Democracy and Participation

Question 1

direct democracy

Answer 1

democracy in which people directly make descisons

Question 2

types of direct democracy

Answer 2

• referendums
• e-petitons

Question 3

how e-petitons work in the UK

Answer 3

any petition with more than 10k signatures recives a response from gov. more than 100k gets debated in parliament

Question 4

examples of e-petitons in UK

Answer 4

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

Question 5

advantages of direct democracy

Answer 5

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

Question 6

disadvantages of direct democracy

Answer 6

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)

Question 7

representative democracy

Answer 7

democracy in whihc people vote for elected representatives to make decisons on their behalf

Question 8

types of representative democracy

Answer 8

general elections

local elections

european parliament elections (until 2020)

Question 9

advantages of representative democracy

Answer 9

elected polticians can be held accountable

more practical than direct

Question 10

disadvantages of representative democracy

Answer 10

voters can feel disengaged and helpless as they are not making day to day decisions

Politicians can be selfish and corrupt

Question 11

enfranchised

Answer 11

given the right to vote

Question 12

suffarage

Answer 12

the right to vote
universal sufferage = democracy for all

Question 13

great reform act 1832

Answer 13

passed by whig government

1 in 5 male adults could now vote

abolished rotten boroughs (constituencies that had almost no voters)

Question 14

second reform act 1867

Answer 14

passed by conservative gov,

allowed working class men in cities to vote,

1 in 3 men could vote.

Question 15

third reform act 1884

Answer 15

all working men with property could vote,

40% of men still couldn’t vote especially those in rural counties

Question 16

representation of the people 1918

Answer 16

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

Question 17

representation of the people act 1928

Answer 17

women received vote on equal terms to men,

property requirement removed,

all men and women over 21 could vote.

Question 18

representation of the people act 1969

Answer 18

aged lowered to 18 by Wilsons labour gov

large social and political liberalisation in 60s

Question 19

six points of the peoples charter

Answer 19

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

Question 20

main tactic of chartists

Answer 20

submission of petitons to parliament

Question 21

primary concern of the chartists

Answer 21

ending the aristocratic domination of politics by the small wealth elite

Question 22

why did the elite not want to give the vote to the working class

Answer 22

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

Question 23

suffragists

Answer 23

focused on peaceful methods (meetings, pettitons and peaceful marches)

Question 24

suffragettes

Answer 24

more millitant and prepared to break the law
(chaning themselves to gates, heckling and disrupting public meetings)

Question 25

key arguments for votes for women

Answer 25

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)

Question 26

traditonal forms of participation

Answer 26

• voting in elections
• membership to a politcal party
• standing in an election
• joining a pressure group
• writing letters to MPs

Question 27

recent developments in political participation

Answer 27

• liking and interacting with political posts on social media
• boycotting goods and businesses

Question 28

examples of a participation crisis in the UK

Answer 28

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

Question 29

partisan dealignment

Answer 29

removal of alignment from a party vote based on specific topic
issues such as brexit