1.1: Democracy and participation

Question 1

What is Democracy?

Answer 1

DEMOCRACY

• A political system by which the people are involved in decision making in some way (either directly or indirectly).
• Founded in Greece and means ‘rule by the people’.
• The UK’s progression towards full democracy can be traced to the Magna Carta (1215) as well as the Anglo-Saxon ‘Witan’.
• There are two types of democracy:
  1. Direct Democracy
  2. Representative Democracy

Question 2

What is Direct Democracy?

Answer 2

DIRECT DEMOCRACY

1. A political system whereby all individuals express their opinions themselves and not through representatives acting on their behalf.
   a) Individuals take part themselves in the running of the country and deciding laws by expressing their opinions themselves such as a referendum.
   - This is consultative and participatory.
   b) Originated in ancient Athens, where adult male citizens had the right to take part in decision-making at public meetings.
   - Yet such a system would be impractical as a regular means of decision making in a large modern state.
   - Citizens are more active and involved in decision making.

Question 3

What is Representative Democracy?

Answer 3

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

1. A more modern form of democracy through which an individual elects a representative (and/or political party) to act on their behalf to exercise political choice.
   a) This is the usual form of democracy in the modern world.
   b) Representatives do not act as delegates (a person sent or authorised to represent others, in particular, an elected representative sent to a conference), but act as trustees merely taking instructions from voters and expected to exercise their judgement.
   c) If they do not satisfy voters, they can be held accountable and removed.
   - This means voters can retain sovereignty as they can decide whether or not to renew the mandate of their representatives.

Question 4

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Direct Democracy?

Answer 4

DIRECT DEMOCRACY

1. Advantages
   a) Gives equal weight to all votes, while the representative system has varying sizes of constituencies meaning no equal vote.
   b) Encourages popular participation in politics as expectations of people taking their duties as citizens seriously.
   c) Removes the need for trusted representatives, as people take responsibility for their own decisions.
   d) Develops a sense of community and encourages genuine debate as well as a voice instead of being in disagreement with the election of an MP for 5 years.
2. Disadvantages
   a) Impractical in large, densely populated modern states with complicated decision making and can prove to be expensive.
   b) Many people opt out and do not feel qualified to participate in decision making - so political activists decide what happens.
   c) Open to manipulation by the cleverest/articulate speaker to persuade people to support their viewpoint.
   d) Parliamentary institutions do not mediate the will of the majority, so minority views are disregarded and many may feel neglected in this circumstance.

Question 5

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Representative Democracy?

Answer 5

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

1. Advantages
   a) Politicians from parties, bringing coherence and giving people a real choice of representatives. Pressure groups form to represent different interests, prompting debate, encouraging pluralist democracy.
   b) Politicians are in theory better informed than the average citizen about the many issues on which they have a view.
   c) The only practical system in a large modern state, where issues are complex and often need a rapid response (such as invasion).
   d) Elections allow people to hold representatives to account.
   - Allows the electorate to renew the mandate of their representatives.
   e) Reduces chances of minority rights being overridden by the ‘tyranny of the majority’.
   - This is where the majority can use their votes to dominate or even oppress minority views.
2. Disadvantages
   a) Politicians may be corrupt and incompetent, may betray election promises or put loyalty to their party before their responsibility to the electorate.
   - Many MPs are disengaged from the public and do not adequately represent voters interests.
   b) Parties and pressure groups can be run by elites pursuing their own agendas, not genuinely representing the people.
   - Westminister ‘bubble’ disconnects the voters from their representatives.
   c) Minorities may still find themselves underrepresented as politicians are likely to follow the views of the majority to win.
   - Due to the FPTP system, major parties are overrepresented.
   - The social make-up of Parliament is also still primarily white, male and middle class.
   - In the 2017 general election, out of the 650 MPs, 8% are from ethnic minorities, 32% are female and 7% are LGBT+.
   d) Politicians are skilful at avoiding accountability, even when 5 years apart.
   - Some institutions, such as the House of Lords, are unelected and therefore unaccountable.
   e) May lead to reduced participation as people hand responsibility to politicians.
   f) Many MPs have outside interests, including second jobs which can further contribute to a conflict of interest and compromise their ability to represent.
   - EXAMPLE. George Osborne became editor of the Evening Standard while still an MP.

Question 6

What are the instances where direct democracy is used within a representative system?

Answer 6

DIRECT DEMOCRACY WITHIN A REPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM

1. National Referendums
   a) A referendum is a direct vote on a single issue, usually requiring a response to a straight yes/no question.
   b) They are not legally binding, meaning the government can ignore the results because the parliament is sovereign.
   c) The UK has had only three nationwide referendums:
   - Britain’s membership of the European Economic Community (European Union) in 1975 and 2016.
   - AV referendum in 2011.
2. Electronic Petitions
   a) If a petition on the government website reaches 100,000 signatures it will be considered for debate in the House of Commons.
   - This does not mean that legislation will have to be forthcoming.
   b) As a result of e-petitions, Parliament has had to engage with the electorate.
   - EXAMPLE. There were 2 votes of no-confidence in Jeremy Hunt as health secretary in 2015 and 2016.
   - EXAMPLE. Meningitis B vaccination is to be given to all children after 830,000 signed the e-petition in 2016.
   - EXAMPLE. A debate for a second referendum on whether the UK should leave the EU after 4 million people signed the e-petition.
3. Consultative Exercise
   a) These can be set up when governing bodies want to assess the likely reaction to their proposed policies.
   b) These provide an important way of engaging with the public on issues that directly affect them
   - Since it is a consultative exercise, what the public says is not binding and the effectiveness of the exercise will depend on how representative the survey is.
   c) EXAMPLE. Communities which will be affected have been consulted over the expansion of Heathrow and the HS2 rail link in 2018.
4. Open Primaries
   a) A small number of constituencies have opted to select Parliamentary candidates through open primaries, in which the public directly decides whom the candidate should be.
   b) Open primaries provide people with direct influence over whom the candidates for political office will be.
   - This is a traditional part of democracy in the USA, enabling people from outside party politics, such as Donald Trump, to be elected.
   - Whether or not this is a positive development divides opinion.
   c) EXAMPLE. The independent MP Sarah Wollaston became the Conservative Candidate for Totnes in 2009 when she won an open primary.
5. Election of the leadership of Political Parties
   a) All the main political parties allow their membership to decide whom the leader of their party will be.
   - This is a significant power since it may determine who the PM will be.
   b) Supporters argue that this makes the leadership accountable to the whole party.
   - Important as the labour party sees itself as a political party and popular movement.
   - But this may give too much influence to activists, who are often more radical than the electorate.
   c) EXAMPLE. In 2015, Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party with 59.9% of the vote and reelected in 2016 by 61.4%.
6. The 2015 Recall of MP’s Act
   a) This allows a petition to be triggered if an MP is sentenced to be imprisoned or is suspended from the House of Commons for more than 21 days.
   - If 10% of eligible voters in the constituency sign the petition, a by-election is called. Direct democracy is thus used to hold representatives to account.
   b) EXAMPLE. In 2018, Ian Paisley Junior survived a recall petition for not declaring 2 family holidays paid for by the Sri Lankan Government.
   - Only 9.4% of constituents signed this petition.

