1st Flashcards
9 MARKERS - GOVERNMENT AND UK POLITICS
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Explain and analyse three circumstances under which referendums have been held in the UK.
P1 - TO FULFIL PLEDGES MADE BY PARTY MANIFESTOS
E1 - Labour in 1997, promised to hold a referendum on a mayor of LONDON. 2015 Tories said they would hold an IN/OUT ref on the EU
P2 - TO SATISFY TERMS OF AN AGREEMENT
E2 - AV in 2011, Lib Dem/Coalition Agreement
P3 - WHERE GOV ITSELF IS DIVIDED
E3 - EU Referendum (2016) with parliament and other members of the government e.g Boris Johnson BREXIT - Also to fight off UKIP
Explain and analyse three influences upon individual MPs when voting in the House of Commons.
POINT 1:- Party Whip, issues instructions on how MPs should vote on a weekly basis- a three line whip is a strict instruction to attend and vote according to the party line
EXAMPLE 1:- Boris Johnson’s expelled multiple rebel Conservative MPs because they voted against the whip and voted against a no-deal Brexit
POINT 2:- Constituency representation, MPs represent everybody in their constituency
EXAMPLE 2:- Jeremy Corbyn represents everyone in Islington North
POINT 3 :- Public responsibility, where constituents trust their MP to make the right decision and vote for what they feel is best, not the mandate model
EXAMPLE 3:- free Labour vote over Syrian air strikes
ANALYSIS 3:- MPs may feel pressured to vote for what is right and go against what the party or their constituents want, therefore influencing them.
Explain and analyse three ways in which judicial independence is upheld in the UK.
p1: Judges are chosen by an independent commission, and only ‘signed off’ by the Lord Chancellor
p2: Once appointed, judges can’t be sacked unless they break the law, so they can’t be threatened with removal for making the ‘wrong’ decision
p3: Judges’ pay is decided by an independent pay review body, without interference from ministers
Explain and analyse three long-term factors, other than class, that can influence voting behaviour.
p2: Gender - Although there is little overall difference between the way men and women vote, electoral statistics show that in the 2019 general election, marginally more men voted for the Conservatives across most age and social classes, than women. Men, on the other hand, tend to earn more on average than women and as a result may be more attracted to Conservative policies of lower taxation.
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p3: geographical differences - Labour tends to do better in large cities, particularly cities where there is a large University, while the Conservatives do better in rural country areas. People in large cities tend to be more supportive of high taxes and high public spending. Analysis of the 2017 UK general election results shows the Conservatives dominated the south, south west and south east of the UK apart from inner London. Labour was stronger in the north and west of England and the south of Wales as well as in large cities. The SNP won in Scotland holding 35 of the 59 seats albeit with only 37% of the vote.
Explain and analyse three ways in which collective responsibility has come under pressure since 1979.
p2: explanation and analysis of collective responsibility coming under pressure due to leaks to the media by disgruntled ministers for example, Theresa May ordered her ministers to stop leaking details of cabinet discussions over Brexit policy 2017. In April 2019, there was a formal inquiry into leaking of discussions about Huawei. Cabinet discussions have been revealed in books written by former ministers, such as Ed Balls
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p3: explanation and analysis of how collective responsibility can be formally set aside such as during the 2016 EU referendum campaign. Collective responsibility was suspended in October 2016 so that ministers could maintain individual positions on the decision to build a third runway at Heathrow. David Cameron allowed a free vote on the Marriage Bill 2013 and two cabinet ministers, Owen Paterson and David Jones, voted against. During periods of coalition government, such as 2010-15, collective responsibility has been set aside for party political issues, including the 2011 referendum on electoral reform.
Explain and analyse three ways in which membership of the EU has had an impact upon UK politics
P1: The EU has increased the workload of Prime Ministers and Ministers who have to spend time negotiating in Brussels and has also tended to move power away from the Cabinet.
Ministers began to spend more time in the European Councils, with their fellow agriculture or transport or energy ministers from other countries, than in the British Cabinet.
At Council meetings deals often have to be struck there, with Cabinets or Cabinet Committees only agreeing the opening negotiating position, and so Ministers developed some autonomy from the Whitehall system.
Pro-European Ministers might be happy to negotiate further integration while Eurosceptic ministers would push a British deregulatory line.
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P2: Parliament has always been in a powerful position legally in Britain as it is accepted that the British courts cannot overrule an Act of Parliament. Other countries have a written Constitution and a Constitutional Court which can nullify legislation which is in conflict with the Constitution. On the other hand, in practice, a Government with a majority in the House of Commons has been able to get whatever it wants approved by Parliament. EU membership has reduced the legal power of the British Parliament, at least in areas such as competition and employment policy, environmental protection and food safety which are decided in the EU.
