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In recent times, there has been a perception that the main parties are crowding together on the centre groups. In the 1990s, Labour moved decisively away from the traditional left (angering many of its more traditionally-minded supporters), to the point where it was perceived by many as being less left-wing than the Liberal Democrats. Since the advent of [[David Cameron]] as its leader in 2005, the Conservative Party has moved away from the territory of the traditional right (in this case too, angering many of its more strongly conservative or [[Thatcherism|Thatcherite]] supporters).
In recent times, there has been a perception that the main parties are crowding together on the centre groups. In the 1990s, Labour moved decisively away from the traditional left (angering many of its more traditionally-minded supporters), to the point where it was perceived by many as being less left-wing than the Liberal Democrats. Since the advent of [[David Cameron]] as its leader in 2005, the Conservative Party has moved away from the territory of the traditional right (in this case too, angering many of its more strongly conservative or [[Thatcherism|Thatcherite]] supporters).
The Liberal Democrats were opposed to the [[Iraq War]], and have capitalized on Blair's waning popularity to reiterate and strengthen its anti-war position.
The Liberal Democrats were opposed to the [[Iraq War]], and have capitalized on Tony Blair's waning popularity to reiterate and strengthen its anti-war position.
===Minor parties===
The largest "minor" party is the '''Scottish National Party''', which is in fact a major force in Scottish politics, being the largest party in the Scottish Parliament. It advocates independence for Scotland.
There is also a Welsh nationalist party, called '''Plaid Cymru''', or simply '''Plaid'''.
Northern Ireland has a number of political parties:
* The '''Democratic Unionist Party''' (strongly pro-British/Protestant)
* '''Sinn Fein''' (strongly pro-Irish/Catholic)
* The '''Ulster Unionist Party''' (moderately pro-British/Protestant)
* The '''Social Democratic and Labour Party''' (moderately pro-Irish/Catholic)
There are several other minor British parties worthy of mention:
* The '''[[UK Independence Party]]''' advocates the withdrawal of Britain from the [[European Union]] and other more strongly conservative policies than those supported by the official Conservative Party.
* '''RESPECT''' is a strongly left-wing, socialist party led by the maverick ex-Labour politician [[George Galloway]].
* The '''[[British National Party]]''' is generaly seen as an extreme right-wing or fascist party. It advocates the repatriation of non-white people from the UK to the countries of their or their families' origin.