Question 7

What is the difference between Pluralist and Elitist Democracy?

Answer 7

PLURALIST DEMOCRACY
- A type of democracy in which a government makes decisions as a result of the interplay of various ideas and contrasting arguments from competing groups and different interest groups/organisation.

ELITIST SYSTEM
- Where one group dominates and make most of the decisions.

Question 8

What is Sovereignty and the 2 different types?

Answer 8

SOVEREIGNTY
- Power the government holds to make or change laws.

1. Parliamentary Sovereignty
   - Makes Parliament the supreme legal authority which can create or end any law. Courts cannot overrule its legislation and no Parliaments cannot pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change.
2. Popular Sovereignty
   - The idea that power is vested in the people and that those chosen to govern, as trustees (permitted by voters to make decisions) of such power must exercise it in conformity with the general will of the people.

Question 9

What is meant by a Democratic Deficit?

Answer 9

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT

1. The Government derives its legitimacy from the consent of the people. Democracy validates the policies of those who exercise power.
   a) Legitimacy is the legal right to exercise power, with the universal acceptance by the people that an institution should hold power and responsibility (e.g right to rule after an election).
   b) However, there are concerns that the UK is suffering from a ‘democratic deficit’ as decisions are taken by people whose appointment lacks adequate democratic input or are not subject to proper accountability.
   - Democratic Deficit = A flaw in the democratic process where decisions are taken by people who lack legitimacy, not having been appointed with sufficient democratic input or subject to accountability. Institutions and their decision-making procedures suffer from a lack of democracy and seem inaccessible to the ordinary citizen due to their complexity.

Question 10

What are the positives and negatives of the UK Political System?

Answer 10

UK POLITICAL SYSTEM

1. Positives
   a) Devolved Governments
   - Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and elected mayors for London and other English cities, enabling more local decisions.
   b) Independent judiciary
   - Upholds the rule of law and protects a wide range of personal freedoms.
   c) Free media
   - Challenges government policy and exposes the misdeeds of politicians.
   d) Free and fair elections
   - Mostly free of corruption and intimidation, in recent years supplemented in opportunities to vote in referendums.
   e) A wide range of political parties and pressure groups
   - With many people belonging to.
2. Negatives
   a) Underrepresentation of minority viewpoint due to the voting system
   - As the Commons are elected by first past the post’ system, which produces a mismatch between votes cast and seats won.
   b) House of Lord’s lacks legitimacy
   - It’s unelected yet through appointment, with endeavours to alter system are limited with the partial exception of (Independent House of Lords Appointments Commission) to ensure different professions and experience are present - but lacks democratic legitimacy.
   c) Lacks protection for citizens rights
   - Human Rights Act is inadequate as governments can suspend articles of the Act in certain situations.
   d) Control of sections of the media for powerful business interests
   - The Murdoch group has owned many British newspapers (The Times…).

Question 11

Is there a participation crisis in the UK?

Answer 11

PARTICIPATION CRISIS
- A lack of engagement by a significant number of citizens to relate to the political process either by choosing not to vote or to join or become members of political parties or to offer themselves for public office.

1. Is there a Participation Crisis?
   a) Average turnout at general elections from 1945 to 1997 was 76%.
   - EXAMPLE. Yet in recent years it has been between 59% to 62%, the younger generation bears the lowest turnout.
   b) When the governing party seems sure of success at the polls, turnout is low.
   - EXAMPLE. In 2001, when it seemed Tony Blair had an easy victory against William Hague’s and his lack of popular enthusiasm, turnout was just 59.4%.
   c) ‘Second-order’ elections in devolved Parliaments have low turnouts as they are seen as less powerful and therefore unlikely to make a major difference in people lives.
   - EXAMPLE. The Welsh Assembly had a turn out of 45.3% in 2016.
   d) Local elections attract poor turnouts - 33.8%.
   - A sign of Political Apathy.
   - EXAMPLE. In Stoke On Trent in February 2017 the By-Elections with had a 38.2% turnout.
   e) Participation depends on the issues at stake.
   - EXAMPLE. Turnout for the Scottish Referendum in September 2014 was 84.6% while 72.2% took part in the 2016 EU Referendum.
   - EXAMPLE. When the opposition in 1983, 2017 and 2019 was radical socialist, voting declined by 4%.
   f) Membership of political parties changes.
   - EXAMPLE. The Conservative Party has shrunk from 400,000 in the mid-1990s to 124,000 by 2018.
   - EXAMPLE. Labour Party membership has increased from 190,000 in Tony Blair’s reign to 552,000 in 2018 under Jeremy Corbyn due to grassroots enthusiasm for Corbyn (momentum) and the introduction of Ed Milliband ‘one member, one vote’.
   g) There has been distrust in politicians and voter apathy.
   - EXAMPLE. In 2009, The Daily Telegraph published widespread evidence of abuse to the system that allowed MP’s to claim expenses for living costs which led to a compilation of apologies, repayments and even 5 MP’s and 2 House of Lords members being sentenced to prison terms.
   - EXAMPLE. In 2016, Ipsos MORI recorded that only 21% of the population trusted Politicians.
   h) EXAMPLE. Comparison of turnouts at other elections in 2017.
   - Dutch General Election = 81.9%.
   - German Federal Election = 76.2%.
   - British General Election = 68.6%.
   - USA Presidential Election = 55.7%.
2. There hasn’t been a participation crisis
   a) EXAMPLE. Some general elections do inspire high levels of turnout.
   - 1964, Harold Wilson’s dynamic campaign aimed at ending ‘13 wasted years’ of Conservative rule (77.1% turnout).
   - February 1974, The ‘Who Governs Britain?’ crisis general election called by Edward Heath (78.8% turnout).
   - 1979, Margaret Thatcher challenging James Callaghan in the wake of the ‘Winter of Discontent’ (76% turnout).
   - 1992, John Major’s soapbox campaign against Labour’s Neil Kinnock (77.7% turnout).
   b) Yet, although democratic participation has decreased in the sign of voting, it could be suggested that direct action has been more recognised in modern-day politics as well as social media allowing e-democracy through e-petitions where you can register your viewpoint online. This new political engagement.

Question 12

What is Political Apathy?

Answer 12

POLITICAL APATHY

- Lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern towards political matters.

Question 13

What are proposals for reform of UK Democracy?

Answer 13

REFORM OF UK DEMOCRACY
1. Voting Rules.
a) Changing election day from Thursday to Sunday, as in mainland Europe.
b) Allowing people to vote anywhere in their constituency rather than insisting on attendance at a particular polling station.
c) Allowing voting over several days or via postal voting
e-voting (online).
d) Reduce voting age from 18 to 16 (allowed in the Scottish Referendum).
e) Making voting compulsory (failure to turn up leads to a fine).
f) Allowing prisoners the vote.

