Political Parties, do we need them?

So I ask ...are political parties REALLY needed?

When I come to vote, I'll more than likely vote for the Lib Dems, because Labour are dicks, and the Conservatives are exactly the same.

The only problem with a Politician coming into office (say they became Prime Minister or President) without a Party, they'd rarely get things passed that other parties don't like. I don't know how many Parties battle it out in Congress, or whatever it is, but in Parliament it's Labour, Conservatives, and occasionally the Lib Dems. At the moment, Tony Blair is pushing a reforms thingy for education. A lot of his Labour back-benchers are against him, as are most of the Conservatives, and the Lib Dems.

Say the situation was exactly the same, but Tony Blair was a man without a party. First of all, how on earth did he get into office in the first place? and secondly, he'd get more or less EVERYTHING voted against by more or less everyone else (apart from his cabinet and some of the other ministers that agree with him).

In that scenario, absolutely nothing would be done, showing us how bad an idea it was for old Tony to run for office on his bill. However, there are probably one or two cases where it might work.

All in all, I'd have to say it isn't really that possible for Politicians to run on their own, and get things done.

We have two parties: Democrats (stereotypically liberal) and Republican (stereotypically conservative). Occasionally you'll see an independant/3rd party senator or representative, but they are the exceptions. 99% of the time it's those two parties going at it.