[3] Bipartisanship (in the context of a two-party system) is the opposite of partisanship which is characterized by a lack of cooperation between rival political parties.
[4] Bipartisanship can also be between two or more opposite groups (e.g. liberal and conservative) to agree and determine a plan of action on an urgent matter that is of great importance to voters.
This interpretation brings bipartisanship closer to the more applied notion of postpartisan decision-making; a solution-focused approach that creates a governance model with third-party arbiters used to detect bias.
This element is a central feature in the legislative process and is a bipartisan concept in the sense that it serves as a mechanism for achieving consensus and cooperation.
[14][15][6] Although the United Kingdom has an adversarial political system there have often been large areas of agreement between the Labour and Conservative parties that have often but not always also brought in the Liberal Democrats.
The reason they remain separate is due mainly to historical factors, with those who supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty in the 1920s eventually becoming Fine Gael, and those opposed would join Fianna Fáil and seek an independent Ireland.
In many areas such as openness to Foreign Direct Investment and a stated willingness to incorporate Northern Ireland the broad policies of the two parties were very similar.
[21] A more partisan tone tended to be taken on domestic policy and this could be sharper at some times such as Barack Obama's presidency with minority parties voting as a bloc against major legislation.