2. Further Devolution
   a) Giving people greater self-determination by voting on a localised level.
   b) May not ensure enthusiasm.
   - EXAMPLE. 78% of voters voted against a North-East assembly in 2004.
   c) Elected mayoral elections have a low turnout.
   - EXAMPLE. London Mayor 2016 = 45.3% turnout.
   - EXAMPLE. Manchester Mayor 2016 = 29.9% turnout.
3. Power of Recall
   a) Recall of MPs Act was passed in 2015, enabling voters to trigger a by-election if 10% of them sign a petition.
   b) Only can happen if they are sentenced to prison or suspended from the House of Commons for at least 21 days.
   - By broadening the criteria, this could give constituents considerably more power.
   - EXAMPLE. In the USA, 18 states have recall provisions and in 2003, the governor of California, Gray Davis was recalled over his failure to balance the budget.
4. House of Lords Reform
   a) The House of Lords is unelected and unaccountable.
   - Its membership is. selected through political patronage.
   - EXAMPLE. In 2016, David Cameron appointed 13 peers from among his political allies.
   b) However, although an elected chamber would make them democratically accountable, there is a danger that they could rival the Commons, creating constitutional gridlock.
5. Digital Democracy
   a) By facilitating voting and encouraging electronic political discussion, it will encourage greater political engagement and higher turnout.
   b) Is problematic as:
   - Voting on your mobile phone at your convenience would mean that voting was no longer carried out in secret, so the possibility of voter manipulation would increase.
   - Allegations of cyber-interference in Western elections by Russia indicates that electronic voting is more open to fraud.
   - The way in which Politicians use twitter can encourage populist sloganeering.
   - The standard of debate on social media indicates that activists can use this as much to bully as to engage in considered debate.
6. Electronic Petitions
   a) By making e-petitions more powerful, by making them automatically triggering a Parliamentary vote would make Parliament more accountable.
   b) However, this could bog Westminister down in unconstitutional and impractical debates.
   - EXAMPLE. Some of the most popular e-petitions have called for banning Donald Trump from the UK, which is not even Parliaments right since the responsibility lies with the Home Secretary.
   - EXAMPLE. In 2019, an e-petition calling for the UK to stay in the EU gathered over 6.1 million signatures.
7. Reform of the Westminister electoral system
   a) Changing the electoral system on proportional representation (AV), so that it more accurately reflects voters’ preferences, the minority being represented.
   - EXAMPLE. In 2011, 67.9% of the electorate voted in favour of not replacing FPTP with AV.
   b) Incites issues.
   - Proportional representation would make coalition governments more likely, making it difficult for political parties to carry out manifesto commitments.
   - EXAMPLE. In the 2017 GE, the highest percentage of the electorate voted Conservative (42.4%) or Labour (40%) in any GE since 1970. This shows that the UK is not exactly a multiparty democracy.

Question 14

What is Suffrage, and what determines it in the UK?

Answer 14

SUFFRAGE/FRANCHISE
- The ability or right to vote in public elections. Many different factors decide whether or not you have this ability.

1. You CAN vote if you’re:
   - Over the age of 18.
   - Citizens of the UK, Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth citizens.
   - UK nationals who have lived overseas for under 15 years.
2. You CAN’T vote if you’re:
   - Under the age of 18
   - EU Citizens (except the Republic of Ireland), yet they can vote in local elections.
   - Members of the House of Lords (as they have a permanent voice in one of the two houses of parliament).
   - Prisoners (Yet this has been challenged by the European Court of Human Rights, yet the Government has decided to ignore it) or those who have been convicted of corruption of illegal electoral practices are barred for five years.
   - Those compulsory detained in a psychiatric hospital.

Question 15

What has been the historical development of franchise in the UK through Acts of Parliament?

Answer 15

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF DEMOCRACY

1. Early History of Suffrage (Middle ages to early 19th Century) -
   a) Two types of constituency.
   - The counties and the boroughs (towns) which varied in size. In the constituency, you could vote if you owned a freehold property worth at least 40 shillings or £2 in value.
   - In boroughs there were other conditions based on traditions which varied in different boroughs, such as in some, all freemen were entitled to vote, while in others, it depended on the property or local taxes.
   b) Distribution of Parliamentary seats had not kept pace with economic growth and population movement, so older, smaller towns held a historic right to have an MP. While in other a wealthy patron was effectively to nominate an MP.
   - While emerging industrial towns were yet to acquire a representative of their own.
   c) Plural voting allowed wealthy men who owned property in more than one constituency to have more than one vote and women were excluded from voting.
   - Plural Voting = the system or practice of casting more than one vote, or of voting in more than one constituency.
   d) This made the electorate 400,000 men by the 19th century.
2. The Great Reform Act 1832
   a) Abolishing the separate representation of the most underpopulated ‘Rotten Boroughs’ and redistributing seats for separate urban areas, such as Manchester
   Voting for people such as ‘tenant farmers’ and smaller property holders.
   b) Creating a standard qualification for the franchise in all boroughs, so it involved, so it applied to all male householders who lived in properties valued at least £10 per annum, the middle class were growing in importance thanks to the industrial revolution.
   c) Increased the electorate to 5% of the adult population.
3. Reform Act 1867
   a) Enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the first time.
   - Borough household (tradesmen, shopkeepers) were enfranchised.
   b) The Ballot Act 1872 made voting in secrecy compulsory, so protecting citizens right to vote in any way they wish.
   c) 13% of the adult population.
4. Representation of the People Act 1884
   a) Rural householders (farmworkers, miners) put on the same footing as borough ones.
   b) Established the modern one member constituency in the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.
   c) 25% of the adult population.
5. Representation of the People Act 1918
   a) The Act extended the franchise in parliamentary elections, also known as the right to vote, to men aged over 21, whether or not they owned property, and to women aged over 30.
   b) 75% of the adult population.
6. Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928
   a) Widened suffrage by giving women electoral equality with men.
   b) 100% of the adult population.
7. Representation of the People Act 1948
   a) Abolishing plural voting.
   - This includes the abolition of the twelve separate university constituencies.
   b) One person, one vote.
8. Representation of the People Act 1969
   a) Extended suffrage to 18- to 20-year-olds.
   b) Reflecting changing attitudes in society about adulthood.
   - The opportunities and responsibilities of young people had developed.
   - The extension of university education, greater sexual freedom provided by easier access to conception, and the increased earning potential of young people.

Question 16

What is a rotten borough?

Answer 16

ROTTEN BOROUGH
- A borough/constituency wherein virtually no one can vote, the choice of MP typically being in the hands of one person or family.

Question 17

What is the historic difference of suffrage between the UK and the USA?

Answer 17

SUFFRAGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UK AND USA
- Although class, gender and age remained obstacles, ethnicity was never specified as the grounds for exclusion from the franchise.

Question 18

What is the difference between the Suffragists and Suffragettes?

Answer 18

SUFFRAGIST

1. NUWSS (National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies) was formed in 1897 from numerous suffrage societies.
   a) Under the leadership of Millicent Fawcett, supported by prominent middle-class women campaigning peacefully for the vote through peaceful demonstrations, petitions and lobbying MP’s to persuade that women deserved the vote

SUFFRAGETTE

1. The WSPU (Women’s Social and Political Parties) was formed in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst and two of her daughters.
   a) It attracted both middle and working classes and used more militant tactics in an aim to attract publicity and put pressure on Parliament through active attacks on well-known institutions, political meetings or prominent male-dominated public activities.
   - In 1913, Emily Davison threw herself under the King’s Horse at the Epsom Derby.
   b) The motto was ‘Deeds not Words’ wanted to highlight the disparity at a faster rate than NUWSS, yet received both hostility and sympathy to their cause (hunger strike led to force-feeding publicity).
   - Actions speak louder than words.

