Democracy And Participation

Question 1

What are positive rights, and what are some examples?

Answer 1

Rights that are granted to individuals by the state which allow the individual to do things E.g.:

• The right to vote
• The right to join a political party
• The right to form associations such as pressure groups and trad unions
• The right to express an opinion freely or hold a religious belief or lack thereof
• The right to move around freely

Question 2

What are negative freedoms, and what do they do?

Answer 2

Negative freedoms/rights protect citizens from the state and stop the state doing certain things E.g.:

• The right to privacy
• The right to a fair trial
• Protection from imprisonment without a fair trial

Question 3

What is the Magna Carta and when was it made?

Answer 3

• It was published in 1215
• It is the oldest official statement of rights and is mostly outdated as it only concerns nobles and freemen
• It established the right to a fair trial and unlawful seizure of property

Question 4

What is The European Convention on Human Rights, and when was it passed?

Answer 4

• It was passed in 1950
• It was drawn up by the council of Europe
• It is enforced by the European court of human rights in Strasbourg
• However, there are no real ways that countries who violate the convention can be prosecuted
• First piece of codified legislation of rights that the U.K. signed up to

Question 5

What is the Human Rights Act, and when was it passed?

Answer 5

• The Human Rights aft was passed in 1998 and came into force in 2000 by the labour government who were ‘bringing home our rights’
• It was the first single British document that spelled out Rights
• An act of Parliament

Question 6

What is the equality act, and when was it passed?

Answer 6

• It was passed in 2010
• It brought together the equal pay act, sex discrimination act and race relations act
• It added 9 protections: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnerships, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion/belief, sex, sexual orientation

Question 7

What are some controversial rights?

Answer 7

-The right to form trade unions
-The right to strike
-Women’s Rights and minority rights (e.g.
LGBT rights)
-Right to safe working conditions
-Freedom from unfair dismissal
-Right to a decent standard of education
-Pension Rights
-The right to engage in a business without state interference
-The right to purchase property

Question 8

What are some arguments for state funding of political parties?

Answer 8

• Parties play an important role in the political system and so deserve state funding
• Public funding would remove the great disparity in the funding of different political parties
• The state matching party donations from the public would encourage more people to donate to parties and be more involved
• It would curb the possible corrupt influence of outside individuals who make donations to political parties

Question 9

What are some arguments against the state funding of political parties?

Answer 9

• Increased state funding could lead to greater state regulation of parties and reduce parties independence
• It is hard to decide what sized parties would qualify for state funding, and to how much each party would be entitled to
• Public funding could isolate parties from the wishes of their members
• Taxpayers would resent their money going to parties they don’t support
• Many new laws have been introduced to control the amount of money that political parties can take, and make all donations transparent e.g. the 2000 act