or political support based on one essential

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an or ...

area or idea.

Political expression

One weakness of such an approach is that effective

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

are usually

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

s of factions or

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

s. Bringing together political forces based on a single intellectual or cultural common denominator can be unrealistic; though there may be considerable

public opinion Public opinion, or popular opinion, is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. In the 21st century, public opinion is widely thought to be heavily ...

on one side of an argument, it does not necessarily follow that mobilizing under that one banner will bring results. A defining issue may indeed come to dominate one particular electoral campaign, sufficiently to swing the result. Imposing such an issue may well be what single-issue politics concern; but for the most part success is rather limited, and electorates choose governments for reasons with a broader base. Single-issue politics may express itself through the formation of a single-issue party, an approach that tends to be more successful in

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their Election, democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of t ...

s based on

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

than in rigid

two-party system A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referr ...

s (like that of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

). Alternatively, it may proceed through political

s of various kinds, including Lobby groups, pressure groups and other forms of political expression external to normal

representative government Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy or electoral democracy, is a type of democracy where elected delegates represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies funct ...

. Within a broad-based party it may be the concern of a single-issue

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

. Very visible as it was in

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

democracies in the second half of the twentieth century, single-issue politics is hardly a new phenomenon. In the 1880s, the third government of

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

made

British politics The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy which, by legislation and Convention (norm), convention, operates as a Unitary state, unitary parliamentary democracy. A Hereditary monarchy, hereditary Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch, ...

in practical terms single-issue, around the

Home Rule Bill The Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for Devolution, self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to ...

, leading to a split of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

Groups and voters

Single-issue politics are a form of litmus test; common examples are

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

taxation A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal person, legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to Pigouvian tax, regulate and reduce nega ...

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

, environment, and

gun A gun is a device that Propulsion, propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or water cannon, cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). So ...

s. The

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

in the United States, which has only one specific interest, is an example of a single-issue group. What differentiates single-issue groups from other interest groups is their intense style of lobbying. The term ''single-issue voter'' has been used to describe people who may make voting decisions based on the candidates' stance on a single issue (e.g., support or opposition to abortion rights, or in support of

gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a legal right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, as well as ...

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...

). The existence of single-issue voters can give a distorted impression: a candidate's overall views may not enjoy the same support. For example, a person who votes for a socially liberal Republican candidate, based solely on their support of abortion, may not necessarily share the candidate's other views on

social issue A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control. Soc ...

s, such as

family values Family values, sometimes referred to as familial values, are traditional or cultural values that pertain to the family's structure, function, roles, beliefs, attitudes, and ideals. Additionally, the concept of family values may be understood ...

Single-issue parties

A single-issue party is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

which focuses any campaign, efforts, or activism almost exclusively on only a single issue or a very narrow range of issues (e.g., such as a gun rights organization that might also support knife rights). In instant-runoff electoral systems which allow unsuccessful parties to designate where their votes are redistributed, single-issue parties may be formed as a way to funnel more votes to another candidate with quite different policies. For instance, in the

1999 New South Wales state election The 1999 New South Wales state election was held on Saturday, 27 March. All seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the New South Wales Legislative Council was up for election. The Incumbent New South Wales Prem ...

, candidate Malcolm Jones received just 0.2% of the primary vote, but achieved the quota of 4.5% required to win a Legislative Council seat after receiving preferences from a wide range of minor parties (including both the "Gun Owners and Sporting Hunters Rights Party" and the "Animal Liberation Party"); MLC

Lee Rhiannon Lee Rhiannon (formerly O'Gorman, ''née'' Brown; born 30 May 1951) is a former Australian politician who was a Australian Senate, Senator for New South Wales between July 2011 and August 2018. She was elected at the 2010 Australian federal ele ...

accused many of these parties of being nothing more than fronts.

Asia

Japan

The NHK Party opposes the

television licence A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts or the possession of a television set. In some countries, a licence is also required to own a radio or rece ...

system imposed by

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

, the country's public broadcaster.

Europe

United Kingdom

The most electorally successful British single-issue party is the pro-

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...

(UKIP), which later expanded to support other policies. Its former leader,

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...

, subsequently left UKIP and founded the

Brexit Party Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...

, which was later renamed

Reform UK Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...

after the completion of Brexit. Other single-issue parties in the UK are anti-

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...

Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party The Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party is a unionist Single-issue politics, single-issue political party in Scotland. It seeks to abolish the Scottish Parliament, and hand its powers to the Secretary of State for Scotland, Scottish local govern ...

and Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party,

advocates Animal Protection Party and the Animal Welfare Party and the pro fox-hunting Countryside Party. There were also the electoral reform advocates No Candidate Deserves My Vote! party. The National Flood Prevention Party and Party of Women are two single-issue parties with councillors in

Windsor and Maidenhead The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a unitary authority area with royal borough status in Berkshire, England. The borough is named after its two largest towns of Maidenhead (where the council is based) and Windsor. The borough also ...

and

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is prod ...

respectively.

Germany

In Germany, Tierschutzpartei and Tierschutz hier! are animal rights parties. There is also the Party for Rejuvenation Research.

Poland

In 2019, an anti-environmentalist Polish political party called the

Party of Drivers Party of Drivers () was a minor Political parties in Poland, political party in Poland with the aim of ''"fighting for the rights of drivers and hauliers"''. The party was founded in April 2019 and wanted to participate in the 2019 European Parlia ...

() was formed with the aim of "fighting for the rights of drivers and hauliers".

Norway

In Norway, there is a party called Patient Focus, which supports the expansion of the hospital in

Alta Municipality Alta (; ; ; ) is the most populated List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Finnmark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Alta (town), town of Alta. Some of the main villages in the ...

Finnmark Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...

United States

The

Anti-Masonic Party The Anti-Masonic Party was the earliest Third party (United States), third party in the United States. Formally a Single-issue politics, single-issue party, it strongly opposed Freemasonry in the United States. It was active from the late 1820s, ...

opposed

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

Rent is Too Damn High The Rent Is Too Damn High Party (Rent Is 2 Damn High Party) is a single issue political party, primarily active in the state of New York (state), New York, that has nominated candidates for mayor of New York City in 2005 and 2009, and for gover ...

is focused on housing. The Free-Soil Party opposed slavery. The US Marijuana Party and Legalize Cannabis Now Party are the major parties that focus on marijuana legalization.

Oceania

In Australia, a number of single-issue parties have been elected to federal and state parliaments such as the

Animal Justice Party The Animal Justice Party (AJP) is a political party in Australia founded in 2009 by Steve Garlick. The party was registered by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on 3 May 2011. The party is also registered in New South Wales, Queenslan ...

, Dignity for Disability, the Australian Reason Party,

Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party The Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party was a List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia from 2013 to 2017. Ricky Muir held a seat for the party in the Australian Senate from 2013 to 2016. The party voluntarily de-regis ...

References

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