View source for Single-issue politics

{{Short description|Political campaigning or support based on one essential policy goal}}
{{redirect|Single-issue|the form of terrorism that revolves around one area or idea|Single-issue terrorism}}{{For|the study of single vs. multi-issue rules for [[social choice]]|Multi-issue voting}}{{Politics}}
{{Party politics}} 

'''Single-issue politics''' involves [[political campaign]]ing or political support based on one essential [[policy]] area or idea.

==Political expression==

One weakness of such an approach is that effective [[political party|political parties]] are usually [[coalition]]s of [[Political factions|faction]]s or [[advocacy group]]s. Bringing together political forces based on a single intellectual or cultural common denominator can be unrealistic; though there may be considerable [[public opinion]] 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]]s based on [[proportional representation]] than in rigid [[two-party system]]s (like that of the [[United States]]). Alternatively, it may proceed through political [[advocacy group]]s of various kinds, including Lobby groups, pressure groups and other forms of political expression external to normal [[representative government]]. Within a broad-based party it may be the concern of a '''single-issue [[caucus]]'''.

Very visible as it was in [[Western world|Western]] 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]] made [[British politics]] in practical terms single-issue, around the [[Home Rule Bill]], leading to a split of the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]].

==Groups and voters==

Single-issue politics are a form of [[litmus test (politics)|litmus test]]; common examples are [[abortion]], [[taxation]], [[animal rights]], [[environment (biophysical)|environment]], and [[gun]]s. The [[National Rifle Association]] 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 [[right to keep and bear arms|gun rights]] or [[gun control]]). 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 [[Abortion-rights movements|support of abortion]], may not necessarily share the candidate's other views on [[social issue]]s, such as [[right to keep and bear arms|gun rights]] or [[family values]].

==Single-issue parties==

A '''single-issue party''' is a [[political party]] 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).
<!--It is generally believed that single-issue parties are favored by voluntary voting systems, as they tend to attract very committed supporters who will always vote. Through systems like [[Instant-runoff voting|instant runoff voting]] and [[proportional representation]] they can have substantial influence on the results of elections. [[First-past-the-post voting]] systems tend to lessen their influence,{{citation needed|date=May 2019}} but local single-issue parties, such as [[Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern]], which sought to reopen the [[Emergency department|Accident and Emergency unit]] at [[Kidderminster Hospital]], may see more success under this voting system. This party won the [[Wyre Forest (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 2000s|Wyre Forest seat]], where the hospital is located, at two consecutive [[General election#United Kingdom|general elections]] (in [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001]] and [[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005]]) in the [[United Kingdom]]. The party went on to become a national party, the [[National Health Action Party]]. Similar parties in the UK are the [[Save Huddersfield NHS]] party which had representation on [[Kirklees Council]], and [[Save Chase Farm]] party.-->

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]], candidate [[Malcolm Jones (politician)|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]] accused many of these parties of being nothing more than fronts.<ref name=nsw>{{cite web |title = Full Day Hansard Transcript (Legislative Council, 10 November 1999, Corrected Copy)|url = http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hanstrans.nsf/V3ByKey/LC19991110}}</ref>
<!--A similar type of political party has been plentiful in the Netherlands, where they are called [[Testimonial party|testimonial parties]]. Testimonial parties are often concentrated around a specific set of principles or policies which they seek to promote without the compromises contingent on ordinary coalition politics. Examples of some successful testimonial parties are the [[Party for the Animals]], the [[Reformed Political Party]], or the former [[Pacifist Socialist Party]].

Other single-issue parties focus on the interests of a specific target group, such as [[List of minority political parties|ethnic minorities]], [[List of pensioners' parties|retirees]], and [[Student activism|students]].

[[Green parties]], [[cannabis political parties]] and [[Pirate Party|pirate parties]] which exist in a number of countries, are explicitly based around the single issues of [[environmental protection]], [[cannabis legalization]] and [[Opposition to copyright|copyright liberalization]] respectively.  These parties often evolve to adopt a full platform, however.-->

===Asia===
==== Japan ====
The [[NHK Party]] opposes the [[television licence]] system imposed by [[NHK]], the country's public broadcaster.

===Europe===
==== United Kingdom ====
The most electorally successful British single-issue party is the pro-[[Brexit]] [[UK Independence Party]] (UKIP), which later expanded to support other policies. Its former leader, [[Nigel Farage]], subsequently left UKIP and founded the [[Brexit Party]], which was later renamed [[Reform UK]] after the completion of Brexit.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-01-20 |title=The new Ukip? Nigel Farage offers 'full support' for another Brexit party |url=https://www.independent.ie/business/the-new-ukip-nigel-farage-offers-full-support-for-another-brexit-party/37729406.html |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Irish Independent |language=en}}</ref>

Other single-issue parties in the UK are anti-[[devolution in the United Kingdom|devolution]] [[Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party]] and [[Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party]], [[animal rights]] advocates [[Animal Protection Party]] and the [[Animal Welfare Party]] and the pro [[fox-hunting]] [[Countryside Party (UK)|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 Borough Council|Windsor and Maidenhead]] and [[Maldon District Council|Maldon]] respectively.

==== Germany ====
In Germany, [[Human Environment Animal Protection Party|Tierschutzpartei]] and [[Action Party for Animal Welfare|Tierschutz hier!]] are animal rights parties. There is also the [[Party for Rejuvenation Research]].

==== Poland ====
In 2019, an [[anti-environmentalist]] [[Political parties in Poland|Polish political party]] called the [[Party of Drivers]] ({{langx|pl|Partia Kierowców}}) was formed with the aim of "fighting for the rights of drivers and hauliers".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://anuluj-mandat.pl/post/anuluj-mandatpl-tworzy-program-partii-kierowcow-nowego-ugrupowania-na-polskiej-scenie-politycznej|title=Anuluj Mandat - Anuluj-Mandat.pl tworzy program Partii Kierowców - nowego ugrupowania na polskiej scenie politycznej|website=anuluj-mandat.pl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvp.info/42019281/powstala-partia-kierowcow-nie-bedziemy-uprawiac-polityki|title=Powstała Partia Kierowców. "Nie będziemy uprawiać polityki"|website=www.tvp.info|date=2 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/kraj/powstala-partia-kierowcow-chca-wystartowac-w-wyborach-do-pe/xffp1je|title=Powstała Partia Kierowców. Chcą wystartować w wyborach do PE|date=April 2, 2019|website=Onet Wiadomości}}</ref>

==== Norway ====
In Norway, there is a party called [[Patient Focus (Norway)|Patient Focus]], which supports the expansion of the hospital in [[Alta Municipality]], [[Finnmark]].

===United States===
The [[Anti-Masonic Party]] opposed [[Freemasonry]].

[[Rent Is Too Damn High Party|Rent is Too Damn High]] is focused on housing.

The [[Free Soil Party|Free-Soil Party]] opposed slavery.

The [[U.S. Marijuana Party|US Marijuana Party]] and [[Legal Marijuana Now Party|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]], [[Dignity Party (South Australia)|Dignity for Disability]], the [[Reason Party (Australia)|Australian Reason Party]], [[Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party]].

==See also==

*[[Big tent]]
*[[Identity politics]]
*[[Issue voting]]
*[[Protest vote]]
*[[Voting bloc]]

==References==

{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Single-issue politics| ]]