1.1 democracy and participation Flashcards
1
Q
Advantages of direct democracy?
A
- More representation - equal weight to votes.
- More participation as you will be better heard
- Removes need or trusted individuals (stop corruption?)
2
Q
Disadvantages of direct democracy
A
- Takes a long time (less efficient gov)
- Voter fatigue (a lot of decisions to make)
- Open to manipulation by cleverest/most articulate speakers
- Minority viewpoints disregarded (majoritarian system), tyranny of majority
3
Q
Advantages of representative democracy
A
- Efficient for policy making
- Parties represent public, give them a voice
- Reduces chances of tyranny of majority
- Elections allow representatives to be held to account
- politicians are better informed to not swayed by emotional appeas
4
Q
Disadvantages of representative democracy
A
- Elected body may not fully represent people’s views
- Minority’s voices too important?
- Politicians may put their parties interests before the people, betray election promises
- 2010 Lib Dem didn’t follow manifesto promise to scrap tuition fees (coalition with con)
- with FPTP representatives often chosen with less than 50% of vote
5
Q
Reasons for democratic reform in UK?
A
- Low turnout (65% in 2010 election) participation crisis
- FPTP makes for a two party system + unrepresented minorities
- HoL unelected so no democratic legitimacy
6
Q
Name recent important referendums
A
- Brexit (2016)
- Scottish Independence (2014)
7
Q
Voter Turnout 2019
A
- 67%
8
Q
Voter turnout 2001
A
- 59%
9
Q
2016 - Percentage of electorate that was a member of a political party?
A
- 1.6%
10
Q
Labour Party members 2016
A
- around 500 000
11
Q
Conservative Party members 2016
A
- just under 150 000
12
Q
Argument against participation crisis
A
- Direct action is more popular
- Pressure groups
- Protests
13
Q
YES to compulsory voting?
A
- Produce more representative Parliament
- Politicians will have to cater to whole of electorate
- People can still spoil ballot or not choose a candidate
14
Q
NO to compulsory voting
A
- Donkey voting
- Undemocratic to force ppl to vote
- Not address issues that make ppl not want to vote in first place
- wouldn’t stop politicians ignoring safe seats ad focusing campaigns on marginal seats
15
Q
Women enfranchisement?
A
- 1918 - Women over 30
- 1928 - Equal voting rights
16
Q
YES to Votes at 16?
A
- 16 yo have other legal rights like join army and leave school, why not vote
- 75% of 16-17 year olds voted in indyref (more participation)
- Issues often affect them, e.g tuition fees
- social media has granted political awareness to youth, they led recent movements like Fridays for Future climate strikes
17
Q
NO to Votes at 16?
A
- Few are actually in full time work
- 18-25 has lowest turnout, why would 16-17 be different
- Too young, lack life experience, still children
- know little about politics. And would misuse the right to vote
18
Q
What is a sectional group? Examples?
A
- Group that seeks to promote interests of specific group in society
- e.g Trade unions
- Membership often limited to ppl with certain qualifications/expertise
19
Q
What is a cause group? Any examples?
A
- Seeks to achieve certain goal on specific issue
- Greenpeace on environmental issues
- Many are also charities - e.g Oxfam
20
Q
Factors effecting pressure group influence
A
- Resources
- Tactics + Leadership
- Public support
- Gov attitude
21
Q
Think tank example
A
- Centre for Social Justice
- Set up by IDS in 2004
- Produced ideas used in 2010 for universal credit
22
Q
Human Rights milestones
A
- Magna Carta (1215)
- Bill of Rights (1689)
- Human Rights Act (1998)
- Equality Act (2010)?
23
Q
What did magna carta do
A
- Limits on royal power, king no longer above the law
- Established right of trial by jury
24
Q
What did equality act 2010 do?
A
- Made it illegal to discriminate on sex, race, religion, etc
- Codified previous acts on discrimination into one Act
25
Recall of MPs Act 2015
- if MP suspended from commons or go to jail for over 1 days
- if 10% of constituents. For thatMP sign petition, by-election is called
- example of direct democracy
26
Similarities between direct and representative democracy?
- implement will of the people on concept of majority rule
- both implemented at diff levels of gov (local, regional,national)
- in both cases people can be swayed by clever individuals
27
Differences between direct and representative democracy?
- D: individuals express opinions themselves (R: political parties s medium)
- D citizens more involved in decision making
- R: gov elected, held accountable by the people
- R: protection of minority (D: rule of majority)
28
There is a participation crisis. (Elections)
- Voter turnout hovering around 68%, much less than between 1945 and 1997 which was at around 76%
- Turnout even lower in second order elections and referendums like for devolved bodies and councils
- Low turnout calls strength of mandate into question
29
There is a participation crisis (party membership)
- only around 1.6% of electorate belongs to a political party (3.8% in 1983)
- Con party has just under 150,000 members by 2016 (400,000 mid 1990s)
- negative perception of MPs? Various scandals and broken promises?
