Democracy and participation

Question 1

Representative democracy

Answer 1

A form of democracy in which voters elect representatives to make political decisions on their behalf. These representatives are then held accountable to the public in regular elections.

Question 2

Direct democracy

Answer 2

A form of democracy in which citizens themselves, rather than their representatives, make political decisions. For example, a referendum.

Question 3

Participation crisis

Answer 3

A point at which the public has become disengaged from politics and voting levels have fallen so low that the legitimacy of elected governments can be questioned.

Question 4

Democratic deficit

Answer 4

When a democracy is not operating effectively because there is a lack of accountability among political bodies and not all citizens can claim equal influence over political decision making.

Question 5

Burkean principle of freedom of conscience

Answer 5

MPs should not be beholden to their constituent’s wishes, and be free to exercise their own judgement in Parliament

Question 6

Suffrage

Answer 6

The right to vote.
Throughout the 19th more and more people were granted the right to vote. Today, everyone over 18 can vote unless they are mentally incapacitated, in prison or a member of the House of Lords.

Question 7

Pluralist democracy

Answer 7

Political influence is dispersed among a wide variety of elected and non-elected bodies, ensuring that there is fair and transparent competition between rival groups for influence.

Question 8

Outline advantages of representative democracy

Answer 8

• Government is carried out by professional politicians (they have to be well informed about issues - more educated decision-making)
• Representative balance conflicting interests
• Accountability through regular elections

Question 9

Outline disadvantages of reprensentative democracy

Answer 9

• MPs can become disconnected from their voters (second jobs, “Westminster bubble”)
• Unrepresentative MPs due to FPTP
• Not diverse enough (white, middle/upper class, male)

Question 10

Name ways and examples of direct democracy in the UK

Answer 10

Referendums - Scottish Independence Referendum (2014)

Electronic petitions - A second referendum on whether the UK should leave the EU

Consultative exercises - Communities which will be affected have been consulted over the expansion of Heathrow and the HS2 rail link

Open primaries - The independent MP Sarah Wollaston became the Conservative candidate for Totnes in 2009 when she won an open primary

Leadership elections of political parties - Rishi Sunak was elected Conservative party leader and as a result became Prime Minister

Recall of MPs Act (2015) - Ian Paisley just survived a recall petition in 2018 after a scandal

Question 11

Outline advantages of direct democracy

Answer 11

• More political participation
• Decisions will be more representative of the public beliefs

Question 12

Outline disadvantages of direct democracy

Answer 12

• Uninformed citizens may make a rash decision
• Too much power is given to political activists/radical groups
• conflicting views between the public and parliament can lead to a destabilisation of the political system (in crisis)

Question 13

Define the term “pressure group”

Answer 13

A body which seeks to influence government policy without seeking office itself, usually focused on a single issue or narrow group of ideas.

Question 14

Name and define the 4 types of pressure groups

Answer 14

Insider groups - these have direct access to government ministers and top officials and therefore build up a good professional relationship, which can help to formulate policy.

Outsider groups - These groups do not wish or are unable to be close to the government. For example, CND or the countryside alliance.

Sectional groups - These groups represent the needs of certain groups of society, e.g. teachers, workers in specific industries, lawyers, etc. Their goal is to improve the status of their members and in some instances have been successful. For example, preventing London underground being privatised, likewise the Postal Service.

Cause groups:
- Local level groups who are against a change in their area
- A group with ongoing much wider issues, which may take longer and has a larger impact on people´s lives

Question 15

Outline methods used by pressure groups

Answer 15

• Local petitions, letters and lobbying of MPs, councillors, Peers to push their particular issue
• Use of media/internet
• Peaceful marches and demonstrations
• Using courts to prevent injustice (supreme court)
• Strikes
• Publicity stunts
• Hiring professional lobbyists to get our proposals ahead of your competitors
• Illegal activities e.g. damaging property, violence

Question 16

What are factors affecting the success of pressure groups?

Answer 16

• Support of the media
• Proximity of an election and the potential votes an issue might win/lose
• How united the pressure group is
• Management and organisation of the pressure groups
• Size and possible electorate impact of the membership

Question 17

What are arguments in favour of pressure groups

Answer 17

• Allows participation between elections
• Provide a voice for minority groups
• Provide objective info for government (not always)
• Everybody can have a voice and make a difference
• Use of publicity widens public debate

Question 18

What are arguments against pressure groups?

Answer 18

• Single issues detract from elections
• If well organised will drown out majority
• Info can also be biased and conflicting
• Elite can dominate policy influence

Question 19

Name pressure groups in the UK

Answer 19

Surfers Against Sewage
- campaign for less plastic and more recycling

Stop the War Coalition
- organised a demonstration with 1 million people against Tony Blair´s support for an American led invasion of Iraq

Question 20

Define human rights

Answer 20

A right which is believed to belong to every person.
It is referred to as “soft law” because it is not always possible to enforce them.

Question 21

Define civil liberties

Answer 21

These are rights that individuals possess in relation to the nation state and so are legally enforceable and represent “hard law”.

Question 22

Outline the development of a right-based culture since 1997

Answer 22

Human Rights Act (1998)
- Incorporates the European Convention of Human Rights fully into British law
- ensures rights are being easy to understand (written down clearly)

Freedom of Information Act (2000)
- Established the “right of access” to information held by the public bodies so long as it does not compromise national security.
- For example, the MPs expenses scandal in 2009

Equality Act (2010)
- Established equality before the law for all citizens.
- Discrimination in public life is illegal in 9 categories: Age, sex, gender reassignment, race, religion and belief, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity

Question 23

Define civic responsibility

Answer 23

Responsibilities which citizens need to follow or should follow. These can be enforced laws, such as paying taxes or serving on a jury, but also not legally enforceable laws, such as voting.

