Component 1 Evidence Flashcards
What was the turnout for the 2016 Brexit referendum?
0.72
What percentage voted to leave the EU in the 2016 Brexit referendum?
0.5189
Approximately how many members did the Labour party have in February 2025?
309
Approximately how many members did the Conservative party have in November 2024?
131
What does the Conservative party membership in 2024 suggest compared to the 1950s (2.3 million)?
Lower participation and a democracy deficit
How many members does Reform UK have as of April 2025?
Over 200
What was the turnout for the 2014 Scottish independence referendum?
0.84
What percentage of 16-17 year olds voted in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum?
0.75
How many times has the Recall of MPs Act been used since 2015?
6
How many recall petitions have surpassed the 10% threshold?
5
Which Tory MP was sacked in 2015 due to false expense claims and faced a recall petition exceeding 10%?
Chris Davies
Why did Boris Johnson resign as MP for Uxbridge in 2023?
To avoid recall due to a Parliamentary suspension for lying to the House of Commons expected to exceed 10 days.
Which Labour MP for Runcorn & Helsby was recalled in 2025?
Mike Amesbury
What is the average voter turnout for referendums and Parliamentary elections in Switzerland (compared to the UK)?
Under 50% compared to the UK’s 67% in 2019 (60% in 2024)
What was the turnout for the Belfast/Good Friday agreement?
0.81
What was the average voter turnout in the UK between 1945 and 1997?
0.76
What has been the average voter turnout in the UK from 2000 onwards?
0.64
What was the estimated total cost of the 2016 EU Referendum?
£150 million
According to a 2015 Survation poll
what was the most common reason people don’t vote?
According to the Electoral Commission
what percentage of people were planning to vote tactically in the 2024 general election?
What percentage of the electorate did not believe they had an influence in politics according to the 2019 Hansard Audit for Political Engagement?
0.47
What was the turnout for 18-24 year olds in the 2015
2017
What was the turnout for over 75s in the 2015
2017
What did a 2021 Parliamentary research report find about political involvement of under 25s?
They had the highest political involvement.
How did the turnout of voters who had their first vote at 16 (Scottish independence referendum) compare to those who first voted at 18 in Scottish Parliament elections?
Higher turnout
What was the turnout for the Alternative Vote Referendum of 2011?
42% of registered voters
How much lower was the turnout for the 2011 AV referendum compared to the 2010 general election?
0.2
What reason was given for the lower turnout in the 2011 AV referendum?
Voters were not passionate about the issue and the electorate were apathetic.
According to the ex-YouGov president in 2022
why is the UK now pro-remain?
In the 2017 general election
what share of the ethnic minority vote did Labour win?
In the 2017 general election
what share of the ethnic minority vote did the Conservatives win?
How many of the most ethnically diverse constituencies did Labour win in the 2017 general election?
5 out of 75
What percentage of voters believed in March 2024 that the decision to leave the EU was the wrong choice?
0.57
How many signatures did a 2019 petition on the gov e-petition website to revoke Brexit get?
Over 6.4 million
Give an example of a safe Labour seat that was won by a Conservative MP in the 2019 election.
Redcar
By how many votes did the Conservative candidate win in Redcar in 2019?
3
Give an example of a Tory stronghold that Labour won after the 2024 election.
Northeast Somerset (for Rees-Mogg)
What was the Conservative party membership in the 1990s?
Estimated 400
What was the Conservative party membership in 2016?
Under 150
By what percentage has voting within the age range of 18-24 fallen between 1992 and 2015?
More than 50%
Approximately how many votes did Kemi Badenoch receive from Conservative party members?
94
How many Twitter followers did Jeremy Corbyn have (update: as independent MP)?
2.5 million
How many Twitter followers did Nigel Farage have (update: as Reform leader and MP)?
2.2 million
By how many members did the Labour Party fall between January and March 2024?
23
What were the controversies cited for the Labour Party’s membership fall in early 2024?
Policies on Gaza and its U-turn on green investment.