30
No participation crisis (elections)
- 2014 Scottish independence referendum turnout of 85%
- 2016 EU referendum turnout of 72%
- ‘hapathy’ ppl are content and dont need to push for change
31
No participation crisis (party membership)
- surge in Labour Party membership 2015 (ed Milliband ade it possible to join for £3), party over 540,000
- after Indyref1, membership of SNP went up (125,000 members in April 2018, Scotland only has 5M ppl)
- public uses political parties as vehicle for political action
32
No participation crisis (other forms of participation)
- pressure group membership increase
-lots of demonstrations (e,g Iraq war, brexit,climate crisis), conventional politics have let people down and they are turning to new modes of expression
- social media
- e-petitions (revoke article 50 petition of march 2019 has over 6M signatures)
33
1918 Representation of the People Act
- 75% of pop could now vote
- all men over 21 and all women over 30 (who were householders or wives of house holders)
34
How do the e-petitions work
- 10,000 signatures = response from gov
- 100,000 signatures + backed by MP = considered for debate in Parliament
35
What is a pressure group?
-group that seeks to influence politics to achieve particular goal
- do not seek political office
- crucial to pluralist democracy
36
What are social movements? Key examples?
- usually seek to achieve single goal
- usually protests
- Fridays for Future Climate Marches by schoolchildren (started by Greta Thunberg)
- BLM 2020
- anti-Iraq War protests 2003 (started by Stop the War Coalition), had around 750,000 demonstrators
37
Insider group methods?
- lobbying
- negotiate with private contacts
- National Farmers Union give Con expertise in return for influence over policy
38
Outsider group methods?
- Social media campaigns
- Protests
- legal challenges against policies they disagree with (Countryside Alliance took case against banning of hunting to High Court in 2004 and failed)
- Trade unions go on strike
39
Stonewall successes?
- Case in European Court of Human Rights for banning homosexuality in armed forces and won (High Court and Court of Appeal said no previously)
- Making age of consent 16 in Sexual Offences Act 2000 (invoked Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 to override HoL opposition)
40
Marcus Rashford’s Campaign for Free School Meals?
- summer 2020, rashford teamed up with FairShare
- presure on UK gov to extend Free School meals to summer holidays
- used e-petitions, open letters
41
Wha was Snowdrop Campaign and why was it successful?
- campaign to ban use of handguns in UK
- successful due to strong public support (they were horrified by the 1996 Dunblane Primary School massacre)
42
What is a think tank?
- groups of experts brought together to investigate topics and offer solutions
- they have political leanings + strong connections to parties
43
Why have think tanks been criticised?
- They are filled with young people trying to use it as a springboard for political career
- David Milliband worked for Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) at the start of his career
44
What are lobbyists?
- members of professional organisations paid by clients seeking aces and influence over gov
-
45
Why is there unease about lobbying?
- some don’t like the idea of wealthy corporations gaining influence that way
- 2014, gov made it so that lobbyers have to register their activity with a minister or senior civil servant
46
What is the ‘revolving door’?
- former politicians lobby due to the connections they have
47
What are rights?
- Legally protected freedoms
- absolute, universal, fundamental
-
48
How were rights prior to the Human Rights Act 1998
- until then, no single document setting out people’s rights
- there were only negative rights (everything the law didn’t explicitly stop you from doing)
- some rights protected by acts of parliament, others derived from customs/common law
49
How are rights protected in the UK?
- Parliamentary legislation (Equality Act, Human Rights Act)
- Pressure groups
- Common law (e.g presumption of innocence)
50
What did Bill Of Rights do?
- increased Parliament’s power
- Limited monarchy power
51
What is the Human Rights Act 1998?
- passed by new labour in 1998
- enshrined European Convention on Human Rights into UK law (rights could be defended in UK instead of Strasbourg)
52
Arguments FOR HRA 1998
- new legislation is made compliant with it (Joint Committee on Human Rights helps with this)
- HRA educates citizens about their rights
53
Arguments AGAINST HRA 1998
- HRA stops terror suspects from being deported (favours undeserving individuals)
- Gives unelected judges too much power
- It is not entrenched and can still be repealed by act of parliament
54
What is the Freedom Of Information Act 2000
- Makes it easier for people to ask for information about the gov
- members of public gain right to access any info held abt them by public bodies
55
What is judicial review?
- judge reviews lawfulness of decision made by public body
- ultra vires case - gov has not acted beyond their power (e.g stretching secondary legislation too far)
56
What was the Policing, Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022
- greater power to police to impose restrictions on ‘unacceptable protests’
- accused of impeding on freedom of speech and right to protests
57
How did Blaire’s gov clash with HoL following terrorist attacks in 2000s
- terrorism led to gov measures that limited civil liberties to protect wider community
- right to detain terror suspects w/o trial bc of national emergency
- dec 2004, lords decided it was discriminatory
58
Arguments that rights are well protected in the UK
- Equaliy Act criminalises discrimination
- judiciary limits gov and protects rights
- HRA protects rights
- HoL upholds rights
59
Arguments that rights are NOT well protected in UK
- COVID + counter-terrorism measures show human rights can be infringed on to protect community
- Con gov has introduced legislation that goes against human rights
- judicial review gives power to unelected individuals
- HRA too weak
