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uk politics > 1. democracy and participation > Flashcards

1. democracy and participation Flashcards

1
Q

power

A

the ability to make people do things that they may not want to otherwise

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2
Q

government

A
  • a set of institutions through which general rules of society are made and enforced
  • the aim of a government is to resolve conflict in public interest therefore the people give it power
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3
Q

legitimate government

A

the majority of people accept that the government has the authority to hold power and make rules if they win the election

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4
Q

the electorate and constitution limits the power of government through

A
  • checks and balances (separation of the powers)
  • elections offer retrospective accountability
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5
Q

direct democracy

A

where the laws and policies are determined by the public themselves

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6
Q

advantages of direct democracy

A
  • most genuine form of democracy
  • encourages participation
  • educates the public on issues that affect them
  • people must take responsibility for their choices
  • prevents power from being concentrated in the hands of the elite
  • everyone has a chance to voice their opinion
  • more of the population is happy with the result
  • up to date (reflects changing views)
  • fosters competition (gives an incentive to be better)
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7
Q

disadvantages of direct democracy

A
  • large populations make it hard to manage and can cause chaos
  • public may not have the time, interest or ability to vote
  • wealthy people can distort the debate - the possibility of manipulation of ordinary people
  • public may not be willing to vote for unpopular but necessary reforms
  • the majority can vote to oppress minority groups (tyranny of majority)
  • not everyone has the political education, information and/or understanding to make an informed vote
  • peer pressure
  • inconvenient and time consuming
  • popular protest and pressure groups are no longer needed
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8
Q

representative democracy

A

when people vote to choose politicians who will represent their views

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9
Q

advantages of representative democracy

A
  • more practical because of time restrictions and population size
  • elected representatives may have more experience and expertise
  • representatives can implement unpopular but necessary policies
  • representatives can be held accountable at elections
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10
Q

disadvantages of representative democracy

A
  • popular participation is limited
  • representatives may not reflect the public’s views
  • parties can have greater influence over representatives’ actions
  • low public interest and participation, leading to decisions being left at the hands of a small elite
  • our electoral system makes it more difficult for smaller parties to win
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11
Q

direct democracy is unlimited, direct and unmediated

A

in representative democracy, popular participation in government is limited, indirect and mediated

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12
Q

the different ways someone can be a representative

A
  • casual: sharing the same belief system/cause
  • ideologically: the party (eg labour)
  • constituency
  • demographically: eg race, gender
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13
Q

how are representatives elected in the uk

A
  1. an election is called
  2. election campaigns (releasing the public manifestos)
  3. on polling day, people vote for their MP based on their constituency
  4. votes are counted in each constituency, who ever has the most votes wins
  5. the party with the majority of seats forms a government
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14
Q

the three models of how MPs could represent us

A
  • trustee
  • doctrine of the mandate
  • descriptive representation
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15
Q

trustee

A
  • are chosen for their experience, knowledge and/or education
  • (this is usually used as an excuse for rebelling against the party whips)
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16
Q

advantages of trustees

A

avoids the tyranny of the majority

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17
Q

disadvantages of trustees

A
  • may make a decision that the constituents disagree with
  • their views could be outdated
  • could go rouge
  • undemocratic as not everyone has voted for them
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18
Q

doctrine of the mandate

A
  • in winning an election, a party gains a popular mandate (which is an instruction/command that gives authority to a person to act in a particular party)
  • this is based on a programme outlined in a party’s manifesto (a pamphlet that outlines the programme that a party intends to implement once in office)
  • this theory argues that it is the party, rather that the individual politician that represents the people
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19
Q

advantages of the doctrine of the mandate

A
  • consistency of party ideology
    more representative of what the electorate want
  • the public are aware of a party’s policy before they are elected - a more informed vote
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20
Q

disadvantages of the doctrine of the mandate

A

MPs are bullied into voting in line with the party

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21
Q

descriptive representation

A
  • elected representatives in democracies should represent not only the expressed preferences of their constituency or the nation as a whole, but also those their descriptive characteristics that are politically relevant
  • such as geographical area of birth, occupation, ethnicity, age and gender
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22
Q

participation crisis

A

to the point at which participation and engagement levels are so low that the legitimacy of the government needs to be called into question

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23
Q

democratic deficit

A

when democracy is not operating effectively for due to a lack of accountability amongst politicians and not all citizens can claim equal influence over decision making

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24
Q

formal participation

A

voting in general elections (usually measured by turnout numbers) and party membership

