What is the Two-Party System?

What is the Two-Party System?
【正确答案】：1.A two-party system has existed in the UK since the late 17th century. Since the mid-1920s the dominant groupings have been the Conservative Party and the Labor Party.
2. However, several smaller parties—e.g. the Liberal Democrats, the Scottish and Welsh nationalist parties, and loyalist (unionist) and republican (nationalist) political parties inNorthern Ireland—have gained representation in Parliament, especially since the 1970s.
3.The two-party system is one of the outstanding features of British politics and generally has produced firm and decisive government. The practice of simple plurality voting insingle-member constituencies has tended to exaggerate the majority of the winning party and to diminish the representation and influence of third parties.
4.The two-party system, together with uncertainty about the timing of a general election, has produced the British phenomenon of the official opposition. Its decisive characteristic is that the main opposition party forms an alternative, or “shadow,” government, ready at any time to take office, in recognition of which the leader of the opposition receivesan official salary.
【题目解析】：参见教材P160。
掌握“Parliament(UK)”知识点。