There are two major parties in Britain today,the Conservative and the Labour,which have been in power by turns since 1945.The twoparty system of Britain was formed in the course of the development of the capitalist state and the political parties. To strengthen the state machine,the British bourgeosie have let it come into being and exist in one form or another since the 17th century. P.S.Tregidgo once said,"The more parties there are,the less likely it is that any one of them will be strong enough in Parliament to control all the others; but when there are only two,one of them is sure to have a majority of seats. This helps to ensure a strong and stable government." This explains why the British have the twoparty system. The division into two parties grew out the establishment of a Protestant Church of England in the 16th century. Because of a purely religious difference of opinion,the Puritans were separated from the broad body of the Anglican Church. The non Puritan Anglicans were on the side of the King and Church,whose supporters were called by their opponents "Tories".The Puritans were for Parliament and trade,whose supporters are called by the "Tories" "Whigs".The Tories and the Whigs were in power by turns for a long time. In 1833,the Tory Party split into two and its name was changed to Conservative. In the 1860s the Whigs became Liberals. Since then,the Liberals and the Conservatives were in office by turns until 1922.They have some different opinions,but were both controlled by the rich. The working class became more and more unwilling to follow the Conservatives and the Liberals. They wanted to have their own party. So the Labour Party was formed by the trade unions. After 1922,the Labour Party gradually replaced the Liberal Party. Which of the following is true concerning the Tory Party or the Whig Party?
The Whig Party no longer exists in Britain. The Tory Party has kept its unity until the present day. The Whig Party has taken the place of the Liberal Party. The Tory Party has taken the place of the Conservative Party.