EU membership has reduced the legal power of the British Parliament. EU regulations become part of British law without Parliamentary approval. There is more freedom to decide how EU directives will be carried out but most are implemented by secondary legislation issued by the Government.
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P3: The Conservative and Labour Parties were divided on whether Britain should join the EU in 1972 and Europe has been a problem for both of them, with Labour divided on support for the EU in the 1970s and early 1980s and the Conservatives since the 1990s. Partly because of this they have never wanted to make Europe an issue in their general election campaigns. The Liberal Democrats have generally been the most pro-European party and UKIP emerged after 2010 as an anti-European party with considerable support. With UKIP eating into the Conservative vote and an increase in the number of Eurosceptic Conservative MPs, David Cameron committed to holding, by 2017, a referendum on whether Britain should stay within the EU.
Explain and analyse the impact of the European Union on UK politics
- CAP
- worker’s rights
- standardised qualifications
- goods and tariffs
- immigration
Explain and analyse three ways in which the European Union has achieved its aims
- ## The single market of 500 million consumers is the largest in the world and has promoted trade, investment and prosperity.
- ## It has protected and extended the rights of workers, and promoted the economic development of its poorer regions.- It has extended citizens’ rights, notably through the right to live and work in another EU state.
- ## Economic and monetary union has eliminated transaction costs within the Eurozone.- Increasing political union has delivered coordinated action on cross-border issues such as criminal justice and immigration.
- It has cemented democracy and the rule of law in European states that had previously been under authoritarian rule.
Explain and analyse three aims of the European Union
p1: To establish economic integration (the single market):
The Single European Act of __1985 __aims to establish ‘four freedoms’- the free movement of goods, services, people and capital. This was achieved in a few ways, for example the abolishment of customs controls at borders, and the creation of EU-wide standards for products. The free movement of EU citizens to live and work in member states was agreed by the __1995 __Schengen agreement, although opt-outs to this were negotiated by the UK and Ireland. Temporary restrictions on this have been established in some states in response to the rising number of refugees arriving in Europe from countries such as Syria.
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p2: To establish and economic and monetary union: a single currency for EU member states, the Euro, was introduced in 1999. In addition, a European Central Bank was created. The aim was to make trade and travel more straightforward by eliminating fluctuating values of different currencies. In 2014, 19 states were members of the Eurozone. Britain and Denmark chose to opt out of the Euro, not wishing to cede economic sovereignty. The __2008 __financial crisis created problems for some Eurozone countries such as Greece and Ireland, who had run up large amounts of government debt. These nations were required to be bailed out with EU funds. In return for the bailouts, they had to sign up to agree to implement more controlled budgetary actions in the future.
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p3: To create social policy: the aim in this area was to ensure fair and equal treatment of workers and a level playing field for business. Worker’s rights are protected under EU laws (although this varies between states).
Explain and analyse why pressure groups often fail to achieve their goals
- LACK OF WEALTH/ FUNDING
- OUTSIDER GROUPS
- LACK OF MEMBERS / SUPPORT
Explain and analyse ways in which pressure groups enhance UK democracy
p2 - Participation: It is argued that pressure groups encourage participation which is important for the health of democracy. If this is the case, declining electoral turnout and steadily falling party membership is an indication of a ‘democratic deficit’ in the UK . However, pressure groups offer an alternative method of participation. Single-issue politics is increasingly popular and the decentralised organization of many campaigning groups have brought many young people and those who may be disillusioned with conventional politics back in to active participation.. New’ types of political participation include political protest and what has been called cyberactivism. Examples of the politics of protest include the activities of left-wing movements such as CND, the 1990 anti-poll tax riots, anti- globalisation demonstrations in Seattle (1999), London (2000) and Genoa (2001) and student protest in 2010 against university tuition fees. However, protest politics has also come to be embraced by right-wing movements, such as the People’s Fuel Lobby and the Countryside Alliance.
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p3: Education - Pressure groups promote political debate, discussion and argument. In so doing, they create a better-informed and more educated electorate. This, in turn, helps to improve the quality of public policy. Without pressure groups, the public and the media would have to rely on a relatively narrow range of political views, those expressed by the government of the day and a small number of major parties. Pressure groups challenge established views and conventional wisdom. They offer alternative viewpoints and widen the information available to the public, especially through their access to the mass media and the use of `new’ communications technology such as the Internet. In many cases, pressure groups raise the quality of political debate by introducing specialist knowledge and greater expertise.
