Democracy and participation

Question 1

Voter turnout for 2016 EU referendum

Answer 1

33 million

Question 2

Key features of direct democracy

Answer 2

1)People have influence over political decision making
2)Government is accountable to the people
3)free and fair elections so the government is considered legitimate
4)Different beliefs, political parties and political associations are tolerated.

Question 3

Advantages of direct democracy

Answer 3

-purest form of democracy -increased political engagement
-transparency between govt and people

Question 4

Disadvantages of direct democracy

Answer 4

-public make decisions and are often less knowledgeable to make informed decisions than an MP
-impractical as it is time consuming and expensive
-Cabinet Office estimated EDU referendum cost £142.4 million

Question 5

social representation

Answer 5

37% of MPs privately educated as
opposed to 7% of the population.
20 % of MPs went to Oxbridge.
263 out of 650 MPs are women 2024
90 BAME members of parliament

Question 6

Democratic Deficit

Answer 6

Democratic Deficit is the belief that democracy is not working as intended and is failing to ensure sufficient accountability and legitimacy

Question 7

Great Reform Act 1832

Answer 7

Many rotten boroughs were abolished, and representation was given to urban areas like Manchester.
In the counties, more people were given the franchise, like tenant farmers.
The Act gave the vote to middle class people in the boroughs, such as small landowners and shopkeepers.

Question 8

1918 Representation of the People Act

Answer 8

The 1918 Act let women vote in general elections.Women who were married, owned property, or graduates, and aged over 30 were given the vote
All men aged over 21 were given the vote
The 1918 Act was passed by the wartime coalition government.

Question 9

1928 Rep of the People Act

Answer 9

The 1928 Act extended suffrage to all women, passed under a Conservative government.

Question 10

1969 Representation of the People Act

Answer 10

The 1969 Act extended suffrage to people under 21, after attitudes towards adulthood changed in the UK.
passed under a Labour government.

Question 11

Voter turnout for 1950

Answer 11

80%

Question 12

Voter turnout for 2017

Answer 12

69%

Question 13

Voter turnout for 2024

Answer 13

60%

Question 14

Refererndum turnouts

Answer 14

Devolution (1997/98) to:
Wales - 50%
Scotland - 60%
Northern Ireland - 81%

2011 AV referendum 42%
2014 Scottish Independence 84.6%
2016 Brexit 72.2%

Question 15

Party membership

Answer 15

2% of the total electorate members of a party

Question 16

Reform of HoL

Answer 16

The HoL is unelected and unaccountable. Its membership is selected through political
patronage. When he left office in 2016, David Cameron appointed 13 peers from among his
political allies. Making the Lords an elected chamber would mean that Westminster was fully
democratically accountable. However, there is the danger that an elected Lords could
become a rival for the Commons, thereby, potentially, creating constitutional gridlock.

Question 17

E-petitions

Answer 17

The introduction of electronic petitions has contributed to UK democracy by giving the
public more control over what is discussed in Parliament. E-petitions have led to important
debates on the possible legalisation of cannabis and the extension of the meningitis B
vaccination to all children

Question 18

Against e - petitions

Answer 18

1) Some of the most popular e-petitions have called for banning Donald Trump from the UK, which is not even Parliament’s right since the responsibility lies with the home secretary.
2) In 2019, an e-petition calling on the UK to stay in the EU gathered over 6 million signatures, making it the most popular e-petition since the process was introduced.

Question 19

Advantages of compulsory voting

Answer 19

Turnout will increase so greater
democratic legitimacy to party or
individuals within elections
* Ensuring more sections of society are
involved, decision makers would have to
ensure that policies address the concerns
of all parts of society, not just those who
typically vote in large numbers
* Force voters, especially the young to
make themselves more informed about
political issues
* Those not voting are often ethnic
minorities, the poorest and young people.
This means that political decision-making
often favours older and wealthier voters.

Question 20

Disadvantages of compulsory voting

Answer 20

• Many voters are not well informed and
  yet they would be voting so there would
  be ill informed participation
• It would involve large amounts of public
  expenditure to administer and enforce
  the system
• It would favour larger parties against
  small parties. This is because less
  informed citizens would vote and they
  may have only heard only of better
  known parties and candidates.

Question 21

advantages of referendum

Answer 21

Settles an issue; Informs the public; +participation, politically binding for gov.

Question 22

disadvantages of referendums

Answer 22

Neverendum (Scotland), Voter Apathy, Expensive, Not legally binding

Question 23

Pressure group

Answer 23

a group of people who try to raise awareness of issues and try to affect the views and actions of people and organisations

Question 24

Insider Pressure Groups

Answer 24

Groups whose goals are generally noncontroversial, who negotiate with Whitehall departments

Question 25

outsider pressure groups

Answer 25

unable to negotiate because their demands are inconsistent with the party in power.

Question 26

direct action

Answer 26

the use of strikes, demonstrations, or other public forms of protest rather than negotiation to achieve one’s demands.

Question 27

lobbying

Answer 27

A strategy by which organised interests seek to influence the passage of legislation by exerting direct pressure on members of the legislature

Question 28

Elitism

Answer 28

The theory that political power is concentrated in the hands of the few, an elite, sometimes called a ‘power elite’.

Question 29

What is a representative democracy

Answer 29

people elect representatives who take decisions on their own behalf

Question 30

what are two features of a representative democracy?