Question 19

Why were women denied the vote?

Answer 19

DENIED THE VOTE

1. Women were denied the vote because:
   a) Seen as physically, mentally, emotionally and morally inferior to men.
   b) Distrust in voting rationally.
   c) Women involved in Politics would neglect their responsibilities at home (raising kids).
   d) Public life was seen as the man’s sphere of influence and responsibility.
   e) Assumed women didn’t need to vote as husbands and fathers took responsibility.
   f) Many prominent women including Queen Victoria agreed to the incapability of understanding politics.

Question 20

How did suffrage progress for women from 1894?

Answer 20

PROGRESS IN WOMENS SUFFRAGE

1. Illogically, women were able to vote in local council elections after the 1894 Local Government Act but not able to vote in parliamentary elections.
   a) This was in the view that only men should have a say in National and Imperial matters.
2. There was a pressure to give all working-class men the vote, in recognition that many who served in the Great War were not householders (no stake in the political system that they were expected to lay their life to).
   a) Women were suggestively given the vote due to many being employed in critical industries to contribute to the war effort which successfully raised their self-image and sense of individual identity.
   b) This gave women over the age of 30 who were householders, or wives of one, the vote.
   - Many felt that the campaign would restart if they didn’t give them the vote.

Question 21

Should voting be made compulsory?

Answer 21

COMPULSORY VOTING

1. Yes
   a) Voting is a civic responsibility, like jury service. If citizens are not required to fulfil the duties of citizenship then the principles of civic society are undermined.
   - 22 countries have introduced some form of compulsory voting.
   - EXAMPLE. Belgium was the first in 1892, in the 2019 federal election, turnout was 88.4%
   - EXAMPLE. Australia required citizens to vote in national elections since 1924. In 2019, turnout was 91.9%.
   b) Political apathy is a problem in many liberal democracies.
   - Limited numbers of people voting can undermine the legitimacy of the result, especially if turnout falls beneath 50%.
   - It produces a parliament that is more representative of the whole population.
   - EXAMPLE. In the 2016 US Presidential election, just 58% of the electorate voted.
   - EXAMPLE. In the 2019 election, turnout was 67.3% (it had been 77.7% in 1992).
   c) Those not voting are often ethnic minorities, the poorest in society (DE voters) and young people.
   - This means that political decision making often favours older and wealthier voters.
   - Compulsory voting would mean that politicians would have to be responsive to all shades of political opinion.
   d) Compulsory voting does not have to force people to make a choice.
   - EXAMPLE. In Australia, the voter can spoil their ballot if none of the candidates appeals to them. They must, though, attend a polling station.
   e) The legal requirement to vote can have an important educative role.
   - If people have to vote, they will be more likely to inform themselves of the political choices open to them.
2. No
   a) The public has the right to choose whether or not to vote in an election.
   - It is up to politicians to mobilise public enthusiasm by providing reasons to vote.
   - Compulsory voting could, therefore, remove the incentive for politicians to engage with the public (undemocratic).
   b) The votes of politically disengaged citizens will carry less weight than the votes of those who take their civic responsibilities seriously.
   - Random voting could undermine the legitimacy of the result.
   c) Compulsory voting is based on coercion, which is alien to the British political system.
   - Voting is a civic right but it is not a duty such as the payment of taxes.
   d) According to liberal political theory, the extension of the power of the state over the individual ought to be resisted since it limits our right to act in the way we wish.
   - The British state has traditionally intervened as little as possible in the liberties of its citizens (National Citizenship Service is voluntary).
   e) Not voting can be a positive decision to register dissatisfaction with the candidates or the process (it doesn’t solve reasons as to why people don’t vote).
   - EXAMPLE. Only 25% of the electorate voted for police commissioners in 2016, which may indicate that voters regard the post as insignificant.
   - Forcing the public to vote for a choice they disagree with is an infringement of civic rights.

Question 22

What are the arguments for votes at 16?

Answer 22

VOTES AT 16

1. Yes
   a) At age 16, young people can exercise significant responsibility.
   - They can engage in sexual relations, marry, pay tax and join the armed services, so it is irrational that they are regarded as not mature enough to vote.
   b) The introduction of citizenship lessons into the school curriculum means that young people are now better informed about current affairs and so can make educated political decisions.
   c) National Citizens Service is encouraging young people to have a stake in society, which would be further entrenched by voting at 16.
   d) Most local education authorities (LEAs) hold elections for the UK Youth Parliament, which has been praised by politicians such as the speaker of the House (John Bercow) for its positive campaigning.
   - EXAMPLE. In 2017, 955,000 young people aged 11 - 18 determined what the Youth Parliament would debate as part of the Make Your Mark Campaign.
   e) The 2014 Scottish Independence referendum demonstrated huge engagement by the 16- and 17- year olds.
   - EXAMPLE. 75% of this age group voted, and according to Ruth Davidson: ‘the democratic effect turned out to be entirely positive’.
   - Since 16- and 17- year olds can vote for the Scottish Parliament, it is illogical that they cannot vote for the Westminister Parliament.
   f) Providing young people with the opportunity to vote earlier will encourage them to take their duties as citizens earlier; especially as these habits can be encouraged while they are still at school.
   - It would give young people a say in their futures which will directly impact them, such as University fees, allowing parties to shape their policies around the electorate.
   g) The Votes at 16 Coalition was established in 2003 to bring together groups such as NUS and the British Youth Council to campaign for lowering voting age.
   - This movement has gathered a huge online presence #VOTE16.
   - In 2017 and 2018, a Private Member’s Bill to reduce the voting age to 16 failed in the House of Commons, instead it depends on cross-party support.
2. No
   a) Some of these claims are misleading.
   - Parental permission is needed to join the army at 16 or 17, and apart from in Scotland, parental permission is required to marry before 18.
   b) Young people are not regarded as responsible enough to buy alcohol or cigarettes themselves until the age of 18, so it is disingenuous to claim that 16- and 17-year-olds are capable of exercising all adult responsibilities.
   c) Most 16- and 17- year-olds are still in part- or full-time education.
   - They are therefore less likely to pay tax and so do not have the same stake in society as those who are older.
   d) Voting turnout among 18- to 24-year-olds is lower than other age groups, so allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote could actually compound the problem of youth apathy.
   - EXAMPLE. The Isle of Man has enfranchised 16- and 17-year-olds. The turnout in this age group has declined from 55.3% in 2006 to 46.2% in 2016.
   e) 16- and 17-year-olds have few adult life experiences on which to base their voting decisions.
   - They are thus more likely to be manipulated into voting in a certain way by social media pressure.
   f) Although Scotland has reduced the voting age to 16, this does not mean it is the right thing to do.
   - Very few countries allow voting at 16, so the UK is within the political mainstream by granting the franchise at 18.
   g) The Labour Party under Corbyn has been so closely identifying itself with the youth vote that reducing the voting age to 16 would be an act of political partisanship.

Question 23

What is the case for Votes for Prisoners?