What impact did Labour’s stance on Gaza have in the 2024 election?
Labour lost seats to pro-Gaza MPs in areas with higher Muslim populations.
What is the name of the Act under which the 2024 general election was called?
Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022
What did the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 replace?
Fixed Term Parliament Act 2010
How many marchers reportedly participated in pro-Palestine protests in London in the past year?
500
Which former Labour MP was forced to stand as an independent candidate due to antisemitic statements?
Jeremy Corbyn
What impact did the Gaza crisis have on the vote share of independent candidates who openly support Palestinians?
Increased vote share
In the 2024 general election
how many attempts did it take for Nigel Farage to be elected as an MP?
In the 2024 general election
how many Reform UK candidates were elected?
What was the aggregate vote share of Reform UK in the 2024 general election?
4.1 million votes (third place)
Which two institutions tried to interfere with the Rwanda Plan?
The Supreme Court and the House of Lords
What was the Supreme Court’s ruling on the government’s Rwanda scheme?
Unlawful
How many amendments to the Rwanda Bill did the House of Lords pass in March 2024?
Five
In what year was major House of Lords reform rejected by the coalition government?
2012
In what year did the public vote against the Alternative Vote (AV) system?
2011
What was the reported turnout of 16-17 year-olds in the Scottish Independence Referendum?
0.75
What percentage of 16-17 year-olds who voted in the Scottish Independence Referendum said they would vote again?
0.97
What was the turnout of 18-24 year olds in the Scottish Independence Referendum?
0.54
What was the turnout of 25-34 year olds in the Scottish Independence Referendum?
0.72
In what year did the Isle of Man enfranchise 16 and 17-year-olds?
2006
What was the voter turnout among 16-17 year olds in the Isle of Man in 2006?
0.55
What was the voter turnout among 16-17 year olds in the Isle of Man in 2021?
0.46
According to Survation research in 2010
how many non-voters would have been significantly more likely to vote with online voting?
Which country has adapted to an online voting system with almost 1/4 of votes cast online in 2011?
Estonia
What technology does Estonia use for online voting to prevent voter fraud?
Biometric ID cards and verification servers
What was the Conservative government’s aim in 2017 regarding voter fraud?
Defeating it by introducing voter ID.
In how many areas was voter ID trialled in 2018?
5
In how many areas was voter ID trialled in 2019?
10
According to critics
how many reported cases of voter fraud were there out of 45 million votes?
What did the Electoral Reform Society estimate was the number of people without access to ID?
Around 3.5 million (7.5% of the population)
How many people were reportedly denied the vote during the 2019 voter ID trials?
750
Since what year has the Brazilian Electoral Tribunal allowed no testing of the country’s electronic voting system?
2012
How many signatures does the Change.org e-petition about compensation for the post office scandal currently have?
570
How many signatures were collected in 2017 to stop President Trump having a state visit?
Around 1.86 million
What was highlighted by the Haaland petition regarding formality of e-petitions?
Lack of formality
According to a 2015 YouGov poll
what percentage of the public believed all prisoners should be able to vote?
How many democracies worldwide currently have compulsory voting?
15
Which European and Commonwealth countries comparable to the UK have compulsory voting?
Belgium and Australia
According to 2023 polling
what percentage of the British public agrees that voting is a duty?
According to 2023 polling
what percentage of the British public dissents from the idea that voting is a duty?
What did the 1832 Great Reform Act do?
Disenfranchised 56 boroughs
What did the 1867 Representation of the People Act (Second Reform Act) do?
Gave the vote to working class men for the first time.
What did the 1918 Representation of the People Act do?
Granted the vote to women over 30 with property qualification and all men over 21.
What did the 1928 Representation of the People Act (Equal Franchise Act) do?
Granted equal voting rights to women and men at age 21.
What did the 1969 Representation of the People Act do?
Extended the franchise to men and women over the age of 18.
What did the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 require of some workers during strikes?
To still work or face being sacked.
What do WASPI campaigners want?
Compensation for the government increasing the pension age for women.
