AS Politics Unit 1.1 - Democracy

Question 1

What is Representative Democracy?

Answer 1

A political system whereby most decisions are made by the elected representatives rather than the people themselves.

Question 2

What is the role of a representative in the UK parliament?

Answer 2

The main representatives in the UK parliament are MP’s. they represent their constituencies, though mostly they are expected to represent their party. MP’s may use their own judgment on some issues, sometimes they have a conflict of interests between their party policy and the views of their constituents.

Question 3

What are the 3 main ways that suggest that the British political system undemocratic?

Answer 3

1) THE HOUSE OF LORDS -

Lords are unelected yet have the ability to:

• Delay legislation
• Amend bills of parliament
• Can sometimes prevent the will of the elected majority in the House of Commons

2) THE MONARCHY -

• The Queen is not elected.
• The Monarch has huge powers, though most of these are carried out by the government.
• The prerogative powers are not democratically determined.

3) THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM (FPTP) -

• FPTP is an electoral system which discriminates against small parties, this results in wasted votes in safe seats. (Seats that are likely retain the current party with a large majority in an election).
• This makes the votes unequal, and undemocratic.

Question 4

What are the 4 main ways people can participate in politics?

Answer 4

• Voting in elections
• Joining a pressure group
• Taking part in e-petitions
• Joining a political party

Question 5

What is ‘Big Society’?

Answer 5

A philosophy developed by David Cameron. It suggests that many of the functions of the state, should be replaced by local activism.

An example of this is the introduction of ‘free schools’, which are run by local communities.

Question 6

What is the General Election turnout percentages from 1979 to 2010? Furthermore, does this data provide evidence for the turnout rate increasing or declining?

Answer 6

1979: 76%
1983: 72%
1997: 71%
2001: 59%
2010: 65%

General trend: Decline in turnout

Question 7

Party Membership, increasing or in decline?

Answer 7

1980: 1,600,000 - 4% of total electorate
1989: 1,100,000 - 2.6% of total electorate
2006: 560,000 - 1.2% of total electorate
2010: 397,000 - 0.8% of total electorate

General trend: decline in party membership

Question 8

How can political participation be increased?

Answer 8

1) COMPULSORY VOTING:

• Voting is compulsory in Australia. This may force citizens to make themselves aware of political issues.

HOWEVER,

• Some suggest it is an infringement of civil liberties to make voting compulsory.

2) REDUCING THE VOTING AGE FROM 18 TO 16:

• This might increase the involvement of young citizens in politics.
• It is also argued that 16/17 year olds should be able to vote as some pay taxes and therefore get the opportunity to elect the government.

HOWEVER,

• A 16 or 17 year old might not be experienced enough to vote.
• It is suspected that not many 16/17 year olds would vote.

3) WIDER USE OF REFERENDUMS:

• The increased use of referendums would stimulate more interest.

HOWEVER,

• Some suggest too much frequent use of referendums would weaken there ability to stimulate interest.

Question 9

What is Direct democracy?

Answer 9

A political system whereby the people themselves make key political decisions. It’s origins can be traced to that of Ancient Greece (Athens).

Question 10

What is a referendum?

Answer 10

• A vote whereby the people themselves are asked to determine important political issues, or constitutional changes, directly. This is done by selecting either “Yes” or “No” in response to a question.
• Example: Do you agree that there should be a Scottish parliament? (1997, Scotland, 74% voted “Yes”)

Question 11

Are referendums binding on the government?

Answer 11

• In the UK, the outcome of a referendum is not binding on the government, because parliament remains sovereign.

HOWEVER,

• It is extremely unlikely that parliament would defy the result of a referendum.

Question 12

What are some examples of referendums?

Answer 12

1) 1975: UK stay in the EU?

• The majority voted “Yes”
• 64% Turnout

2) 1997: Scottish parliament?

• The majority voted “Yes”
• 60% Turnout

Question 13

What are the advantages of referendum use?

Answer 13

1) it is the most direct form of democracy. A referendum helps to make decisions legitimate and confirms the principle of ‘government by consent’.
2) If people demonstrate their expressed consent by voting in a referendum, they are more likely to be accepting of the outcome.
3) Referendums can prevent the government from making unpopular decisions. The unpopular decisions are prevented when a “No” vote is the outcome.

• For example: The 2011 vote on AV was rejected with a majority “No” vote, this prevented the government from making a change to the electoral system which would have proven unpopular.

4) The use of a referendum effectively entrenches (establishes, and is unlikely to change) constitutional changes. It protects the constitutional changes from attacks from future governments. In order to reverse or change the constitutional changes made by a previous referendum, another referendum would have to be held.

Question 14

What are the problems with referendum use?

Answer 14

1) Many issues may be too complex for the general public to understand, and thus make a judgment on. Some would argue, that complex matters should be left to our elected representatives, whom are under the guidance of experts rather than to the public who are likely to vote emotionally rather than rationally.
2) Referendum campaigns are expensive to carry out. This proves a problem as it’s a danger that one side is likely to succeed and prevail as a result of having more resources. (Money).
3) it is a possibility that people will use a referendum as an opportunity to express their dissatisfaction with the government, resulting in them ignoring the posed question completely.

• For example: It can be argued that the 2011 referendum regarding AV use which was voted a majority “No” was actually a vote against the Lib Dems, protesting against the coalition.

4) There is the possibility of there being a ‘tyranny of the majority’. Referendums are government by majority, and the minority that lose are not taken into account in any way. It is also argued that most issues cannot be resolved with a simple “Yes” or “No” response.

Question 15

What are examples of recent referendums?

Answer 15

2014: Scottish independence referendum
2016: Brexit Referendum

Question 16

What is parliamentary democracy?

Answer 16

Representative democracy in the UK can be described as a parliamentary democracy. This is because Parliament dominates the political system and because representation occurs traditionally through parliament.

Question 17

What are the features of a parliamentary democracy?

Answer 17

1) Parliament is the source of all political authority:

• It is not possible to exercise power without the sanction of Parliament. Even the PM, who enjoys many prerogative powers inherited by the monarchy, can only only act if he has the support of Parliament.

2) The government of the UK has to be drawn from Parliament:

• It’s members must be members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords. This makes sure that members of the government can be made directly accountable to Parliament.

3) All citizens are represented by MP’s:

• This means that their views must be taken into account. It also means that the interests of every constituency in the UK are represented by an MP in the House of Commons.