Democracy And Participation- Political Participation Flashcards
Forms of political participation:
+ voting in elections
+ joining a political party
+ becoming an active member of a party
+ joining a trade union
+ standing for election to office
+ joining a pressure group
+ becoming active in a pressure group
+ taking part in a political campaign online or on the ground
+ signing a petition or e-petition
Possible reasons why turnout at elections is falling include the following:
+ disillusionment with political parties, especially among younger people, and a falling commitment to parties (partisan dealignment)
+ people being more concerned with single issues than with broad policies
+ a lack of distinction between the parties since the 1990s
+ the electoral system results in large numbers of wasted votes (for smaller parties and in safe seats) and votes of unequal value (marginal versus safe seats), and also results in disproportional outcomes for third parties
+ with the emergence of referendums, voters prefer direct democracy
Participation crisis
A concern that fewer people are taking part in political activity, leading to a crisis in democratic legitimacy.
Which forms of Participations can you use for :
Examples and arguments
voting in general elect Crop
+
+ Joining a political party
+ Union membership
+ Signing petitions
+ Joining a pressure group
Voting in general elections
There is a crisis
+ 67.3% turnout in the 2019 general election — down 1.5% from the 2017 one.
+ This figure is well below the high levels of the 1970s, where turnout reached 78.8% in 1974.
Voting in general elections
There is a not crisis
+ From 2001 to 2017, general election turnout steadily increased.
+ There could be several reasons why the turnout fell in 2019, including the time of year (December) in which the election was held.
Joining a political party
There is a crisis
+ Only around 1.7% of the population are members of a political party.
Joining a political party
There is not a crisis
+Labour Party membership rose considerably after 2015 when Jeremy Corbyn became leader.
Union membership
There is a crisis
+ The number of private-sector employees belonging to a trade union constitutes only 13% of the private-sector workforce.
Union membership
There is not a crisis
+ Overall union membership has risen for four consecutive years to 2020.
Signing petitions
There is a crisis
+ It is difficult to claim that taking 3 minutes to sign a petition
amounts to meaningful participation.
Signing petitions
There is not a crisis
+ 38 Degrees claims that almost 40 million people have signed an e-petition on its website, concerning over 10,000 campaigns.
Joining a pressure group
There is a crisis
+ Many cheque-book’ members pay membership fees and do little else.
Joining a pressure group
There is not a crisis
+ Fair Funding for Schools engaged teachers, headteachers and parents in campaigning against education cuts.
Suggestions on how to improve political participation in the UK:
These include lowering the voting age, making voting compulsory and utilising online forms of political activity.
