ABSTRACT
Anyone asked to describe the main characteristics of the British party system in the period 1945 to 1970 would almost certainly begin by stating that it was essentially a two-party system. Commentators writing during this period suggested that the confusions of the inter-war years, characterised by minority and coalition governments, party splits, the rise of Labour and the decline of the Liberals, had given way to a clear two-party system which seemed well established for the foreseeable future.