Explain and analyse ways in which pressure groups contribute to a pluralist democracy
p2: enhance democracy by informing the policy and activity of an elected gov and educating the public on political issues, whilst also holding the government to account between elections - ensure power and political knowledge dispersed and that the government is always acting in the interests of the governed - in doing so strengthens social contract
e.g: RSPCA -educational campaigns and newsletters essential part of operation
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p3: interest group participation in terms of trade unions can also influence governments greatly because some trade unions are basically in charge of policy areas. let’s take the royal colleges of nurses/surgeons (etc) or the British medical association. not only are the managers of these trade unions basically overseeing everything that happens in such sectors and hence have knowledge that the government needs to effective policy creation, but those trade unions whom the government require to actually enforce policy, i.e. in the NHS if all the nurses striked, the government wouldn’t be able to provide healthcare
Explain and analyse different methods used by pressure groups to achieve their goals
p2: Ministers/civil servants - insider groups are involved in consultations with government officials. Ministers will use the knowledge and expertise of the group to formulate policy and to assess the potential impact of policy. Groups such as the CBI and BMA will often consult with ministers for these purposes.
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p3: Political Parties - some groups try to develop links with political parties. The link between the trade unions and the Labour Party is the best example of this. Trade unions provide substantial funding to the Labour Party, and in return, they have an influence on not only policy but also the election of the party leader, as many of the votes for leader historically came from trade union members. This influence was shown in (2010) when Ed Miliband surprisingly defeated his brother David to become the leader. A large chunk of his votes came from trade union members.
Explain and analyse the difference between promotional and interest pressure groups
p2: A sectional group exists to protect the interests of its members, whereas promotional groups exist to benefit other groups of people/causes.
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p3: Sectional groups are more likely to deal with economic issues whereas promotional groups tend to focus on broader issues which may be moral/ethical in character.
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p4: Sectional groups are more likely to be permanent and/or insider than promotional groups
Explain and analyse three ways in which UK political parties fail to carry out their functions
- not carrying out manifesto promises
- not representing the views of their constituents
CONTINUE THIS IN DETAIL
Explain and analyse three policy aims of the Labour Party
P1: Devolution - Hailed as one of Labour’s key achievements during the New Labour years, devolution was championed by Blair during his three terms in government. Most notably, following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which saw an end to The Troubles in Northern Ireland, Blair’s government oversaw the creation of both the Northern Irish Assembly and Executive. New Labour also devolved power from Westminster via the creation of the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly (later the Welsh Parliament) in 1999.
p2: Nationalisation - Nationalisation has been at the heart of the Labour Party’s historic economic policies since its foundation, although all its leaders or governments have not embraced it. The policy of nationalisation, bringing critical industries under the control of the state to ensure they serve the interests of citizens, laid the foundations for the NHS and the Welfare State in the Post-War years. However, in 2002, New Labour advocated the privatisation of Royal Mail, a state-owned institution, for 500 years. Today, nationalisation has become a divisive policy for the party. In 2022, faced with a crisis of energy costs, members of the Labour Shadow cabinet have publicly disputed the merits of nationalising the ‘big six’ energy companies.
p3: Green policy: A recent policy proposal by the Labour Party has been to address the need for carbon neutrality through economic reforms. The Party has outlined the threat involved in the ‘carbon delay’ and the government’s lack of action. Previous Labour manifestos have set out how the party, if elected, will utilise what it calls the ‘low carbon and the digital economy’ to phase out industries with the most significant detrimental environmental impact.
Explain and analyse three policy aims of the Conservative Party
p1: Less taxation - We will not raise the rate of income tax, VAT or National Insurance.
p2: A dynamic economy, where thriving businesses create jobs, wealth and opportunity.
p3: No limited government
Explain and analyse three functions of political parties
p1: Representing groups of interests
The people represented by elected officials are called constituents. Whether Republican or Democrat, constituents make their concerns known to their representatives. In turn, elected officials must not only reflect the concerns of their own political party but must also try to attract support from people in their districts or states who belong to the other party. They can attract this support by supporting bipartisan issues (matters of concern that cross party lines) and nonpartisan issues (matters that have nothing to do with party allegiance).
p2: Simplifying choices
The two main political parties in the United States appeal to as many different groups as possible. They do so by stating their goals in a general way so that voters are attracted to a broad philosophy without necessarily focusing on every specific issue. Republicans are known for their support of business, conservative positions on social issues, and concern about the size of government; Democrats traditionally have supported labor and minorities and believe that government can solve many of the nation’s problems. The alternative to using the general philosophies of the political parties to sort out candidates is to vote for individuals based on just their own one-or two-issue programs.