What was Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall’s stance on WASPI compensation in 2024?
Most women were aware of the adjustments.
What type of action does Insulate Britain engage in?
Direct action and civil disobedience.
When did Just Stop Oil reportedly disband?
April 2025
What government act influenced the effectiveness of Just Stop Oil’s direct action?
Public Order Act 2023
What pay rise did the BMA successfully campaign for post-pandemic?
2% for doctors.
What pay rise did junior doctors approve by Labour in 2024?
22 percent
What did Just Stop Oil activists do in April 2022?
Vandalised petrol pumps along the M25.
What did two Just Stop Oil activists do in October 2022
and what was their sentence?
What was Just Stop Oil’s priority: public support or getting their message across?
Getting their message across.
What kind of link does the National Farmers Union have with the Department for Environment
Food and Rural Affairs?
What funding package did Rishi Sunak say he had worked with the National Farmers Union to create in 2023/2024?
£220 million for technology and innovation to protect British farming.
What is the main goal that the Howard League pressure group has struggled to achieve?
Getting prisoners the right to vote.
What Labour-supporting pressure group has influenced the Labour party by putting in candidates for election?
Momentum
Give three examples of MPs associated with Momentum.
Zara Sultana
What did Aspana Begum accuse Labour of in 2022?
Targeting her for deselection because she was a socialist
What legal challenge has Care4Calais attempted to bring against the Rwanda Bill?
Stating “Human rights law still applies
What is the National Trust’s status as a pressure group in terms of size and funding?
Largest pressure group in the country with huge funding and membership.
What did the National Trust call for the government to do regarding net zero targets and fracking in 2022?
Stay true to net zero by 2030 and continue to ban fracking.
What are the current government’s policies on net zero and fracking?
Net-zero extended to 2050
What action did Extinction Rebellion take at St Paul’s Cathedral?
Occupied it to campaign for climate change.
What was Extinction Rebellion’s “Poo Patrol” campaign in May 2024 raising awareness about?
Pollution in the River Nidd.
Which footballer did FareShare use as a figurehead for their campaign on free school meals in 2020?
Marcus Rashford
How many signatures did Marcus Rashford’s e-petition receive?
1.1 million
What government response did Marcus Rashford’s campaign lead to?
£120 million ‘Covid summer food fund’ and £170 million ‘Covid winter grant scheme’.
What did the Gurkha Justice Campaign successfully achieve?
Right of abode in the UK for Gurkhas who served in the British military.
What was the Blair government’s initial stance on the Gurkha Justice Campaign?
Lack of support.
What was the outcome of the High Court ruling in 2008 regarding Gurkha rights?
The lack of rights was illegal.
What did Gordon Brown announce in 2009 regarding Gurkha veterans?
All veterans who served four years or more in the British Army would be allowed to settle in Britain.
What did the Stop the War Coalition campaign against in 2003?
The invasion of Iraq.
What was the Blair government’s response to the Stop the War Coalition’s mass rallies?
Resisted and escalated the conflict by sending troops to Iraq.
Whose patronage of right-wing think tanks influenced the Conservative Party’s shift towards a free-market approach in the 1970s?
Margaret Thatcher’s.
Give two examples of right-wing think tanks patronized by Margaret Thatcher.
Centre for Policy Studies and the Adam Smith Institute.
How many parliamentary supporters did the Institute of Economic Affairs have in 2022?
24
Give three examples of prominent figures who were parliamentary supporters of the IEA in 2022.
Liz Truss
Give two examples of think tanks that warned against Brexit.
Resolution Foundation and the Fabian Society.
Which political party is associated with the Adam Smith Institute and the Centre for Social Justice?
Conservative Party
Which political party is associated with the Fabian Society and Institute for Public Policy?
Labour Party
Who was Lex Greensill and what was his relationship with David Cameron?
Owner of Greensill Capital
What did David Cameron do after leaving politics regarding Greensill Capital?
Became a lobbyist for them.