Answer 23

VOTES FOR PRISONERS

1. In the UK, prisoners are not entitled to vote.
   a) This is because they are regarded as having renounced the right of citizenship for the duration of the time that they are incarcerated.
   b) In 2017, the government offered to allow the small numbers of prisoners on day release the right to vote.
2. There have been calls for reform.
   a) John Hirst brought 2 cases to the British government that prisoners were being denied a fundamental human right.
   - This was dismissed by the court in 2001.
   - In 2004, the European Court of Human Rights declared that the blanket ban on prisoner voting was contrary to Article 3 of the First Protocol of the European Convention of Human Rights.
   b) Pressure groups such as Liberty and the Howard League for Penal Reform support prisoner voting.
   - Unlike voting at 16, there has been very little public pressure for a change in this law.
   - EXAMPLE. When the issue was debated in the Commons in 2011, it gained cross-party condemnation, with 234 MPs against and only 22 MPs in favour.

Question 24

What is a pressure group and how are they categorised?

Answer 24

PRESSURE GROUPS

• A group seeking to influence government policy or another authority (business activity) to secure the interests of their members and supporters.
• This could be encouraging them to adopt their ideas or not pursue a policy of which they disapprove.
• Yet the term pressure group is inclusive and can be classified in various ways, such as:

1. Sectional/Interests Groups
2. Cause/Promotional Groups
3. Social Movements
4. Insider Groups (relationship with the government)
5. Outsider Groups (relationship with the government)

Question 25

What is a Cause/Promotional group?

Answer 25

CAUSE/PROMOTIONAL GROUP

1. Seek to promote issues of interests to its members and supporters concerning a particular topic.
   a) They are heavily focused on achieving a particular goal/publicising to an issue.
   b) EXAMPLE. Friends of the Earth
   - United in protecting the environment.
2. A special category of cause group is one that promotes the interests of a group on society - usually, one that cannot stand up for itself as members don’t belong to a social group for which they campaign.
   a) EXAMPLE. Shelter
   - Most members of the housing charity are not homeless themselves but stand up for a group that cannot necessarily stand up for their rights.
   b) EXAMPLE. Greenpeace
   - Deeks to promote environmental issues and the rights of animals.

Question 26

What is a Sectional/Interests group?

Answer 26

SECTIONAL/INTEREST GROUP

1. Seek to protect the interests of members (an occupation or another group in society).
   a) EXAMPLE. Muslim Council of Britain
   - Represents the interests of British Muslims.
   b) EXAMPLE. National Union of Students (NUS)
   - Represents the interests of students.
2. Membership is usually restricted to people who meet specific requirements, such as professional qualifications in a particular field.
   a) EXAMPLE. Law Society is only open to solicitors
   b) EXAMPLE. AA, Automobile Association to protect car owners.
   c) EXAMPLE. CBI, Confederation of British Industry to represent the interests of business leaders and entrepreneurs

Question 27

What is a Social Movement?

Answer 27

SOCIAL MOVEMENT
1. Very similar to cause groups but are more chaotically structured and less organised as well as usually being political radical and seek to achieve a broader objective.

2. Pressure groups can often emerge from social movements.
   a) EXAMPLE. ‘Camps for Climate Action’.
   - For short periods in 2007-10 to protest the expansion of Heathrow airport, coal power stations in Yorkshire and other environmental targets
   b) EXAMPLE. Extinction Rebellion.
   - A social movement directed at combating climate change following a global movement/marches at ‘Friday for Futures’.

Question 28

What is the difference between an Insider and Outsider group?

Answer 28

INSIDER GROUPS

1. Have the privileged access to government decision making.
   a) They tend to have objectives that are broadly in line with the views of the government, increasing their leverage.
   - Access Points - The points at which a group can apply pressure.
   b) They rely on private contacts with ministers and civil servants to negotiate behind the scenes.
   - EXAMPLE. Tony Blair was keen to advance the rights of gay people so the LGBT Foundations was liaised as a vital source of information.
   c) Insider groups are subdivided into two groups:
   - High profile groups.
   - Low profile groups.
   d) Trade Unions often gained insider status under a Labour Government.
   - EXAMPLE. Jack Jones, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ Union was often called the ‘most powerful man in Britain’ in the 1970s for the influence he wielded on PMs.
   e) EXAMPLE. National Farmers Union (NFU).
   - Has a close link with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
   - Yet tends not to publicise their achievements in order to avoid offence.
   f) EXAMPLE. British Medical Association (BMA).
   - Represents doctors and so possesses specialist information which governments wish to consult.
   g) EXAMPLE. Howard League for Penal Reform
   - An impartial organisation which can supply the home office with important information concerning prison, police and youth crime.

OUTSIDER GROUPS

1. Not to be seen to be influencing the government or not consulted by the government.
   a) Their objectives may be so far outside the political mainstream.
   - EXAMPLE. The Gurkha Justice Campaign achieved residency rights for Gurkhas who served in the British military because of its high profile campaign.
   b) They resort to less discreet, media-heavy methods to draw attention to their concerns.
   c) Many groups move from Insider to Outsider due to Political circumstances.
   - Such as Trade Unions changing power under Thatcher. d) What mainly distinguishes them are their methods.
   - EXAMPLE. SPEAK campaign, an animal rights protest try to intimidate animal testing laboratories into ceasing their work are unlikely to enter dialogue with the government.
   - EXAMPLE. Black Lives Matter UK, obstructed flights at London City Airport in September 2016 to draw attention to their claim that ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by pollution.

Question 29

What are the different tactics that Pressure Group use?

Answer 29

PRESSURE GROUP TACTICS

1. Indirect Action
   a) Publicity.
   b) Leaflets / Adverts.
   c) Petitions.
   d) Providing research.
2. Direct Action
   a) Lobbying.
   b) Protests.
   c) Boycotts.
   d) Civil Disobedience (causing obstruction, sit-ins, lie-downs…).
3. Illegal Direct Action
   a) Terrorism - intimidation of workers or owners/management of a business.
   b) Violence - bombing, shootings, threats, attack.
   c) Criminal damage - damage to property, releasing animals into the wild (Animal Liberation Front).

Question 30

Why are some Pressure Groups are more successful than others?