Answer 30

• representatives merely dont take instructions from voters, they are expected to exercise their own judgement
  -they are held accountable on regular elections

Question 31

what are 3 advantages of a representative democracy

Answer 31

-politicans are in theory better informed than the average citzen, so they are better to make decisions
-practical in a large modern state where issues are more complex and in need of rapid responce
-elections allow people to hold rep to account

Question 32

give two disadvantages of a representative democracy

Answer 32

-parties are run by elites pursuing their own agenda, not really representing people
-politicians cab be corrupt and incompetent and may betray election promises or put loyalty to party before representing people

Question 33

essay question - what are strengths and weaknesses of a direct and representative democracies? DIRECT DEMOCRACY (GIVE DRAWBACKS)

Answer 33

1. individuals express opinions themselves : gives weight to all votes unlike representative democracy, where varying sizes of constituencies mean votes do not all have equal value - DRAWBACK - impractical in a large modern state where decision-making is complicated
   2.NOT ELECTIVE: this encourages popular participation by expecting people to take their duties as citizens seriously
   DRAWBACK - MANY people will feel not qualified enough or do not want to take part in decision-making, so leave it up to politicians
2. citizens more active in decision making: removes the need for trusted representatives as people take responsibilities for their own decisions and develops sense of community and encourages genuine debate
   DRAWBACKS - open to manipulation of the most articulate and due to FPTP, minority viewpoints are disregarded (tyranny of majority)

Question 34

essay question - what are strengths and weaknesses of a direct and representatvie democracries? REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

Answer 34

1.STRENGTH - citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf, this is practical as in large modern states issues are more complex thus needing rapid responses
DRAWBACK - may lead to reduced participation as people choose to hand responsibility to politicians
2. STRENGTH -ALL adults have the right to vote for representatives, politicians form parties which give people a choice for representatives, pressure groups represent different interests, promote debate and encourage pluralist democracy
DRAWBACK - parties and pressure groups are run by elites pursuing own agendas, not truly representing people
3. STRENGTH -ELECTIONS FOR REPRESENTATIVE ARE FREE AND FAIR, this reduces the chance of rights being overridden by ‘tyranny of the majority’
DRAWBACK - minorities may feel underrepresented as politician may follow the views of the majority
4. STRENGTH - ELECTIONS ALLOW PEOPLE TO HOLD REPRESENTATIVE TO ACCOUNT
DRAWBACK - politicians may be corrupt and incompetent, may betray election promises and put loyalty to the party rather than electorate

Question 35

EVALUATE THE VIEW THAT THERE IS A PARTICIPATION CRISIS IN THE UK
para 1 - GENERAL ELECTION

Answer 35

evidence - voter turnout in recent UK general election has dipped, from 1945 to 1997 turnout was 76%, now in 2024 general election it is 59.8% , also its lower for second order elections (councils)
evidence against - increases uses of referndums since 1997 has given peoppe more opportunities to take part in decision making, e-petitions that have attracted signatures are debated im commons
explanation - decreasing votert turnout shows that theres less participation
evaluation - its a modest recovery however levels are low

Question 36

EVALUATE THE VIEW THAT THERE IS A PARTICIPATION CRISIS IN THE UK
para 2 - party membership

Answer 36

evidence - now 1.6% of electorate now belong to one of the 3 main uk poltiical parties, meanwhile 1983 it was 3.8%, conservative party had under 150,000 by 2016 from 400,000 in 1990s
evidence against - election of jeremy corbyn as leader increases membership to 515,000 by july 2016, liddems exceeded 82,000 in 2017, SNP now increased to more than 120,000 by 2018
explanation - there is still participation crisis
evaluation - increase for labour party, however levels are low.

Question 37

EVALUATE THE VIEW THAT THERE IS A PARTICIPATION CRISIS IN THE UK
para 3 -police and crime elections

Answer 37

evidence - not many people vote in PCC (policd crime commison) 2012 - 15 % voter turnout, 2024 17% voter turnout in wales
evidence against - turnout slightly higher in english pcc in 2024 with 27% turnout
explanation - not alot of peope undestand the purpose of these elections leadint to pariticipation crisis , evident as PCC elections do worse than GE ELECTIONS
evalutation - yes theres a partiicipation crisis

Question 38

evaluate arguments that a democratic deficit exists in uk political system - underrepresentation of minorities P1

Answer 38

-argument - FPTP VOTES ARE LOST IN LOSING PARTIES , thereofre an alternatice system is needed such as proportional representation in order to have a fairer election,
Evaluation - lots of people in safe seats dont count as majority for a party, however marginal votes count alot more.

Question 39

evaluate argument that a democratic deficit exists in uk political system -house of lords lacks democratic legitimacy P2

Answer 39

argument - lords membership are appointed by successive MPS, some change in 2000s (such as labour removing some 2024) but still not democratic
EVALUATION - a very important sector of democratic system is not democratic! so thus a democratic deficit

Question 40

evaluate argument that a democratic deficit exists in uk political system - wealthy elites control media so its undemocratic

Answer 40

argument - Murdoch owed national newspapers so it can influence outcome of politics, using propaganda for mass crowds to read and be influenced!
evaluation - people have apathy , only align politics to wealthy people

Question 41

give 2 case study on outsider casual groups

Answer 41

• JUST STOP OIL
• green peace
  success - 2011 campaigning to stop practise of tuna fishing with aggregating devices. –> 2014 all supermarkets had to label how they got fish from

Question 42

give 2 case study of a insider sectional pressure group

Answer 42

RMT UNION - defending rights of workers in transport industry
success - jan 2012 rmt lobbied tfl , london underground and mayor of lonfon over concerm of additional workload that would be placed on staff in 2012 olympics , got driverd £1000 bonus and £850 for others with no condition
reasons of success - international spotlight on london put pressure on gov and underground workers are vital sector of london economy

BMA - BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION - campaigned for smoking in cars with kids to be illegal, with help from ASTHMA UK
REASONs for success - used online tech for supporters to lobby mps + help from known ASTHMA UK