Democracy and Participation Flashcards
What is direct democracy?
All individuals express their opinions themselves and not through representatives acting on their behalf. An example of direct democracy is a referendum
What is representative democracy?
A form of democracy in which an individual selects a person (or political party) to act on their behalf to exercise political choice. This is the usual form of democracy in the modern world.
What are the features of direct democracy?
- Individuals express opinions themselves
- Not elective
- Citizens more active in decision-making
What are the key features of a representative democracy?
- Citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf
- All adult citizens have the right to vote for representatives
- Elections for representatives are free and fair
- Citizens pass their authority to their representatives
What are the advantages and disadvantages of direct democracy?
Advantages:
- Gives equal weight to all votes, unlike a representative system where the varying sizes of constituencies means that votes do not all have equal value
- Encourages popular participation in politics by expecting people to take their duties as citizens seriously
- Removes the need for trusted representatives, as people can take responsibility for their own decisions
- Develops a sense of community and encourages genuine debate
Disadvantages:
- Impractical in a large heavily populated modern state where decision making is complicated
- Many people will not want to - or feel qualified to - take part in decision-making, so political activists decide what happens
- Open to manipulation by the cleverest and most articulate speakers, who will persuade people to support their viewpoint
- Will of the majority is not mediated by parliamentary institutions, so minority viewpoints are disregarded
What are the advantages and disadvantages of representative democracy?
Advantages:
- The only practical system in a large modern state, where issues are complex and often need rapid response (e.g. the deployment of troops)
- Politicians form parties, bringing coherence and giving people a real choice or representative. Pressure groups form to represent different interests, promoting debate and encouraging pluralist democracy
- Reduces chances of minority rights being overridden by ‘tyranny of the majority’
- Elections allow people to hold representatives to account
- Politicians are (in theory) better informed than the average citizen about the any issues on which they must take a view
Disadvantages:
- May lead to reduced participation as people choose to hand responsibility to politicians
- Parties and pressure groups are often run by elites pursuing their own agendas, not truly representing the people
- Minorities may still find themselves underrepresented as politicians are more likely to follow the views of the majority to secure election
- Politicians are skilful in avoiding accountability, especially as general elections are 5 years apart
- Politicians may be corrupt and incompetent, may betray election promises or put loyalty to their party before responsibility to the electorate.
What is a pluralist democracy?
A type of democracy in which a government makes decisions as a result of the interplay of various ideas and contrasting arguments from competing groups and organisations
What are the instances where direct democracy can be used within a representative system?
- National referendums: a referendum is a direct vote on a single issue, usually requiring a response to a straight yes/no question. The UK has had 3; On membership of the European Economic Community (which later became the EU) in 1975 and 2016, and whether to change the system of voting for Westminster in 2011
- The 2015 Recall of MPs Act: This allows a petition to be triggered if an MP is sentenced to be imprisoned or is suspended from the HoC for more than 21 days. If 10% of eligible voters in the constituency sign the petition, a by-election is called. Direct democracy is thus used to hold representatives to account
What are the positive democratic features of the UK political system?
- Devolved governments, and for elected Mayors in London and other English cities, enabling more decisions to be taken closer to local people
- Free and fair elections, largely free or corruption and intimidation, in recent years supplemented by opportunities to vote in referendums
- Wide range of political parties and pressure groups to which people may belong
- Independent judiciary, separate from the other branches of government, that upholds the rule of law and protects a wide range of personal freedoms
- Free media that challenges government policy and exposes the misdeeds of politicians
What is legitimacy?
The legal right to exercise power, for example a governments right to rule following an election
What is a democratic deficit?
A perceived deficiency in the way a particular democratic body works, especially in terms of accountability and control over policy-making
In what respects can the UK political system be seen as undemocratic?
- Under-representation of minority viewpoints due to the voting system; HoC is elected by FPTP, which produces a mismatch between the votes cast for UK political parties and the seats that each party wins in parliaments
- HoL lacks democratic legitimacy; it is unelected, and mainly appointed, with the greater part of its membership having been chosen by former PMs. However some non-party ‘crossbench’ peers nominated since 2000 by an independent HoL Appointments Commission, ensuring that a number of different professions and fields of experience are present in the upper house
- Lack of protections for citizens’ rights; the ECHR arguable provides inadequate guarantees for the rights of citizens in their relationship with the state. Governments can ‘derogate from’ articles of the HRA, officially stating that parts of the act no longer have legal authority in certain situations
- Control of sections of the media by wealth, unaccountable business interests; e.g. the Murdoch groups hs owned a number of British newspapers simultaneously
What is meant by a ‘participation crisis’?
A lack of engagement with the political system, for example where a large number of people choose not to vote, join a political party or stand for office
What are the measures of political participation?
Voter turnout
Party membership
Why is falling voter turnout important?
