democracy and participation Flashcards
features of direct democracy
- One vote is of equal value enabling all citizens to contribute to a decision
- Gives decision greater legitimacy
- Takes the form E-petitions, consultations, referendums and recalls
examples of direct democracy
- E-Petition – ‘should there be a second EU referendum?’ – 3.8 million signatures – a debate was held but no referendum was issued
- Consultations – plastic bags consultation – 500 people responded – increased the price from 5p to 10p
- Recalls – Fiona Onasanya – lied about driving whilst speeding – successfully recalled
- Referendums – EU referendum 2016 – 52-48% voted to leave – 72% turnout
features of representative democracy
- People vote for a person and/or party to represent them in a constituency
- MPs act on the behalf of people to exercise political choice
- Burke – representatives should use their superior knowledge and experience to act for the people
- Doctrine of the mandate – people give the authority to the governing party to carry out a policy
- Takes the form of elections, MP surgeries, HOL, devolved assemblies, councils and pressure groups
Anna Soubry case study for representative democracy
- Switched parties whilst an MP and lost her seat at the next election – shows both benefits and flaws of representative democracy
- Benefits – representatives can be held accountable for their actions at election time
- Flaws – representatives may not act in the best interests of their constituents – can be difficult to hold them to account between elections
Boris Johnson broken promises representative democracy
- Not raising NI
- Keeping the triple lock and other pension benefits
- No one having to sell their home for care
- HS2 between Leeds and Manchester
- Building 40 new hospitals
- Keeping the existing energy cap and introducing new measures to lower bills
- Maintaining commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on development
- Hosting UK Gov’s first international LGBTQ+ conference
strengths/weaknesses of direct democracy
Strengths:
- Participation
- Representation
- Legitimacy
Weaknesses:
No accountability
Tyranny of the majority
Results can be ignored
strengths/weaknesses of representative democracy
strengths:
- Representation (MP-constituency link)
- Accountability
- Legitimacy
Weaknesses:
- Participation – lower turnout
- MPs may not act in the interests of constituency
- MPs not obliged to follow manifesto
- FPTP in general elections
- Adversarial
- Undermined by direct democracy
similarities and differences between the two democracies
similarities:
- Referendums, e-petitions, recalls and consultations happen all of the time within a representative democracy
- Pressure groups can use direct democracy to put forward their views are an integral part of representative democracy
Differences
- Direct democracy is majoritarian
- Direct democracy undermines parliamentary sovereignty
- Direct democracy weakens accountability government is devoid of responsibility
- Representative democracy is more likely to result in a more rational decision
- Representative democracy can handle more complex and technical decisions
is there a participation crisis?
Yes:
- Party membership in decline since 1950s
- Decline in voter turnout – 2001 – 59.3% - 2019 – 67.3% - 1992 – 77.7%
- Turnout in referendums is volatile – AV referendum 2011 – 42.2% - Scottish indyref – 84.6%
- Parties more concerned about getting most votes rather than representing the people – can lead to policies being similar making abstaining from voting more appealing
No:
- Membership numbers increasing since 2014 – labour – 485,000 members due to decreasing the price to £3 – SNP – 100,000
- Voter turnout has bounced back since 2001 – 2/3 majority is good compared to other countries
- Turnout in referendums depends of how important people perceive it to be
- Other forms of participations are growing in popularity – E-petitions and social media for campaigning
- Traditional methods of participation have been replaced by participation with pressure groups
when was suffrage achieved?
- representation of the people act 1928 - universal suffrage for all adults over 21
- representation of the people act 1969 - age lowered to 18
- Scottish elections (reduction of voting age) act 2016 - lowered voting age to 16 in Scottish elections
examples of attempts to widen franchise
- Votes at 16 - coalition of groups aimed to extend the franchise to 16-17 year olds - supported by over 4290 registered groups such as British youth parliament and the electoral reform society
- Prison reform trust - advocates for the greater integration into society for prisoners, including prisoner votes
functions of pressure groups
- To represent and promote the interests of certain sections of community who feel they are not fully represented by parties and parliament
- To protect minority groups
- To promote certain causes that have not been adequately taken up by political parties
- To inform and educate the public about key political issues
- To call government to account over its performance in particular areas of policy
- To give other routes of participation
classifying pressure groups
- Causal groups – seek to promote a particular cause – e.g. Greenpeace
- Sectional groups – represent a particular section of the community in the UK e.g. Age UK
- Insider groups – those that have especially close links with decision makers at all levels
- Outsider groups – do not enjoy a special position within governing circles
methods used by pressure groups
- Public campaigning – demonstrations of support to convince the government to listen to them
- Access points and lobbying – insider groups are able to access meetings etc. to gain influence over representatives
example of think tank
- Institute of economic affairs (IEA)
– right wing neoliberal think tank
– advocates for free-market and monetarist policies
