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UK Politics > 1. Democracy and Participation -1.1 Assessment of current British democracy > Flashcards

1. Democracy and Participation -1.1 Assessment of current British democracy Flashcards

1
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?

What are 4 arguments for the strengths of British democracy?

A
  1. representative democracy/accountability/elected representatives/free, fair elections
  2. liberal democracy/pressure groups/media freedom/political parties are free to organise
  3. the UK has several tiers of government
  4. rule of law prevails
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2
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
Arguments for STRENGTH of British democracy
View 1 - What are the strengths of the UK’s representative democracy?

A
  • representative democracy is a practical form
  • governmental decisions are made by professionals
    e. g. they are rational, well informed and experienced
  • relieves public of the burden
  • tyranny of the majority is still avoided as parliament protects minority rights
  • our type of elections ensure high levels of accountability
  • government is answerable to Parliament
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3
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
Arguments for STRENGTH of British democracy
View 2 - What are the strengths of the British liberal democracy?

A
  • human rights and civil liberties are part of the political culture (ECHR AND UDHR)
  • the press and media are free of government interference (media exposes expenses scandal in 2009)
  • political parties are free to organise, express and campaign
  • pressure groups may also present their views in marches, meetings with politicians
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4
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
Arguments for STRENGTH of British democracy
View 3 - What various tiers of government does the UK have?

A

local: metro mayors
regional: Greater London Assembly
national: since 1997, devolved to Wales, Scotland and NI (initiate referendums and policies independent of British parl)

brings gov closer to people
means that quality and scope of representative democracy is expanded

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5
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
Arguments for STRENGTH of British democracy
View 4 - How is the rule of law upheld?

A

rule of law prevails
e..g politicians are not above the law and must act constitutionally

independent judiciary enforce this
they can go against the government
e.g. 2009 expenses scandals saw some MPs and peers taken to court (some even imprisoned)

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6
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?

What are 5 arguments of the disadvantages of British democracy?

A
  1. disadvantages of representative democracy/unelected institutions/unrepresentative parliament
  2. declining party membership/participation crisis
  3. weak and ineffective parliament (also as a result of the EU)/too powerful executive
  4. unfair and disproportionate voting system/limited party system and choice
  5. human rights and civil liberties inadequately protected
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7
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
Arguments for WEAKNESSES of British democracy
(disadvantages of representative democracy/unelected institutions/unrepresentative parliament)

View 1 - What are some disadvantages of representative democracy?

A

disadvantages of RD:

  • indirect and irregular popular participation
  • power transferred from the citizens to their representatives
  • do not have power to initiate referendums
    e. g. only been 3 nation-wide referendums in post WWII era
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8
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
Arguments for WEAKNESSES of British democracy
(disadvantages of representative democracy/unelected institutions/unrepresentative parliament)

View 1 - What unelected institutions are there? How is this undemocratic?

A

House of Lords

  • powerful yet are not elected and so are not accountable
  • they do not promote political participation

Monarchy/Head of State

  • unelected despite having a constitutional role
  • has some influence
  • not accountable

Civil Service

  • unelected
  • yet powerful
    e. g. head commissioner of MET, armed forces and prisoner service
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9
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
Arguments for WEAKNESSES of British democracy
(disadvantages of representative democracy/unelected institutions/unrepresentative parliament)

View 1 - How does the UK have an unrepresentative Parliament?

A

it does not reflect the social make up of the population

e. g. most politicians are white, middle age, middle class men
e. g. women, young people, working class, ethnic minorities are underrepresented

e.g. only 32% of MPs are women in 2017
socially unrepresentative institutions cannot possibly empathise with the needs of minority groups and women

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10
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
Arguments for WEAKNESSES of British democracy
(declining party membership/participation crisis)

View 2 - What statistics show that that each party in the UK has a declining party membership?

A

Tory:

  • membership is historically high
  • has been hit the worst
    e. g. almost 1/2 since Cameron became party leader in 2005

Labour

e. g. between 1997 and 2006: Labour membership has halved
e. g. party lost the equivalent of 27,000 members a year since start of decade

Lib Dem
increasingly difficult to find candidates to stand for election at a local level

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11
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
Arguments for WEAKNESSES of British democracy
(declining party membership/participation crisis)

View 2 - What is the counter argument that shows there has been some slight increase in party membership?

A

2015 ‘Corbyn phenomena’

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12
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
Arguments for WEAKNESSES of British democracy
(declining party membership/participation crisis)

View 2 - What are 5 implications of falling membership?