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25
Q

statistics on party membership

A
  • in 1953, the Conservative party had 2,800,000 members whereas in 2022, they had 172,000 members
  • in 1970, the labour art had 600,000 members whereas in 2022, they had 432,000 members
  • this could because of the rise of smaller or nationalist parties
  • the SNP had 104,000 members (2022)
  • the green party had 54,000 members (2022)
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26
Q

timeline of extending the franchise

A
  1. 1215 - the magna carter was the first limit on power of the king and recognition of barons and ordinary people’s rights (eg the right to the free trial)
  2. 16th century - king henry VIII forced to work with parliament to take over the church. power is still limited but king’s willingness to work alongside the government. parliament is still unelected
  3. 1689 - the bill of rights was first developed to protect ordinary citizens and force the king to work with parliament on law making.
  4. 17th century - civil war between the king and parliament (1642-1648). parliament asserted authority over the monarchy and he was executed
  5. 1832 - the great reform act allowed middle class men to vote
    1884 - the reform act extended to allow some working class men to vote
  6. 1918 - as a result of women’s suffrage movement and WW1, the representation of the people act was passed to allow votes to all men over 21 and women over the 30 who earned property on their own name
  7. 1928 - the 1928 representation of the people act allowed suffrage to men and women over 21
  8. 1969 - the final representation of the people act passed to lower the voting age to 18
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27
Q

proposals for the reform of uk democracy

A
  • more devolution
  • power of recall
  • house of lords reform
  • digital democracy
  • e-petitions
  • reform of the electoral system
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28
Q

more devolution

A
  • more voting may prevent people from voting
  • devolution increases the want for independence
  • turnout for devolved assemblies are lower than westminister
  • however, turnout is increasing
  • Wales - 45.3% (2016)
  • Northern Ireland - 54.9% (2016)
  • Scotland - 63.5% (2021, Scottish parliament elections)
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29
Q

power of recall

A

if an MP has done something wrong
- would make MPs more like delegates (limiting the Burkean principle of freedom of conscience)
- MPs would need to be sentenced by i prison or suspended for 21 days in the house of commons
- broadening the criteria would give the constituents more power
- e.g. conservative MP, Peter Bone, lost his seat after being removed by constituents in a recall petition, after being suspended from the commons after breaching the MP code of conduct

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30
Q

house of lords reform

A
  • the house of lords is unelected and therefore unaccountable
  • an elected HoL could become rival to the HoC, creating constitutional gridlock
  • making the lords an elected chamber would make westminister fully democratically accountable
31
Q

digital democracy

A
  • allegations of cyber interference by Russia in western elections indicated that e voting is more open to fraud
  • voting in your phone at your convenience would encourage more voting but it would no longer be secret and the possible of voter manipulation would increase
  • can be used as much to bully as to engage
32
Q

e petitions

A
  • gives the public more control over what is discussed in parliament
  • eg the extension of the meningitis B vaccination to children
  • giving e-petitions more power by making them automatically trigger a parliamentary vote would make parliament more accountable
33
Q

reform of the electoral system

A
  • by making votes count more, wasted votes and safe seats would be eliminated, driving up the incentive to vote
  • FPTP over rewards big parties, ensuring difficulty for other parties to be represented
  • would make a fairer connection between the votes a party receives and its representation in parliament
  • proportional representation would make coalitions governments more likely, making it more difficult to fulfil a manifesto
34
Q

extending the franchise: prisoners

A
  • John Hirst was a convicted murderer who campaigned for prisoners’ right to vote upon his release
  • courts passed it but the HoC denied it
  • the howard league is a long standing charity that campaigns for better conditions for prisoners
  • the league backed Hirst
35
Q

extending the franchise: votes for 16/17 year olds

A
  • successful in Scotland and Argentina
  • turnout is very high
  • supported by labour, liberal democrats and the green party
36
Q

extending the franchise: compulsory voting

A
  • eg in Australia and Belgium political education is prioritised
  • Australia has a 94% turnout in the last federal election (never fallen below 90%)
  • this is in comparison to the 65% in the 2010 general election
37
Q

arguments for compulsory voting

A
  • encourages participation
  • lots of political education
  • more legitimate government because more of the population voted for them
  • encourages people to talk, engage and have an opinion about politics
  • more minorities will be represented
  • parties don’t have to campaign to get people to vote
38
Q

arguments against compulsory voting

A
  • more careless votes (eg spoilt ballots and donkey votes)
  • doesn’t solve the problem of engagement
  • punishment is a waste of resources
  • time consuming
  • unfair advantage to the party at the top of the ballot
  • cocercive
39
Q

pressure groups

A
  • an organisation with shared aims that seeks to influence policy, often on a single issue through political or other means
  • eg BLM, PETA, extinction rebellion, amnesty international
  • aims aren’t always political
  • political means refers to lobbying, petitions, summoning reports, taking cases to court, organising boycotts and demonstrations
40
Q

