C1: Democracy & participation Flashcards
Define Direct Democracy.
Every single person in a state gets to voice their own opinions directly.
Define Representative Democracy.
People Elect representatives to take decisions on their behalf.
Give an advantage of Direct Democracy.
Gives Equal Weight to All opinons
Encourages Participation
Removes the need for Trusted Representatives
Develops a sense of community & encourages debate
Advantages of Representative Democracy
Only practical system in a modern state
Politicians have to choose parties, which leads to coherence of opinion.
Politicians are in theory beter informed about issues than normal people
Disadvantages of Direct Democracy
Impractical in a large modern state
Many people will not want to take part - A minority of activists will rule
Open to manipulation by the best speakers
Will of the majority cannot be mediated
Disadvantages of Representative Democracy
May lead to reduced participation
Minority opinion still under-represented
Politicians can avoid accountability
Politicians can be corrupt or incompetent
Give an instance where Direct Democracy can be used in a representative system.
Referendums
Recall of MPs Act 2015
What is a Referendum?
Where the government poses a Yes/No question to a public vote
Name a Referendum in recent years
Brexit 2016
Scottish Independence 2013
What is the Recall of MPs Act?
Allows a petition to be triggered if an MP is suspecnded from the Commons fro more than 3 weeks or convicted of a crime. If 10% of voters sign it, a by-election is triggered.
Name a case for Political reform in the UK.
First Past the Post under-represents minority viewpoints.
The House of Lords holds no democratic legitimacy
There is a lack of protection for Citizen’s rights
Powerful & unaccountable business can control the media
There is a lack of engagement with the system - Participation crisis.
What are two methods of measuring participation?
Voter Turnout, Party membership
What was the Voter Turnout in 2019?
67.3%
What was the lowest turnout in recent years?
Why was it so low?
2001 - 59.4%
Everyone saw it as a given that Blair would win
Under which elections does turnout typically fall?
“second-order” elections, e.g. By-elections, council elections
As of 2016, what percentage of the electorate was a member of a political party?
1.6%
How many members of the Labour Party were there in 2016?
515,000
How many Conservative Party members were there in 2016?
Just under 150,000
What is an argument against a participation crisis?
Direct Action is becoming more prevalent - Pressure Groups, protests, etc
How could they improve participation?
Change the voting system
Reduce Voting Age
Change voting day/Give people multiple days to vote
Make voting compulsory
What is a benefit of compulsory voting?
It would produce a parliament more representative of society as a whole
Politicians would have to frame campaigns around the whole electorate
Voters aren’t obliged to vote for a candidate - can spoil their ballot, or tick a ‘none of the above’ box.
What is a drawback of compulsory voting?
It could lead to donkey voting
It is undemocratic to force people to vote.
It would not address the issues that make people apathetic towards the system.
Who cannot vote?
People under 18
Prisoners
Lords
EU Citizens who aren’t Irish
People detained in psychiatric wards
When were women enfranchised?
1918 - Women over 30 got the vote
1928 - Equal voting rights
