Democracy and Participation Flashcards
Voter turnout- general elections
Average turnout between 1945 and 1997 was 76%, but since then it has fallen considerably
Lowest was 2001 at 59%
Has made a slow rise since, reaching 67% in 2019
1997 Scottish independence referendum
60% turnout, of which 74% voted yes to the creation of a Scottish Parliament
2011 AV referendum
42% turnout, of which 68% voted against changing from FPTP to AV
Turnout in 2012 Police and Crime Commissioner elections
15% of people voted in the 2012 Police and Crime Commissioner elections
2016 Brexit referendum
72% turnout, of which 52% voted yes
RMT methods
Strikes and E-Petitions
RMT membership
83,000 2024
57,000 2002
Sectional group
RMT successes
Accepted a pay deal in Nov 2023 with job security guarantees and a 5% payrise
NFU representation
Accounts for 0.14% of the English population
NFU methods
Lobbying and attending conferences
NFU Mobile Infrastructure Project
60% of farmers had mobile phone signal, so a £150m budget was allotted to fix this
Was cut short due to a lack of major improvements
NFU Farm to Fork summit
Hosted on the 14th May
Secured £172m total for combatting endemic diseases and farming infrastructure, as well as other causes
NFU goals
Sustainable farming and energy
Fair and cheap trade for farmers
Food security
Amnesty International- Julian Assange
Assange v USA
Wrote a letter to the UK SC to not send Assange to the US or other countries in which his rights would be at risk (March 2024)
Amnesty International methods
Lobbying
Research
Legal analysis
Petitions
Amnesty International Shaker Aamer
Detained in Guantanamo Bay without trial or charge for 13 years
After over 10 years of campaigning, Aamer was released in October 2015
David Cameron asked Obama directly to release him
Greenpeace methods
2013: bee protest in Parliament square against pesticides
Lobbying
Pressuring consumers
Greenpeace membership
2.9m worldwide
ALF methods
Outsider group with violent methods
Planting bombs
ALF Newchurch Farms
Successfully shut down a breeding facility for guinea pigs after unearthing an elderly woman in 2006
RSPCA methods
Charity shops
Petitions and letters
Lobbying
Insider group
RSPCA members and donors
25k members
400k regular donors
RSPCA Circus animals
Banned in 2019 after 50 years of campaigning
RSPCA Animal testing
Banned animal testing of cosmetics and advertisements in 2013
Unite aims
Workers’ rights
Unite campaigns
Banning Conversion therapy
Get me home safely
- Creating safer workplaces
Unite methods
Working with the Labour Party
- Donated £1.6m in 2020 (largest trade union donation)
Unite Manchester HGV drivers
Over 90 drivers based in Greater Manchester saw a pay rise from £11.41 to £15
September 2021
Unite members
1.4m
Second largest trade union in the UK
Number of epetition signatures required for a government response
10,000
Number of epetition signatures required for a recommended Westminster debate
100,000
How long do epetitions run
6 months
Statistics of the 2017-19 Parliamentary session on epetitions
33,000 submitted
8,000 successfully opened
74 debated
Most signed petition of the 2017-19 Parliamentary session
Revoke article 50 and remain in the EU
1.6m signatures
Petition to call a general election
Closed January 2023
Debated in October 2022
Raised the profile of the issue despite its unrealistic intention
900,000 signatures
Number of unique signatures since the creation of the epetition site
23 million as of the 2019 General Election
Almost 35% of the UK
