Democracy and Participation Flashcards
direct democracy
democracy in which people directly make descisons
types of direct democracy
- referendums
- e-petitons
how e-petitons work in the UK
any petition with more than 10k signatures recives a response from gov. more than 100k gets debated in parliament
examples of e-petitons in UK
in 2019 6 million signatures to revoke article 50 and remain in the eu
in 2017 1.86 million signatures to stop Trump making a state visit
advantages of direct democracy
promotes participation
(84.6% turn out in SCOT-INDY ref)
improves accountability (most MPs not in favour of Brexit but public was)
all voices are equal
(unlike votes where some constituencies have fewer voters than other)
improves political education
disadvantages of direct democracy
lack of political education
referendums are not legally binding only convention as parliament is sovereign
turn out often low for many issues
(AV referendum turn out 42%)
tyranny of the majority
(48% of UK voted against brexit)
impractical in a large country and they take time and money.
(brexit cost 130 million)
representative democracy
democracy in whihc people vote for elected representatives to make decisons on their behalf
types of representative democracy
general elections
local elections
european parliament elections (until 2020)
advantages of representative democracy
elected polticians can be held accountable
more practical than direct
disadvantages of representative democracy
voters can feel disengaged and helpless as they are not making day to day decisions
Politicians can be selfish and corrupt
enfranchised
given the right to vote
suffarage
the right to vote
universal sufferage = democracy for all
great reform act 1832
passed by whig government
1 in 5 male adults could now vote
abolished rotten boroughs (constituencies that had almost no voters)
second reform act 1867
passed by conservative gov,
allowed working class men in cities to vote,
1 in 3 men could vote.
third reform act 1884
all working men with property could vote,
40% of men still couldn’t vote especially those in rural counties
representation of the people 1918
product of social and political change after WW1 as women played a vital role in the war.
all men over 21 could vote,
women over 30 with property could vote
representation of the people act 1928
women received vote on equal terms to men,
property requirement removed,
all men and women over 21 could vote.
representation of the people act 1969
aged lowered to 18 by Wilsons labour gov
large social and political liberalisation in 60s
six points of the peoples charter
all men to have the vote irrespective of wealth or property ownership
voting should be by secret ballot
parliamentary elections every year not every 7
equally sized constiutencies
mps should be paid
no property requirement
main tactic of chartists
submission of petitons to parliament
primary concern of the chartists
ending the aristocratic domination of politics by the small wealth elite
why did the elite not want to give the vote to the working class
they believed they were too poorly educated to use their vote wisely and understand politcal issues
they also feared they may use their vote to seize the wealth of the rich
suffragists
focused on peaceful methods (meetings, pettitons and peaceful marches)
suffragettes
more millitant and prepared to break the law
(chaning themselves to gates, heckling and disrupting public meetings)
key arguments for votes for women
women are the intellectual equal of men
women paid the same taxes and obeyed the same laws
their roles as wives and mothers made a vital contribution to the nation
(especially during WWs)
traditonal forms of participation
- voting in elections
- membership to a politcal party
- standing in an election
- joining a pressure group
- writing letters to MPs
recent developments in political participation
- liking and interacting with political posts on social media
- boycotting goods and businesses
examples of a participation crisis in the UK
GENERAL ELECTIONS
1945-1992 turn out usually greater than 75%
in 2019 it fell to 67%
MEMBERSHIP TO PARTIES
- combined membership of labour,conservative and lib dem <2% of electorate
- in 1950 tory membership was 2.8 mil now 170,000
partisan dealignment
removal of alignment from a party vote based on specific topic
issues such as brexit