Who did David Cameron lobby to use Greensill Capital’s services in the NHS?
Matt Hancock.
What lobbying firm tried to get another Brexit referendum?
Best for Britain.
Was Best for Britain’s attempt to get another referendum successful?
No.
How did the National Farmers Union use their insider status in 2013?
To allow the badger cull.
What did Rishi Sunak say to the NFU at their annual conference in 2023 and 2024?
“We have your back”.
What did the RSPCA and other groups successfully campaign for in 2004?
The ban on hunting (Hunting Dogs Act 2004).
What is Stonewall’s focus as a pressure group?
Advocates for LGBTQ+ rights.
Give an example of Stonewall’s influence.
Helped with same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ education on the national curriculum.
What commitment did Stonewall help convince the government to make in 2020?
Banning conversion therapy.
What term was used to highlight the influence of Trade Unions over the Labour government pre-1997?
‘Beer and sandwiches at no.10’.
How much did Trade Unions donate to Labour in the last 3 months of 2019?
£4 million.
Who co-authored the 2019 Conservative Manifesto?
Robert Colville and Rachel Wolf.
How many citations did the Institute of Fiscal Studies’ reports have in official government documents between 2015 and 2021?
Over 150.
What was Greenpeace successful in campaigning for regarding microbeads?
The strongest ban on microbeads in the world.
By what year were all personal care and cosmetic products containing microbeads off the shelves due to Greenpeace’s campaign?
2018
What is countervailing in the context of pressure groups?
For every PG that exists there is one that directly opposes its views.
Give an example of countervailing pressure groups regarding Heathrow Airport.
The British Chamber of Commerce (for a 3rd runway) and the No 3rd Runway group.
Give an example of countervailing pressure groups regarding minimum wage.
Trade Union Congress (for higher minimum wage) and the Confederation of British Industry (against).
What is PG Cage UK’s focus?
Advocates against post 9/11 terror laws disproportionately affecting Muslims.
Why does PG Cage UK have little influence according to the text (continued)?
Muslims represent a small percentage of the electorate (4%)
Which MP was suspended for breaking lobbying rules related to the gambling industry?
Scott Benton.
What did Scott Benton allegedly do that broke lobbying rules?
Lobbied for the gambling industry and gave the company access to confidential government documents.
Who was Derek Draper and what lobbying scandal was he involved in?
Political lobbyist caught in 1998 by The Observer boasting about his links to Downing Street (“Lobbygate”).
What is the estimated size of the UK lobbying industry?
Third largest in the world with 4
What did the Palestine Solidarity Campaign campaign for
leading to mass protests in London?
What was the date of the largest Gaza mass protest in London mentioned?
18th May 2024 (250
What was the title of the Institute for Government’s paper in June 2022 regarding metro mayors?
‘How metro mayors can help level up England’.
What was the title of the Adam Smith Institute’s paper in June 2022
and what did it suggest?
What was the focus of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s 2022 UK Poverty Report?
A wide-reaching examination of the causes and impact of poverty.
What is Chatham House known for publishing?
The ‘Insights’ book series on key international issues.
Which three think tanks were most often cited in policy documents between 2015 and 2021?
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation
In how many documents related to employment
culture
What are the research interests of the Institute for Fiscal Studies?
Taxation
What is the National Bureau of Economics Research?
A non-profit American group.
Who co-authored the 2019 Conservative Manifesto?
Robert Colville and Rachel Wolf (both from the Centre for Policy Studies).
What is the Players Panel?
An initiative launched by Entain (company owning betting companies like Ladbrokes).
Which lobbying firm did Entain pay to offer insider advice through the Players Panel?
CT Group (run by Lynton Crosby).
Why was the Players Panel created?
In response to a 2023 government proposition (White Paper) to increase restrictions on gambling.
What did the Players Panel campaign encourage people to do?
Write to their MPs opposing increased gambling restrictions.
Who did the Players Panel advise its members to target?
The Culture Secretary
What criticism did Iain Duncan Smith (former Conservative leader) have of the Players Panel’s emails?