pressure groups methods of gaining influence

A
  1. lobbying
  2. online action
  3. target companies
  4. direct action
41
Q

lobbying

A
  • lobbying is trying to influence government and parliament
  • visit local MPs during their constituency surgery hours and encourage them to raise certain arguments in a debate or to introduce a particular private member’s bill
  • the government regularly uses consultations to invite opinions from interested members of the public and pressure groups
  • use of e-petitions
  • select committees and public bill committees can invite pressure groups to give written and oral evidence to better improve their scrutiny and recommendations
42
Q

online action

A
  • with the rise of social media, even small, poorly funded pressure groups can launch a viral campaign
  • this can easily spread, educating and influencing the public
  • the website 38 degrees is an online community organising space where people can raise issues they are concerned about and others can easily join in by voting on what actions they should take next
  • can reach anyone anywhere with social media
43
Q

target companies

A
  • is becoming increasingly popular as government is hesitant to put off foreign investment and companies
  • the government would have to make a blanket legislation which applies to all companies
  • targeting the company directly through boycott or protest
44
Q

direct action

A
  • eg public protest, boycotting, occupation
  • supposed to be non violent otherwise they are not considered a pressure group (they are considered a terrorist group)
  • eg RSPCA - pressure group, animal liberation front - terrorist group
45
Q

pluralist democracy

A
  • political influence is dispersed among a wide variety of elected and non elected bodies to ensure fair competition and influence
  • the uk is a pluralist democracy
46
Q

types pressure groups

A
  • sectional
  • causal
  • insider
  • outsider
47
Q

sectional/interest pressure group

A
  • represents sectors of society of society and lobby government of behalf of those in that social group
  • eg british muslim council
48
Q

causal/promotional pressure group

A
  • promote a particular cause and can unite people across society
  • eg extinction rebellion
49
Q

insider pressure groups

A
  • have privileged access to government decision making as they have expertise in a particular area or links to politicians
  • eg british medical association
50
Q

outsider pressure groups

A
  • do not have expertise in an area that is of use to the government and lack links with policy makers
  • eg green peace or the ramblers association
51
Q

greensill scandal

A
  • example of how pressure groups can be undemocratic
  • David Cameron used his influence and friends in parliament to lobby for more money from the CCFF (the covid corporate financing facility, a scheme to provide financial support to UK businesses) for a multi millionaire company that went bust
52
Q

what determines the success of pressure groups in the uk

A
  1. money
  2. the group status
  3. how well the group represents people
  4. access points
53
Q

money

A
  • elite theorists argue that most successful pressure groups are more wealthy and more well connected
  • this can be seen as undemocratic
  • research suggests that members of pressure groups are disproportionately educated and wealthy (possibly because these people have more time/money to spend on non profit political activities)
54
Q

money - revolving door

A
  • the revolving door of politics refers to when government officials leave office to become lobbyists and when lobbyists become government officials
  • this is potentially undemocratic
  • 1,000 business appointments were taken up by outgoing ministers and civil servants between 2000-2014, with the potential to use their knowledge of government to except undue influence on behalf of their new employers
  • eg Bell Pottinger, a professional lobbyist, was filmed undercover boasting that he had convinced PM David Cameron to change copy right laws
55
Q

the group status

A
  • sectional - tend to have a fixed support base therefore success is relatively consistent
  • causal - success can fluctuate depending on circumstances and political landscape (eg climate change groups are currently successful or LGBTQ groups after Tony Blair’s premierships)
  • outsider - requires public support which can fluctuate
  • insider - gets lots of success due to links and status
56
Q

the three types of insider pressure groups

A
  1. specialist - have guaranteed insider status, within a more narrow area of expertise (eg WWF)
  2. peripheral - have insider status but are rarely needed by the government due to the nature of their interest/cause (eg dogs trust)
  3. core - two way relationship with policy makers over a broad range of issues (eg BMA, NFU)
57
Q

how well the group represents people

A
  • sectional pressure groups tend to be able to form a connection with their members
  • the exception can sometimes be trade unions as people join them for protection rather than to lobby
  • some causal groups (eg RSPCA) join for member benefits rather than for a passion for the cause
  • this can mean that membership does ta always equal success
58
Q

access points

A
  1. executive - hard to do, usually reserved for core insider groups such as the BMA, can be done through advisors or online petitions
  2. parliament - MPs can be a parliamentary spokesman (eg Frank Field, child poverty action group) and introduce a private members bill (eg David Steel, abortion bill), act as lobby consultants or join all party parliamentary groups
  3. courts - lobbying judges is not allowed but pressure groups can bring cases under the law to make a point or establish that the law supports their view (eg Gurkha veterans residency campaign 2000)
  4. devolved assemblies - are being increasingly targeted in areas that they have authority on
  5. media and public opinion - the final target (especially for outsider groups) when all other means have failed because even if you convince public opinion, the government still needs to be persuaded
59
Q

think tanks

A
  • a group designed to generate political ideas
  • they work closely with political parties
  • can be from different ends of the political spectrum but focus on a particular agenda
  • they are experts who can be consulted
  • eg right wing think tank, Adam Smith institution which promotes liberal economic ideas
  • eg left wing think tank, common wealth who are trying to adapt economic policy to modernise and consider the environment
  • eg demos, a cross party think tank which focuses on social policy
60
Q

professional lobbyists

A
  • professional firms and individuals who seek to influence politicians on behalf of a pressure group or businesses for a fee
  • much more controversial (especially since greensill)
  • designed to help more niche or small scale interest group
  • eg the raptor alliance - lobbyists put forward the concerns of pigeon racers who claim the RSPCA are killing off pigeons
61
Q

human rights

A

rights afforded to us simply because we are human, they should apply to every human everywhere in the world