Question 24

What are restrictions of civil liberties in the UK?

Answer 24

Freedom can be restricted if it is likely to endanger the collective good of society.

For example:
- Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act (2001) - government has the power to imprison foreign terrorist suspect indefinitely without trial.
- Investigatory Power Act (2016) - authorised the retention of personal data and its access for law enforcement

Question 25

Think tanks

Answer 25

Public policy research organisations that seek to influence government policy.

• They are usually identified with particular positions on the political spectrum
• They are not overtly “campaigning organisations”. They try to influence public policy and debate.
• They have great contacts with the media and politicians, civil servants and other organisations
• They generally initiate their own work and seek funding for it (funded from charitable and corporate sources)
• The main output of think tanks is the publication of their research and policy work

Examples of think tanks:
- Social Market Foundation
- New Policy Institute
- Nexus
- Politeia

Question 26

Lobbyists

Answer 26

Individuals who undertake lobbying. They are paid by their clients to try to influence those in government to act in their client´s interests.

Question 27

Legitimacy

Answer 27

Legitimacy is the rightful use of power in accordance with pre-set criteria or widely-held agreements, such as a government’s right to rule following an election.
The manifestos of the party being elected are the policies they have a mandate to carry out. Those who do not agree with those policies then have to wait for another election to legitimise another party´s policies.

Question 28

franchise

Answer 28

Refers to those people who can vote in elections

Question 29

Great Reform Act (1832)

Answer 29

A response to the growing demands for greater representation, following the French Revolution.

-reduced the number of boroughs in England and Wales and reduced 31 to only one MP
- created 67 new constituencies
- broadened the property qualification
- gave the vote to householders who paid yearly rental of 10 pounds or more

Question 30

Representation of the People Act (1876) - Second Reform Act

Answer 30

Gave the vote to working-class men for the first time, in response to the Chartists´ campaigning

Question 31

Representation of the People Act (1918)

Answer 31

After World War 1, following the pressure from the Suffragettes, and the success of working women, the right to vote was granted to women over the age of 30 who met a property qualification, and all men over the age of 21.

Question 32

Representation of the People Act (1928) - Equal Franchise Act

Answer 32

This granted, for the first time, equal voting rights to women and men. Both could vote at the age of 21.

Question 33

Representation of the People Act (1969)

Answer 33

This extended the franchise to men and women over the age of 18

Question 34

Why was extending the franchise important?

Answer 34

• It increases representation amongst the people
• Being elected by everyone over the age of 18 means that representatives have to take the concerns of nearly all adults into account.
• It encourage political education
• Increased accountability
• “No taxation without representation” - when people have to pay taxes, they should also have a say in how the money is spent

Question 35

Outline the female suffrage

Answer 35

• Achieved in 1918, and on an equal basis to men in 1928
• It was thought that women did not need the right to vote as they were naturally uninterested in politics, and their husbands would vote in their best interests anyway.
• Early campaigners relied on peaceful protest (marches and demonstrations), and were known as the suffragists
• There were also more extreme methods: Emily - Davison threw herself in front of the King´s horse at the 1916 Derby and subsequently died of her injuries
• The support for women´s suffrage started to grow, especially after the First World War 1 (women over 30 were granted the right to vote in 1918)
• After that representation of women in politics increased continuously (2015 general election = 29% women as MPs)

Question 36

Outline the pressure group “UsForThem” with its methods and influence

Answer 36

• An insider pressure group
• Set up during the covid pandemic and campaigned for reopening schools and against some covid safety measures

Methods:
- informing people via social media
- being in contact with the government departments in order to evaluate policy
- e-petitions in order to force a statement from the education secretary regarding masks in schools

Influence:
- 17 Tory MPs had backed them up
- “UsForThem” meet twice with civil servants from the Department of Education before the government decisions on coronavirus school policy were made.
- Ed Barker (Westminster PR and key person in Boris Johnson´s leadership campaign) backed the group “UsForThem” up in the Covid Recovery Group (CRG) when deciding to reopen schools

Question 37

Outline “Animal Liberation Front (ALF)” with its methods and influence

Answer 37

• A outsider group
• This group is so extremely far away from the government that some described them as extremist.
• Their main purpose is to protest against animal cruelty
• They describe themselves as a decentralised organisation

Methods:
- Some ALF members took responsibility for a firebomb attack on Lynn Fairbanks, a UCLA researcher
- damaging company properties

Influence:
- several campaigns closed down facilities perceived to be abusive to animals

Question 38

Outline restrictions of civil liberties

Answer 38

Freedom can be restricted if it is likely to endanger the collective good of society.

For example:
- Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act (2001) - government has the power to imprison foreign terrorist suspect indefinitely without trial.
- Investigatory Power Act (2016) - authorised the retention of personal data and its access for law enforcement

Question 39

Explain the balance between collective and individual rights

Answer 39

There is a natural tension between the rights of the individual and the rights of the community. The government needs try to balance the needs of both.

Question 40

How effectively are civil liberties protected in the UK?

Answer 40

The HRA is no different from any other Act of Parliament can can therefore be suspended or repealed by Parliament (parliamentary sovereignty).
This results in judges not having the power to protect civil liberties if legislation conflicts with the law.