They didn’t disclose it was a lobbying exercise by a company.
What did Lady Davidson (former leader of the Scottish Conservatives) say about the Players Panel’s tactics?
It was “pretty underhand” and “stinks” to hide the gambling firm behind the lobbying efforts.
Did Entain disclose how much funding it provided to the Players Panel or if its staff were involved in writing templates?
No.
What was Entain’s response to the criticism of the Players Panel?
They saw no contradiction between welcoming the review and encouraging customers to make their voices heard.
Did Entain claim that members of the Players Panel were paid volunteers?
Yes
What are the common features of political parties?
Sharing similar political views/values (ideology)
What are manifestos?
Collections of beliefs and promises made by parties to the electorate during elections for public accountability if they form government.
What is the Labour party aiming to introduce regarding military intervention?
Legislation requiring legal and Parliamentary authority.
What is the Labour party’s stance on Brexit?
Reluctance to support anything ‘anti-Brexit’/reversing Brexit
What is the Labour party’s stance on NATO?
Vocal support
What was a key economic priority of the Conservatives under Cameron?
Reducing the budget deficit through austerity.
What is the Conservative party’s general stance on fiscal responsibility and free trade?
Commitment to both.
What economic measures did the Conservatives implement during Covid?
Furlough scheme.
What change did the Conservatives make to corporation tax?
Increased from 19% to 25%.
What has the Conservative party done regarding the national living wage?
Increased it.
What is Kemi Badenoch’s view on free market economics and capitalism?
Pro-free market
Name three key aspects of Thatcherism.
Mass Privatisation
Give an example of a privatization under Thatcher.
Telecommunications Act 1984 (British Telecom).
What did the Housing Act 1980 (Right to Buy) do?
Allowed council tenants to buy homes at discounted rates.
What was the impact of the Housing Act 1980 by 1997?
Over 2 million homes sold.
What did the Financial Services Act 1986 do?
Allowed foreign firms to trade on London Stock Exchange
Give an example of energy privatization under Thatcher.
Gas Act 1986 (British Gas) and Electricity Act 1989 (electricity).
What was the Poll Tax introduced in 1989 (Scotland) and 1990 (England/Wales)?
A flat rate tax replacing property taxes
What was the Conservative policy on benefits from 2010 to 2019?
Benefits rates frozen.
What approach did the Conservatives take towards public services?
Cuts and introduction of private sector competition.
What did the Conservatives promise regarding the NHS and education in 2019?
Increased funding and reduced waiting lists.
What were the Conservative promises on law and order in 2019?
Increase police officers
Give an example of a restriction to individual liberty during Covid under the Conservatives.
Enforced mask wearing
What legislative changes did the Conservatives propose regarding human rights?
New Bill of Rights curtailing some HRA freedoms and threats to leave ECHR.
What is the Conservative party’s stance on the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023?
They introduced it.
What is the Conservative party’s stance on armed forces and nuclear deterrent?
Commitment to both.
What was the key Conservative foreign policy regarding the EU?
‘Get Brexit Done’.
What change did the Conservatives make to the foreign aid budget?
Reduction to 0.5% GDP.
What are key aspects of the Conservative’s current foreign policy on asylum seekers?
Rwanda asylum scheme
What is Labour’s 2024 manifesto promise regarding energy?
Set up Great British Energy - publicly owned clean power company.
What is Labour’s policy on non-dom status?
Abolish it.
What was Blair’s approach to welfare reform?
Shift from passive benefits to active welfare
Give an example of a New Deal Programme under Blair.
Mandatory job training
What was the Working Tax Credit?
A policy that subsidized low wages under Blair.
How did Blair’s government change rules for Jobseekers Allowance?
Tightened and enforced rules
What was the significance of the 2008 Welfare Reform Act under Brown?
Expanded conditions for preparing for work
What was the 1998 National Minimum Wage Act?
Introduced a minimum wage.
What are some of Starmer’s proposed welfare policies?
Ban zero-hour contracts
