Democracy and participation

Question 1

what are the two types of democracy?

Answer 1

Direct democracy and representative democracy

Question 2

Advantages of direct democracy:

Answer 2

Gives equal weight to all voters. Encourages popular participation. Removes the need for trusted representatives. Develops a sense of community and encourages genuine debate.

Question 3

Disadvantages of direct democracy:

Answer 3

Impractical in a large, heavily populated modern state. Many people will not feel qualified to take part in voting, so activists will determine the outcome. Will of the majority is not mediated by parliamentary institutions so minority viewpoints are discarded.

Question 4

Advantages of representative democracy :

Answer 4

A practical system in a large, modern state. Politicians from parties provide coherence. Pressure groups represent different different interests, promote debate and encourage a PLURALIST DEMOCRACY.

Question 5

More advantages of representative democracy:

Answer 5

Reduces chances of minority viewpoints being overridden by ‘tyranny of the majority’. Elections allow people to hold representatives to account.

Question 6

Disadvantages of representative democracy:

Answer 6

May lead to reduced participation as people choose to hand responsibility to politicians. Minorities may still be underrepresented as politicians are more likely to follow the views of the majority to secure election.

Question 7

Examples of direct democracy being used in the UKs representative system:

Answer 7

National referendums - EU referendum in 1975 and 2016 and whether to change the system of voting in Westminster in 2011.

Question 8

Positive democratic features of the UK political system:

Answer 8

Devolved governments for Scotland, Wales and NI. Elected Mayors. Independent judiciary. Free and fair elections. Free media. Wide range of political parties and pressure groups.

Question 9

In what ways could we say that the UK political system is undemocratic?

Answer 9

-Underrepresentation of minority view points due to the voting system
-House of lords lacks democratic legitimacy due to ‘failed’ reform and its unelected nature
-lack of protection for citizens rights. government can ‘derogate from’ the HRA in certain situations
- Control of sections of the media by wealthy, unaccountable business interests eg. The powerful Murdoch group has owned The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun simultaneously

Question 10

Evidence of the participation crisis:

Answer 10

• The average turnout at general elections from 1945 to 1997 was 76%
• The percentage in 2001 (just below 60%) was the lowest since the end of the first world war in 1918
• Police and Crime Commissioner elections is 2012 had the lowest average turnout at any UK contest with 15%
• 2015 general election turnout was 66.1%

Question 11

Key milestones in extending the franchise:

Answer 11

• Great Reform act of 1832, abolished the separate representation of the most underpopulated “rotten boroughs”, granting the vote to other groups of people such as tenant farmers and smaller property holders, increasing the electorate to 650,000
• Representation of the People act of 1918, limited vote for women

Question 12

What is a sectional pressure group?

Answer 12

Also known as an interest group, sectional pressure groups seek to promote the interests of an occupation or group in society, membership to a sectional pressure group normally has certain requirements ( such as professional qualifications or evidence of working in a certain field ). For example, the Law Society is open to solicitors in England and Wales.

Question 13

What is a promotional pressure group?

Answer 13

These groups are focused on achieving a particulate goal or drawing attention to an issue. Membership is usually anyone who sympathises with their aims. An example of a promotional pressure group would be Greenpeace or the Housing Charity Shelter.

Question 14

What is a social movement?

Answer 14

A social movement is similar to a promotional pressure group but more loosely structured. Social movements are normally politically radical and seek to achieve a single objective. For example, the ‘Camps for Climate Action’ were created for short periods in 2007-2010 to protest against the expansion of Heathrow airport and coal-fired power stations in Yorkshire.

Question 15

What is an insider group?

Answer 15

Insider groups rely on contacts with ministers and civil servants to lobby government. Insider groups tend to have objectives that a partially in line with the views of the government, increasing their leverage. For example, The National Union Of Farmers and the Howard league for prison reform.

Question 16

What is an outsider group?

Answer 16

Outsider groups are not consulted by the government. Their objectives may be far from politically mainstream and the government is unlikely to engage with them. For example, animal rights protesters who intimidate workers at animal testing laboratories. Outsider groups may also choose to not align themselves with government. For example, the ‘Occupy’ movement, which organised sit-ins in late 2011, see the government as aligned to the global capitalist movement which they are protesting.

Question 17

Pressure group methods:

Answer 17

-Members of the pressure group ‘Black lives Matter UK’ obstructed flights at London City airport in 2016
-The 2010 demonstrations against increased uni tuition fees were prosecuted for disorderly conduct
- The Countryside Alliance took its case of banning fox hunting to the high court in 2004

Question 18

Why do some pressure groups have more influence than others?

Answer 18

Resources and large membership; these organisations pay permanent staff and organise publicity (for example, the RSPCA employs about 1600 people). The size of a pressure group can be important when persuading government as it reflects a significant sector of public opinion.
Tactics and leadership; experienced, capable leadership can be a big factor in their success ( for example to RSPCA played a key role in banning hunting with dogs in 2004). The groups also know the ‘access points’ to target in the political system.
Public support; pressure groups whose agenda is inline with public opinion are normally more successful (for example The Snowdrop campaign to ban the use of handguns was successful due to the public reaction following the 1996 Dunblane primary school massacre).

Question 19

More reasons why some pressure groups have more influence than others:

Answer 19

Government attitudes; insider contacts with government ministers and civil servants are often a key to success (for example the National Farmers Union’s links to DERFA were instrumental in bringing about the 2013 badger cull, intended to protect cattle against tuberculosis)

Question 20

‘Fixed Odds Betting Terminals’ lobbying case study:

Answer 20

MP Tracy Crouch was minister for sport and and had responsibility for gambling. In 2018 she found herself having to deal with the problem of fixed odds betting terminals. The maximum stake was £100 but punters were loosing huge sums due to betting 3 times per minute.

Crouch found herself being intensely lobbied by both sides; business owners and people with stories of personal gambling struggles.

Crouch announced a drop in the cap from £100 to £2 in May 2018. However, the stake had a tax revenue attached to it which the chancellor was responsible for overseeing. This was supposed to happen ASAP, Crouch took this to be April 2019 but the chancellor said October 2019.

Crouch resigned over this and was furious as she believed the chancellor listened more carefully to the gambling lobbyist than his minister for gambling.

Question 21

‘University tuition fees’ : lobbying case study

Answer 21

David Willetts, former university minister, argued that the universities, like the Russell Group, had been lobbying for 20 years over the point that universities funded by public expenditure were normally at the bottom of the heap.

As graduates earned more than non-graduates it is as reasonable to assume that graduates who could afford it should pay back the cost of their tuition.

The NUS had an effective approach which was that, in private meetings, they did not focus on the fees but the maintenance costs for living whilst a student. As a result they has successfully lobbied for increases in maintenance grants and loans for living on as a compromise for the cost of student fees.

Question 22

evidence against the ‘participation crisis’:

Answer 22

-voter turnout has been steadily increasing (61.4% in 2005 to 65.1% in 2010, 68.6% in 2017)
- membership to third parties and pressure groups is now growing (different forms of participation)
e.g
- the RSPB has over a million members including 195,000 youth members
- the SNPs membership has grown from 22,000 in 2014 to over 120,000 by 2017 (proves that people are politically engaged)