It means that governments are elected on a reduced share of the popular vote, thus calling the strength of their mandate into question
Average election turnout data
- average turnout 1945-97 was 76%
- 2001 was lowest turnout since WW1 at 59.4%
- 2017 roughly 65%
-2024 60%
What is voter turnout like in non-general elections?
- Turnout is even lower in ‘second order’ elections (e.g. those for the devolved bodies)
- Average turnout for May 2016 local elections was 33.8% - maybe because voters see these bodies as less powerful and less likely to make a difference to their everyday life
- Turnout for parliamentary elections usually low - people not helping to choose a government
- In 2017 Stoke-on-Trent by-election only 38.2% of the electorate voted
What percentage of the electorate belongs to one of the 3 main UK-wide parties?
1.6%, whereas it was 3.8% in 1986
Changes in party membership figures
- Conservatives had just under 150,000 members in 2016, estimated 400,000 in mid 90s, in 2025 131,000
- Labour membership increased in the run up to 1997 (400,000), then fell when they were in government to around 190,000. Increased to 515,000 when Corbin became leader. Now at 309,000
- Lib Dems had about 70,000 in early 2000s, fell to 49,000 in coalition, and rose to 82,000 in 2017. Now at 90,000
Membership of smaller parties also increase:
- SNP from 25,000 in 2013 to 120,000 in 2016, 72,000 in 2023
- Greens from 13,800 in 2013 to 55,000 in 2016, 54,000 2021
- UKIP from 32,400 in 2013 to 39,000 in 2016 - Reform over 200,000 in 2025
Is there a participation crisis?
- Now other ways that people are getting involved in politics - membership of pressure groups has been increasing
- Last few decades have seen well attended demonstrations; on Brexit, Iraq war, fuel prices, tuition fees
- People may be turning to new methods of expression because they feel conventional politics have let them down
- Society has become more consumerist; people make up their minds more on an individual basis and are used to making choices between different options
- Social media has enabled people to exchange political views and participate in online campaigns on particular issues, without engaging in the real world e.g. support for e-petitions such as in 2007 against proposals for road-charging was signed by 1.8 million
- Rise of new forms of political engagement may be seen as positive, but still its a cause for concern that so many are uninvolved in traditional politics
What are some explanations for an increasing lack of traditional political engagement?
- Political apathy: a lack of interest or awareness of contemporary events and political issues that affect society
- People are generally contented and see no need to push for political change; may help to account for low turnout in 2001 and 2005, but doesn’t explain the low turnout in 2010
- Levels of participation may depend on the types of issues at stake; turnout for Scottish independence referendum was 84.6%, Brexit referendum turnout was 72.2% - suggests that when there are critical issues affecting the way the country is governed people will still express a view
- Negative public perception (2009 parliamentary expenses scandal) of politicians in recent decades helps explain declining turnout
Case study: 2009 parliamentary expenses scandal
In 2009 the Telegraph published evidence of widespread abuse of the system that allowed MPs to claim expenses for living costs. The affair dragged in MPs from across the political spectrum, leading to a number of apologies, forced repayment and decisions not to contest seats at the next election. Five former MPs and two members of the HoL were sentenced to prison terms. Although steps have been taken to regulate the expenses system, this doesn’t seem to have fundamentally altered popular perceptions. A 2015 survey by Ipsos MORI found that politicians were the profession least trusted by the public.
What proposals have been suggested to increase turnout at elections?
- Changing the dar for elections from Thursday to weekends
- Allowing people to vote anywhere in their constituency rather than insisting on attendances at a particular polling station
- Allowing voting to take place over several days
- Make voting compulsory
- Reduce voting age to 16 (was done in the Scottish independence referendum)
- Encourage wider use of postal voting and allow electronic voting
Arguments for and against voting becoming compulsory
For:
- Voting is a social duty as well as a right; people should be engaged in the process that affects their lives
- It would produce a parliament that is more representative of the population as a whole
- Politicians would have to run better quality campaigns and governments would have to frame their policies with the whole electorate in mind
- Voters are not obliged to vote for one of the candidates if they conscientiously cannot; it would still be legal to spoil one’s ballot paper, or a ‘none of the above’ box could be provided on the paper
Against:
- In a preferential voting system, where voters number candidates in order, compulsory voting might lead to participants simply placing candidates in rank order
- It is undemocratic to force people to take part in something that should be a matter of choice
- It would not stop politicians focusing their campaigning on marginal seats and neglecting safe seats where the outcome is predictable
- Compulsory voting does not address the deeper reasons why people decide not to vote
What categories of people are excluded from participating in parliamentary elections?
- People under the age of 18
- EU citizens, but they can vote in local elections
- Members of the HoL
- Prisoners
- Those convicted of a corrupt or illegal electoral practice, who are barred for 5 years
- People who are compulsorily detained in a psychiatric hospital
Key milestones in the widening of the franchise
- The Great Reform Act of 1832; abolished the separate representation of the most underpopulated ‘rotten boroughs’ and creating seats for