62
Q

civil liberties

A

our right to only be subjected to laws that are thought to be in the interest of society

63
Q

rights in conflict example

A
  • Ashers gay marriage cake case 2014
  • a gay couple asked a baker to make them a cake in support of gay marriage
  • the bakers refused saying it when against their region/ their right to express their region which conflicted with the couple’s right to not be discriminated against
  • ruled as not discriminatory by the Supreme Court
64
Q

human rights timeline pre 2000

A
  1. the magna carta (1216): the foundation of british civil liberties. said that laws should be equal and everyone has a right to a free trial
  2. bill of rights (1689): William II accepted this, meaning he had to govern with the consent of parliament
  3. entick v carrington(1765): a court case which decided that the government can only act in accordance with law
  4. somerset v Stewart(1772): a court case which set the precedence of the ending of British involvement in the slave trade
  5. representation of the people act(1928): universal suffrage in the uk established
65
Q

human rights timeline post 2000

A
  • freedom of information act(2001): the public can have access to information held by public bodies as long as it doesn’t threaten national security; we can access our medical records and the media can access pay information of public officials
  • anti terrorism crime and security act (2001): suspected terrorists could be held without charge for up to 28 days
  • terrorism act(2006): the government could legally imprison foreign terrorists indefinitely without trial
  • equality act (2010): states that the public can’t be discriminated against in 9 recognised areas, including disability, age, race, sexuality and gender
  • investigatory power act (2016): personal data can be held electronically for law enforcement
66
Q

citizens of a democracy enter a contract with the state

A

it guarantees them certain rights and in return they have legal obligations such as obey the law, pay taxes, do civic duty (eg jury duty) and moral responsibility (eg voting in elections)

67
Q

key rights that are protected under the human rights act

A
  • fair and equal treatment under the law, including a fair trial and freedom from arbitrary detention
  • freedom of expression (speech and writing)
  • freedom of conscience, including religion
  • vote and join a party or pressure group
  • belong to an association (eg trade union)
  • freedom of movement
68
Q

some human rights are more contentious politically because

A
  • they cost a lot of money
  • conservative: privatisation, labour: up to the state
  • eg education, employment, health care, welfare provision
69
Q

the political issue of rights has grown in prominence

A
  • there has been an increase in the use of judicial review from 4,000 (2000) to 15,600 (2013)
  • however, in recent years, whilst did decrease from the peak is increasing
  • in 2022, there were 2,400 (up 5% from 2021)
70
Q

successful challenges to government policies have included:

A
  • the right of retired Gurkha soldiers to settle in the uk (2008)
  • the failure of government to consult fairly on compensation for building of HS2 (2013)
  • defenders argue that it enables the actions of the government to be scrutinised for legality
71
Q

criticisms of increased rights

A
  • the law places too much power in the hand of unelected judges who are making decisions
  • eg privacy law which is not converted by common law means that judges have appeared to give priority to the ECHR article 8, the right to privacy over article 10, freedom of expression
  • in 2000, max mosely, the head of F1 was given substantial damages when a story about his sex life was published in a sunday newspaper, he argued this breached his privacy
  • a further concern is that this route is available only to the rich who can afford to protect their privacy even though the threat of very expensive legal action which only they can afford
  • higher value on collective rights over individual
  • many on the right of the Conservative party feel that the act shows favour to under serving individuals and that insufficient attention is given to the collective rights of uk citizens
  • eg the terrorism act 2006
72
Q

GMB union representing Uber drivers

A
  • in October 2016
  • uber drivers claims to be employees and not self employed (collective) and this was to earn the right or holiday pay and minimum wage
  • however, many were unhappy because they enjoyed the freedom of being self employed (individual)
73
Q

ugandian man and the right to family life

A

a ugandian man attended a terrorist training camp was then considered a danger to the public and armed forces but was unable to be deported because of the right to family life as he has children

74
Q

christian and gay couple

A
  • in 2008, a christian couple refused a gay couple to stay in their B and B
  • one side argued that the EHCR allowed them to manifest religion and the other claimed discrimination
  • the gays won
  • upholding the rights of gay people but arguably suppressing the rights of religious people

uk politics (14 decks)

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