Answer 30

PRESSURE GROUP SUCCESS

1. Resources
   a) A large membership who pay subscription gives a group greater financial resources to run offices, pay permanent staff and organise publicity.
   - EXAMPLE. The RSPCA employs 1600 people and affords newspaper advertising.
   b) The size of the group’s membership can display public opinion and sometimes impact Government policy.
   - EXAMPLE. CND had 110,00 members yet Thatcher still ignored their well-orchestrated demonstrations due to reliance on the passive support of the public majority.
   c) Wealthy pressure groups will run offices close tp points of access.
   - EXAMPLE. Lobbying firms have offices in Brussels and Strasbourg to lobby EU policy.
   d) Can take cases to the Supreme Court.
   - EXAMPLE. Plane Stupid blocked a third runway at Heathrow in February 2020.
2. Ideological compatibility with the Government
   a) Insider contacts with government ministers and civil servants are often a key to success.
   b) The political bias of the government will determine which pressure groups are able to claim insider status.
   - EXAMPLE. Trade Unions contribute to the Labour Party and are somewhat entitled to influence.
   - EXAMPLE. Pressure groups which represent big business, such as the Institute of Directors or the Taxpayers Alliance are more influential in a Conservative administration.
   c) The government will usually listen to the groups on which it relies on the specialist knowledge policy area.
   - EXAMPLE. National Farmers Union to DEFRA for a 2013 Badger Cull to prevent tuberculosis.
3. Popularity/Public Support
   a) Pressure groups whose agenda is in step with public opinion are usually more successful than those whose objectives fail to engage it, or whose methods alienate potential sympathisers.
   - Celebrity endorsements can provide an effective way of generating positive media coverage.
   b) EXAMPLE. The Snowdon campaign to ban the use of handguns was successful largely because of the public reaction to the 1996 Dunblane primary school massacre where 16 children and a teacher were killed.
4. Expertise (tactics and Leadership)
   a) Experienced, capable leadership is vital to success, also successful to know the access points in the UK political system to target.
   b) Social media provides new opportunities for engagement.
   - Hashtag campaigns can mobilise campaigns.
   c) ‘Clickocracy’ mobilises public support since they can engage purely online.
   - EXAMPLE. 38 Degrees provides members to quickly choose and launch their own online campaigns.
   d) Collaboration among pressure groups can broaden support.
   - EXAMPLE. The RSPCA’s joint venture to secure the ban on hunting with dogs in 2004 with ‘International Fund for Animal Welfare’.
   e) Civil disobedience is a risky strategy but it can create immediate publicity.
   - EXAMPLE. In 1867, riots in Hyde Park demanding an extension of the franchise quickened the pace for reform.
   - EXAMPLE. In March 1990, riots against the poll tax in Trafalgar Square undermined Thatcher, contributing to her resignation and John Major abandoning the tax.
   f) Trade Unions can call strikes.
   - EXAMPLE. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) called month-long strikes in December 2019 against reform to remove the guard from working as a conductor.

Question 31

What are some exemplar successful and unsuccessful pressure groups?

Answer 31

EXAMPLE. SUCCESSFUL PRESSURE GROUPS

1. The Gurkha Justice Campaign
   a) Gurkhas are Nepalese soldiers who have traditionally served in the British military.
   - Only those who retired after 1997 were granted the right to live in Britain.
   b) The aim was to extend the right to live in Britain to all retired Gurkhas.
   c) Actress Joanna Lumley gave a powerful endorsement.
   - Her leadership of a large delegation to present a petition signed by 250,000 to Downing Street generated highly positive media coverage.
   - Her constant pressure on Gordon Brown created so much negative publicity that the government granted equal rights of residency to all Gurkhas.
2. Hillsborough Family Support Group/Hillsborough Justice Campaign
   a) 96 Liverpool fans lost their lives at Hillsborough Football stadium on the 15th April 1989 after they were crushed to death in the overcrowded and fenced-in stadium.
   - It was the worst sporting disaster in British history.
   - The families claimed that the tragedy had been caused by the South Yorkshire Police’s crowd control.
   - Police blamed hooliganism and a verdict of ‘accidental death’ was recorded.
   b) The group was set up to demand a reopening of the case to achieve justice.
   - This was endorsed by a 130,000 strong e-petition for an independent enquiry.
   c) The e-petition created intense media interest and led to the disclosure of a new inquest in the verdict of ‘unlawful killing’ was reached.
   - This opened the way for the prosecution of those in charge of policing on the day.
   - Lobbying by Liverpool MPs and campaigning by the Daily Mirror contributed to the reopening of the case.
3. Surfers Against Sewage
   a) ‘Message in a bottle’ campaign demonstrated growing public outrage at the way in which disposable plastic containers are blighting coastlines.
   - Every day, only 50% of the 38.5 million plastic drink containers are recycled.
   b) Other environmental groups such as the ‘Council for the Preservation of Rural England’ and ‘38 degrees’ also campaign on the issue.
   - In 2018, the government announced that it was going to introduce a deposit return scheme for all plastic, metal and glass containers.
   c) The success of this campaign was helped by facts together with viable solutions to the problem.
   - PM Theresa May and Environmental Secretary Micheal Gove were keen to forward the proposals.
4. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
   a) ASH was established in 1971 and its campaigns have achieved significant such as banning smoking in enclosed workplaces, pubs and restaurants.
   - They have also removed displays of tobacco from the point of sale and introduced plain packaging with explicit images of the harm of tobacco.
   b) These successes have been facilitated by the research of the British Medical Association.
   - BMA is a sectional group whose primary purpose is to protect the interests of doctors, yet also function as a cause group on an issue affecting public health.
   - They already contributed to the introduction of a ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces from 2007.
   c) Ban on smoking in cars carrying children.
   - Concentrating on a prohibition when Children were being carried in cars, attracted other pressure groups such as Asthma UK.
   - They used online technology to lobby for support, providing members with a web-based form to personalise and send to their MPs.
   - Made its case to the House of Lords.
   - A Labour peer introduced an amendment to the 2014 Children and Families Bill, which was passed by the Lords and later accepted by the commons by 376 votes to 107. The ban came into force in October 2015.
   - Had more success than its main adversary FOREST (Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking).

EXAMPLE. UNSUCCESSFUL PRESSURE GROUPS

1. Stop the War Coalition
   a) In 2003, they organised the biggest demonstration in British History of up to 2 million people in London against Tony Blair’s support for an American-led invasion of Iraq.
   b) Although the march was peaceful and had prominent anti-war activists such as Tony Benn, it did not change government policy.
   c) The lack of success of the campaign was because Blair was committed to overthrowing Saddam Hussein.
   - The Conservatives also supported the government, giving Blair a majority of 179.
2. The Occupy London Movement
   a) In October 2011, a group of protesters occupied the square in front of St Paul’s Cathedral in London, through erecting their tents until they were evicted by order of the High Court 4 months later.
   b) They were protesting about corporate greed in the City of London (responsible for social inequalities).
   - Their actions were echoed by demonstrations in other cities, including Wall Street.
   - At the time the coalition government spending cuts were widely condemned for making life harder on the poor, while the rich went unscathed.
   c) A senior clergyman at St Paul’s resigned his post in solidarity with the protestors and there was some sympathy for the camp when the Police were sent to clear the camp.
   d) The Occupy London failed to achieve long-lasting results.
   - This is due to the firm stance taken by the authorities, initially, they tolerated the camp, yet they decided to take further action to prevent other settlements.
   - The movement’s objectives were too broad and incoherent to give them any chance of success.
   - Representing a general hostility to global capitalism and didn’t possess any practical, achievable goals.
   - Social media didn’t build a long-term group.
3. Fathers4Justice
   a) Campaigns to change the law on behalf of fathers’ rights in cases of divorce or separation.
   - Founded by Matt O’Connor in 2001.
   b) It initially gained public attention through a number of high-profile stunts.
   - One member scaled Buckingham Palace dressed as Batman whilst another claimed a crane dressed as Spiderman.
   - In 2004, in its most high-profile exploit, 2 activists hurled purple flour bombs at Tony Blair during PMQT.
   c) Later stunts became outlandish and self-defeating.
   - Included naked protests in Marks and Spencers on Oxford Street.
   - One campaigner, Tim Haries, was given a 6-month jail sentence for spray painting ‘Help’ across a portrait of the Queen in Westminister Abbey (vandalism).
   d) These failures have meant that it has focused more n engaging with the pubic and distance itself from violence and civil disobedience.