p3: Making policy
Political parties are not policymaking organizations in themselves. They certainly take positions on important policy questions, especially to provide alternatives to the position of whichever party is in power. When in power, a party attempts to put its philosophy into practice through legislation. If a candidate wins office by a large majority, it may mean that the voters have given him or her a mandate to carry out the program outlined in the campaign. Because President Bill Clinton failed to win a majority of the popular vote in both 1992 and 1996, few considered his victories a mandate for any specific policy or ideology. President George W. Bush also entered office without a clear mandate, because his opponent, Al Gore, won more votes (and might have won the Electoral College if not for irregularities, such as confusing ballots, in Florida).
Explain and analyse arguments against increased use of referendums in the UK
p1: Undermining parliamentary democracy -
Referendums may undermine Parliamentary democracy and make it seem less relevant. It is also contrary to the idea of Parliamentary sovereignty, by which Parliament alone decides the law and no Parliament can bind a succeeding Parliament to a course of action. It could be argued that politicians should be making decisions and that a referendum often leads to delay. Referendums are often called only when the Government wants to avoid party divisions, as with the EU referendum and the 1979 Scottish referendum, or thinks that it will get the result it wants, rather than because they want the public’s view, although the AV referendum, the Welsh Assembly referendum and North-East regional government referendum are examples where the Government was not sure about the result.
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p2: it oversimplifies things -
Referendums may be about issues that involve complex considerations and these become oversimplified as a result of the need to have a simple question and the campaign may not bring out the complexities. The 1975 EU referendum was about detailed terms that have been negotiated and complicated arguments about the effect of membership by the Government and so would a future referendum, but a referendum can easily become an emotional debate about whether ‘Brussels should tell us what to do’.
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p3: Does it clearly reflect public views -
Referendums are a majoritarian form of voting and the minorities can lose out in the result. If the turnout is low, as it was in the AV Referendum at 42%, then it does not give a clear reflection of public views. If referendums are extended to other areas than constitutional issues and become more frequent then less people may not vote, as has happened in Switzerland where turnout has been falling.
Explain and analyse arguments in favour of increased use of referendums in the UK
p2: For coalition and minority governments, referendums provide a strong popular mandate on controversial topics. As referendums in the UK are only advisory, they act as a useful guide to public opinion. They complement parliamentary democracy and prevent governments from making deeply unpopular decisions. In the event that turnout is low or only a narrow majority is achieved in the vote, there is no legally binding reason why the government should act. As the UK constitution is uncodified, it is important that we continue to use referendums to ratify changes. Public consent also helps to entrench alterations to the constitution and safeguard them against repeal. For example, the Alternative Vote referendum in 2011 produced a clear ‘no’ majority (67.9%), which proved that there is no need to change the Westminster electoral system.
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p3: Increased use of referendums could act both as a way of helping to restore the public’s faith in the political system and combatting voter apathy. In the past, referendums have been used on a local level to determine, for example, whether there should be an elected mayor. On a smaller scale, referendums need not be hugely expensive to organise and could lead to greater discussion and deliberation. The best way of combatting apathy is to give the public real decision-making powers over the issues that affect them the most. This could be extended further through the use of citizens’
Explain and analyse three factors that have influenced the outcomes of General Elections in recent years
- media
- age
- personality
Explain and analyse three ways in which patterns of voting have changed over time
p1: Party loyalty - Voters used to have a clear identification with a party, which has also been in decline in recent years (reflected in declining membership levels). In 2005, only 10% of those surveyed claimed to have a ‘very strong’ attachment to a particular party (1964= 44%).
p2: Gender - Traditionally, women supported Conservatives, but this changed with ‘New’ Labour in the 1990s, when gender no longer became an accurate predictor of voting intention. In 2015, men were more likely to vote Conservative amongst under-50s.
p3: Region - Historically, Labour had much more support in the north of England, and Conservatives the south. This trend largely continues today, with the exception of areas such as South Wales and central London, which remain Labour-affiliated. Scotland and Wales had seen a decline in the Conservative vote in the 1980s, 90s and 2000s, although there are signs that the Conservatives are winning more support in Scotland.
Explain and analyse three weaknesses of direct democracy
P1: Impractical in a large, heavily populated modern state where decision-making is complicated
P2: Will of the majority is not mediated by parliamentary institutions, so minority viewpoints are disregarded (e.g. 48.1% of people voted against Brexit)
P3: Referendums, the modern-day example of direct democracy is expensive: e.g. the estimated cost of conducting the EU referendum has been put at £142.4 million