A
  1. 2016 - 1.5% of the electorate are members
  2. UK has lowest rate of party membership amongst European democracies
  3. Shortages of political ‘actors’
  4. Decisions on the countries future made by a narrower minority
  5. Party finance impacted as fewer fee paying members means parties overly rely on donations (from wealthy individuals and powerful interests)
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13
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
Arguments for WEAKNESSES of British democracy
(declining party membership/participation crisis)

View 2 - At what levels of government does it show there is a participation crisis? What are the statistics to go along with this?

A

Devolved institutions:
2016, Welsh assembly: 45%
2016, London Mayor: 46%

Local elections:
rarely reach 40% turnout

European elections:
1999 - 24% turnout
2014 - 35%
EU average is 43%

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14
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
Arguments for WEAKNESSES of British democracy
View 3 - How is British parliament weak and ineffective because of the executive?

A
  • dominated by the government/executive because the government usually has a majority in the house
  • (cannot represent the people or hold government to account)
  • HoL is weak
  • ‘elective dictatorship’ - royal prerogative means the PM is too powerful
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15
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
Arguments for WEAKNESSES of British democracy
(British parliament weak and ineffective)

View 3 - What does the royal prerogative involve? What are some examples of when a executive was being very powerful?

A

PM can:

  • declare war
  • sing international treaties
  • call a new general election

examples:
1997-2010: Labour only lost 4 whipped votes
Coalition: did not lose a single whipped vote
Sept 2017 - the Commons voted to give May’s government extensive powers to bypass Parliament in the EU Withdrawal Bill

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16
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
Arguments for WEAKNESSES of British democracy
(unfair and disproportionate voting system/limited party system and choice)

View 4 - In what 4 ways is the UK voting system unfair and disproportionate? Give an example of this unfairness.

A
  1. FPTP does not convert votes into seats fairly (does not reflect the preferences of the people)
  2. allows governments regularly to be formed with less than 50% of the popular votes
  3. millions of votes wasted
  4. voters are ‘forced’ to vote tactically

examples - 2015 conservative gov elected on 37%

17
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
Arguments for WEAKNESSES of British democracy
(unfair and disproportionate voting system/limited party system and choice)

View 4 - How is there a limited party choice?

A
  • two-party system
18
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
Arguments for WEAKNESSES of British democracy
(human rights)

View 5 -How are human rights inadequately protected?

A
  • unentrenched constitution
  • significant erosion of rights under pretext of terrorism
  • 1998 HRA can be repealed or amended with a simple majority as it is not entrenched
19
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?

In what 3 ways is the UK democracy in crisis?

A
  1. a participative crisis
  2. an institutional crisis
  3. representative crisis
20
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?

In what ways is there a institutional crisis?

A
  • parliament lacks legitimacy
  • tarnished by expenses scandal
  • civil liberties eroded
  • electoral system flawed
21
Q

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?

How is there a representative crisis?

A
  • electoral results
  • sections of society not represented
  • 2nd chamber no democratic mandate
  • political parties do not reflect public opinion
22
Q

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN DEMOCRACY?

What are 6 recent developments in UK democracy?

A
  1. more referendums
  2. devolution
  3. directly elected mayors/democratically elected Police Commissioners
  4. e-petitions
  5. Lords reforms/electoral reforms
  6. better protection of human rights
23
Q

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN DEMOCRACY?

Where are directly elected mayors? What do they do? What is a criticism of them?

A

London, Stoke, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool

transport

criticism - concentrate too much power in the hands of one person

24
Q

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN DEMOCRACY?

At what stages does an e-petition get acknowledged? What are some examples of successful petitions

A

100,000 - Petitions Committee

Examples:

  • 2016: Commons discussed a ban on Trump (574,000 signatures)
  • full disclosure of Hillsborough documents (156,000)
25
Q

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN DEMOCRACY?

What Lords reforms has there been? What electoral reforms have there been (example)?

A

House of Lord Act 1999 - removed most hereditary peers

PR:

  • PR in Euro, NI, Scot, Welsh and London elections
    e. g. UKIP and Green able to win seats in accordance
26
Q

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN DEMOCRACY?

What ways has there been better protection of human rights?

A
  • 1998 HRA (codified)
  • SOCPA 2005 restricted
  • Detention without charge restricted to 14 days since 2012
27
Q

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN DEMOCRACY?

What are 3 persisting problems with Britain’s democracy and areas where matters worsened?

A
  1. Commons not adequately reformed
    a. weak in holding the gov to account
    b. not representative
  2. problematic disproportionate FPTP voting
  3. declining participation
  4. power and influence of the EU have increased
  5. absence of a properly drafted and entrenched bill of rights

UK Politics (5 decks)

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