Question 32

What are some exemplar Human Rights pressure groups?

Answer 32

EXAMPLE. HUMAN RIGHTS PRESSURE GROUPS

1. Liberty
   a) Exposes discrimination, highlights infringements of the HRA and fights attempts by the government to restrict civil liberties.
   b) Engages through various political processes, especially through online campaigns.
   - The Director of Liberty, Martha Spurrier puts forward the case for civil liberties through the media.
   c) Liberty appreciates the importance of influencing decision-makers.
   - Like professional lobbying companies, Liberty works with like-minded MPs such as David Davis and Tom Watson and the former director Liberty, Baroness Chakrabarti to encourage cross-party support.
   d) Opposed the introduction of identity cards under Tony Blair and campaigned against Brexit jeopardising civil liberties by demanding a ‘People Clause’ in the repeal legislation underwriting all existing EU human rights legislation.
   e) Liberty has launched judicial reviews in cases where it believes that the government has exceeded its powers and acted ultra vires.
   - In 2017, Liberty challenged the legality of the Investigatory Powers Act on the grounds that the European Court of Justice declared its ‘general and indiscriminate’ approach to private individuals data to be illegal.
2. Human Rights Watch
   a) Monitors the extent to which government around the world protect the human rights of their citizens.
   - Its regular reports highlight abuses, including government counterterrorism strategies conflicting with civil liberties.
   b) Following the Grenfell Tower disaster, Human Right Watch has investigated the extent to which the civil liberties of those living in social housing have been compromised by inadequate safety standards.
   - With help from justice4grenfell.
3. Stonewall
   a) Committed to ‘acceptance without exception’.
   - It focuses on lobbying Parliament to legislate to protect the rights of LGBT people.
   b) It has helped to change the law so that gay people can serve in the military in 2000, as well as giving couples the same adoption rights as heterosexual couples.
4. Howard League for Penal Reform
   a) Campaigns for the Rights of Prisoners.
   - It has struggled to persuade the Government to implement its agenda.
   - Prisoners cause is not a popular campaign but they secure smaller victories such as 2014 High Court ruling that obliged the government to drop the ban on prisoners families sending books.
   b) Unsuccessful in securing a reduction in the size of the prison population.
   - Governments are unlikely to side with pressure groups that campaign for the rights of minority groups whom the public regards as undeserving of sympathy.

Question 33

What are the other Collective Organisations?

Answer 33

COLLECTIVE ORGANISATION

1. Think tanks
   a) Groups of experts from different backgrounds who are brought together to investigate particular topics and to offer solutions to complicated economic, social or political issues/devise policy.
   - Also seen as ‘Ideas Factories’, as an alternative source of ideas to the civil service, with more time and expertise.
   b) Most think tanks are staffed by young, ambitious individuals who see this as a springboard for their Political careers (David Miliband).
   - Vary from fringes of parties (The Fabian Society is a socialist think-tank) whereas some are impartial (Chatham House and Demos).
   c) EXAMPLE. The shift of the Conservative Party towards a more overly free-market orientated approach in the 1970s owed a great deal to Margaret Thatcher patronage of right-wing think tanks, such as the Centre for Policy Studies and the Adam Smith Institute.
   d) EXAMPLE. Iain Duncan Smith set up the Centre for Social Justice, and when made Work and Pensions Secretary, he introduced ‘Universal Credit’.
2. Lobbyist
   a) Members of professional organisations who are paid by clients seeking access to Government, MPs or members of the House of Lords.
   - The purpose is to gain influence on behalf of their clients, particularly when legislation that affects their clients’ interests is under consideration.
   - This is an extension of a long-established principle that members of the Public may Lobby their MPs in person or by letter.
   b) There is unease on the legitimacy of the professional Lobbying activities.
   - Many dislike the influence that is being brought.
   - Parliamentary code of conduct strictly bars MPs from accepting money for agreeing to represent a viewpoint.
   - There was a lack of regulation until in 2014 when the Government made it a legal requirement for anyone lobbying for a third party to register.
   c) Many are huge business, employing 4000 people with £2 billion spent on it each year.
   - Now companies frequently discuss their concerns with the business department or treasury.
   - The government carries out consultation exercises to assess the impact of proposed legislation on groups and then modify their plans.
   d) Gateway to corruption.
   - EXAMPLE. In 2015, former foreign secretary, Jack Straw (Labour) told a fake lobbying company that he operated ‘under the radar’ and had previously used his contacts and influence to change EU rules for a company which paid him a salary of £60,000 a year.
   - EXAMPLE. In 2015, former foreign secretary, Malcolm Rifkind (Conservative) told a fake lobbying company that he could provide ‘useful access’ to every UK ambassador in the World. A usual fee per day was somewhere in the region of £5,000 - £8,000.
   e) Lobbyists are necessary to democracy because they broaden the debate so all sides are heard.
   - EXAMPLE. The Raptor Alliance, which represent pigeon fanciers, argue that the RSPB has been so successful in protecting birds that they are now killing off racing pigeons. By organising an ‘All-Party Parliamentary Group for Pigeon Racing’ and in 2018 organising the first Lords versus Commons pigeon race since 1928 raised publicity and support.
   - EXAMPLE. Since the Gin Act 1751, small scale production had been forbidden in order to stop bootlegging. However, in 2008, lobbyists succeeded in having the act repealed and now boutique gin is becoming one of the UK’s most enterprising new exports.
3. Corporations
   a) Large business organisations are an area of concern for pro-democracy campaigners.
   - There is a so-called ‘revolving door’ process wherein senior politicians and officials take well-paid jobs in the private sector after they leave government service.
   - There’s a suspicion that they use knowledge and contacts to benefit the interests of these corporations.

Question 34

What is Patronage?

Answer 34

PATRONAGE

- Support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another.

Question 35

What is the difference between Human Rights and Civil Rights/Liberties?

Answer 35

HUMAN RIGHTS (soft law)

• Legally protected freedoms, yet they are difficult concepts as they mean different things to different people.
• In the UK these rights are guaranteed in the 1998 Humans Rights Act.

CIVIL RIGHTS/LIBERTIES (hard law)

• Refers to the individual’s relationship with the state. Citizens of a democracy enter into a contract with the state; it guarantees them certain rights in return they have obligations:
  1. Legal (obeying the law, paying taxes, performing jury service).
  2. Moral (voting in elections or even active citizenship).
  a) Active Citizenship extends this moral obligation to include offering voluntary service to help the community.

Question 36

What is the difference between Positive and Negative rights?

Answer 36

CIVIL RIGHTS

1. Positive Rights
   a) Freedom of expression in speech and writing.
   b) Freedom of conscience, including worshipping as one wishes.
   c) Right to vote.
   d) Right to stand for election, join a party or pressure group.
   e) Right to belong to an association such as trade union.
   f) Freedom of movement (without restriction).
   g) There are also Social Rights
   - These are more contentious, including the right to education, employment, healthcare and welfare provision.
2. Negative Rights (protect citizens from the state)
   a) Right to privacy.
   b) Right to fair and equal treatment under the law.
   - Includes the right to a fair trial or the right not to be imprisoned without a trial.

Question 37

What have been the major milestones in Human Rights development?

