This chapter explores Swift’s vexed relationship with political partisanship. Swift was both a participant in and a commentator on party politics and this chapter considers both his participation and his commentary. The chapter is divided into three parts. The first sets out the political background during Swift’s years in England and considers his role as a pamphleteer and journalist. The second examines his gloomy assessment of partisanship, which remained a common feature of his writing from beginning to end. The third and final section traces the legacy of Swift’s writings on party – particularly his notion of a ‘national party’ – through the writings of his friend and political ally Lord Bolingbroke.