Let P be a parabolic subgroup of some general linear group GL V where V is a finite-dimensional vector space over an infinite field. The group P acts by conjugation on its unipotent radical P u and via the adjoint action on u , the Lie algebra of P u . More generally, we consider the action of P on the lth member of the descending central series of u , denoted by l u . Let u denote the nilpotency class of P u . In our main result we show that P acts on l u with a finite number of orbits precisely when u ≤ 4 for l = 0, or u ≤ 5 + 2l for l ≥ 1. Moreover, in case the field is algebraically closed, we consider the modality mod P l u of the action of P on l u . We show that mod P l u grows linearly in the minimal cases which admit infinitely many orbits (i.e., u = 5 for l = 0, or u = 6 + 2l for l ≥ 1), whereas the corresponding modality grows quadratically in all other infinite cases. These results are obtained by interpreting the orbits of P on l u as isomorphism classes of good modules over certain quasi-hereditary algebras and by a detailed inspection of the -representation types of these algebras.