Answer 37

HUMAN RIGHTS MILESTONES

1. Magna Carta 1215
   a) The foundation for British civil liberties by stating that the law should be impartial and that no freeman should be convicted of a crime unless he had been fairly trialled.
   b) Presented to King John by nobles who disapproved of his tyrannical rule, its original purpose was to limit royal power.
2. Bill of Rights 1689
   a) By accepting this, William III agreed to govern with the consent of Parliament, thereby establishing the principle of a constitutional monarchy bound by the law.
3. Entick v Carrington 1765
   a) In a case involving trespass, Lord Camden lay down the principle that government officials ‘cannot exercise public power unless such exercise of it is authorised by some specific rule of law’.
   - In short, the government can only act according to the law protecting the rights of citizens from despotic rule.
4. Somerset v Stewart 1772
   a) Lord Mansfield stated that slavery within the UK was illegal since it had not been legislated by an Act of Parliament and was unsupported by the common law.
   - Set the precedence for the elimination of slavery within Britain.
5. Representation of the People Act 1928
   a) This established the principle of universal suffrage in the United Kingdom.
6. European Convention on Human Rights 1950
   a) Drawn up by the Council of Europe (not part of the European Union).
   b) This is enforced by the European Courts of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
   - Where people could appeal that their rights have been infringed in their own countries.
   c) It is similar to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights 1948 (after WW2).
7. Human Rights Act 1998
   a) New labour passed this act which incorporated the ECHR into UK Law with effect from 2000.
   - Clarified on the rights that a British citizen should claim.
   b) Included:
   - The right to life.
   - The prohibition of torture or degrading treatment.
   - Freedom from arbitrary arrest (The arrest of an individual in a case in which there is no likelihood or evidence that they committed a crime against legal statute, normally on the basis of prejudice).
   - The right to a fair trial.
   - Rights to privacy and family life.
   c) This is now enforceable in British courts without going to Strasbourg which is expensive and time-consuming.
8. Freedom of Information Act 2000
   a) This established a ‘right of access’ to information held by public bodies so long as it does not compromise on national security.
   - Came into force in 2005.
   b) EXAMPLE. The MPs expenses scandal in 2009 was exposed because journalists were able to demand access to this information.
9. Equality Act 2010
   a) This brought together earlier pieces of legislation that had sought to outlaw discrimination and unfair treatment, such as the Equal Pay Act 1970, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976.
   b) It identified nine ‘protected characteristics’:
   - Age.
   - Disability.
   - Gender reassignment.
   - Marriage or civil partnership.
   - Pregnancy and maternity.
   - Race.
   - Religion or belief.
   - Sex.
   - Sexual orientation.
   b) It made it illegal for public bodies, employers, service providers and other organisations to discriminate against people on any of these grounds.

Question 38

What is Tolerance?

Answer 38

TOLERANCE

• The ability to tolerate the existence of opinions or behaviour that one dislikes or disagrees with.
• Originally referred to as Religious Tolerance (until the Early 19th Century, only members of the Church of England could vote, stand for Parliament…).
• Philosopher John Locke said ‘No one religion had a monopoly on the truth’.
• Many conservatives say tolerance should be limited to preserve order and unity.
• Liberals look to extend tolerance to all.

Question 39

For what reasons has there been a restriction of civil liberties?

Answer 39

RESTRICTION ON CIVIL LIBERTIES

1. Individual rights are sacrificed due to concerns over security in the interest of protecting the wider community.
   a) The Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001
   - Gave the government the legal power to imprison foreign terrorist suspects indefinitely without trial.
   - Was in response to the 9/11 attacks in the USA.
   b) Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005
   - Limited the right of protest outside Parliament and created a new offence of inciting religious hatred.
   c) Terrorism Act 2006
   - Extended the time terrorist suspects can be held without charge to 28 days and made ‘glorifying terrorism’ a crime.
   - In November 2005, the Blair Government’s proposal to extend the period that a suspect could be held before being charged, from 14 to 90 days - this was defeated in the commons.
   - Followed the 7/7 underground and bus bombings.
   d) Identity Cards Act 2006
   - Created identity cards and a national identity register which would store information on citizens.
   e) Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011
   - Abolished control orders and allows the Home Secretary to impose restrictions on the behaviour of a specified individual.
   f) Investigatory Powers Act 2016
   - Authorises the retention of personal electronic data and its access to law enforcement.

Question 40

What are some faults in the Human Rights Act?

Answer 40

FAULTS IN THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT

1. A v Secretary of State for the Home Department 2004
   a) In 2004, senior judges declared that the way in which foreign terrorist suspects were being held by the government was ‘discriminatory’ according to the European Convention on Human Rights.
   b) In the face of this legal challenge, the government released the detainees from Belmarsh Prison.
2. Abu Qatada
   a) Attempts by the government to deport Abu Qatada, an Islamic preacher who had entered the UK illegally, to face trial in Jordan was stopped for 8 years on the grounds that the evidence used against him might have been acquired through torture.
   - This would have broken articles 3 and 6 of the human rights act).
   b) Only in 2013, after the UK signed a treaty with Jordan pledging that such evidence would not be used, was he flown back, yet he was cleared of involvement in terrorism.
3. HJ and HT v Home Secretary 2010
   a) The Supreme Court declared that homosexuality could provide grounds for claiming asylum in the UK if the claimants were from countries where homosexuality was persecuted.

Question 41

How well are civil liberties protected?

Answer 41

PROTECTION OF CIVIL LIBERTIES

1. Rights are not codified as they are no different to any other Act of Parliament.
   a) As a result, Parliament remain the supreme lawmaker and can still enact legislation even if it conflicts with the European Convention on Human Rights.
   b) Judges have less power to protect civil liberties.
2. Indicator of the growing prominence of rights is through the use of Judicial review
   a) Defenders say a judicial review is a vital means of defending citizens’ rights, allowing the legality of governments actions to be appropriately scrutinised.
   b) EXAMPLE. A prominent example of judicial review is called ‘judge-made law’.
   - Judges have been accused of effectively creating a privacy law through the way they have interpreted the Human Rights Act.
   - In cases of high profile court cases, they appear to give priority to Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights (right to privacy) over Article 10 (the right to freedom of expression) as claimed by the press, even though Parliament had not passed specific legislation, it has not explicitly covered by common law.
   - EXAMPLE. Max Mosley, the head of Formula 1 motor racing organisation was awarded substantial damages by the High Court in 2008 when the News Of The World published a story about his sex life, which he argued breached his private life.
   c) There were 4,240 Judicial reviews in 2000 to 15,600 in 2015.

Question 42

What is the proposal for a British Bill of Rights?

Answer 42

BRITISH BILL OF RIGHTS

1. Since the passing of the Human Rights Act, it has often been claimed that the UK has developed a ‘Rights-Based Culture’.
   a) All new legislation must be compliant with the act.
   b) Judges can declare earlier acts incompatible with it, although they cannot legally compel Parliament to make changes, due to parliamentary sovereignty.
2. Many on the right of British Politics believe a serious fault of the Human Rights Act is that it shows favour for underserving individuals rather than protecting the legitimate freedoms of UK Citizens.
   a) Many argue for a ‘British Bill of Rights’ would establish the supremacy of British courts over the European Court of Human Rights.