Democracy and Political Participation

Question 1

Apathy

Answer 1

Lack of interest, enthusiasm or concern.

Question 2

Sovereignty

Answer 2

To have supreme power or authority.

Question 3

Parliamentary sovereignty

Answer 3

When Parliament is the supreme legal authority in the UK, which can create or end any law. Generally, the courts cannot overrule its legislation and no Parliament can pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change.

Question 4

Dennis Skinner

Answer 4

The MP from Bolsover since 1970, and the MP who has been told to shut up the most amount of times in Parliament. Therefore he is a good example of a rebellious backbench MP.

Question 5

Grant Shapps

Answer 5

Chairman of Conservative Party forced to resign due to bullying of young activist. He is a good example of a politician being held accountable.

Question 6

War Powers

Answer 6

Witnessed in Parliament having to debate whether to go into Syria. Since 2015, this power has now been passed from the PM to Parliament. This is an example of accountability and representative democracy in action.

Question 7

Representation

Answer 7

The action of speaking or acting on behalf of someone.

Question 8

Feature

Answer 8

A prominent or distinctive part.

Question 9

Civil liberties

Answer 9

Basic rights and freedoms granted to citizens of a country.

Question 10

Liberal democracy

Answer 10

This is a form of government that mixes representative democracy with limited government.

Question 11

Participation

Answer 11

A right held by all people to engage in society and in the decisions that after their lives.

Question 12

Democratic deficit

Answer 12

When democratic organisations or institutions (particularly governments) fall short of fulfilling the principles of democracy.

Question 13

Referendum

Answer 13

A direct vote on a policy or piece of legislation.

Question 14

Legitimacy

Answer 14

Authority a political party gains when winning an election.

Question 15

Pressure groups

Answer 15

Organisations which campaign for changes in the law or new legislation in specific areas

Question 16

Elections

Answer 16

A formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office

Question 17

Parliament

Answer 17

The highest legislature, consisting of the Sovereign, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons

Question 18

Direct democracy

Answer 18

The statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level

Question 19

Direct democracy

Answer 19

A form of democracy in which people decide policy initiatives directly

Question 20

Representative democracy

Answer 20

A variety of democracy founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of people

Question 21

Devo-max

Answer 21

Name given to demand for greater devolved powers for Scotland

Question 22

European Parliament

Answer 22

Meetings for this take place Brussels and Strasbourg.

Question 23

Witney

Answer 23

Example of a safe seat in England

Question 24

Nicola Sturgeon

Answer 24

Leader of the Scottish National Party

Question 25

Malcolm Rifkind

Answer 25

MP who stood down in 2015 over lobbying scandal

Question 26

Sinn Fein

Answer 26

Republican Party from Northern Ireland

Question 27

Democratic Unionist Party

Answer 27

Strongest political party in Northern Ireland

Question 28

Occupy Movement

Answer 28

Example of a pressure group working along direct democracy features.

Question 29

Party system

Answer 29

Party discipline prevents MPs from using their own judgement in representing their constituents

Question 30

Executive control

Answer 30

Parliament’s ability to scrutinise the executive is weak because the government of the day usually has majority control of the House of Commons.

Question 31

The English question/West Lothian question

Answer 31

The fact that 84% of the UK’s population live in England but they don’t have their own parliament, unlike devolved powers.

Question 32

What is parliamentary democracy?

Answer 32

• Parliament is seen as the apex of democracy in the UK in that it is sovereign
• As such all laws have to be approved and legitimised through Parliament
• Governments (the executive) have to come out of parliament
• Linked to the above, governments and the judiciary are not equal partners in sharing power but are both subservient to Parliament
• Parliamentary democracy is characterised by a fusion of powers and may be contrasted with other systems of democracy such as the US, which has a clearer separation of powers.

Question 33

Why should voting be made compulsory?

Answer 33

• It would increase the importance and prominence of elections in a democracy and, in the process, would increase the legitimacy of those in office
• It would increase the lines of accountability for office holders
• It has been introduced in other countries such as Australia and Belgium, hence it is a practical possibility
• Increased levels of participation would raise levels of awareness and political education
• Compulsory voting would be a catalyst for political activity such as membership of political parties and pressure groups
• It would eliminate ‘vote buying’ and the danger of fraud.

Question 34

How do you think devolution has affected representative democracy here in the UK?

Answer 34

One of the most obvious is that there are now new representatives just for the devolved areas, e.g. the Scottish Parliament represents Scottish people;
However, it has also given rise to the unfairness of the West Lothian Question, whereby Scottish MPs can vote on both Scottish matters but also on English matters of which they have no powers over;
The fact that Scottish independence was turned down by the Scots might illustrate they’re happy with the type of representation they have now. However, this did also give rise to devo-max, demands for great powers to be handed over from Westminster.

Question 35

How do you think membership of the EU has affected representative democracy here in the UK?

Answer 35

Representative democracy is said to be undermined as many of our laws now come from the EU. However, others argue that the role of MEPs mean we still have control over this;
The fact that we are responsible for ratifying EU treaties illustrates we have control through representative democracy. However, the fact we have just voted to leave the EU would signal unhappiness with the current relationship with the EU and the fact it is presumed to undermine representative democracy.

Question 36

Define democratic legitimacy, and outline two ways in which it is achieved?

Answer 36

Democratic legitimacy is the rightful use of, or exercise of power which has been gained or operates through accepted democratic channels. It can be seen to operate in a direct or representative democracy. It can be achieved by some of the following ways:

• It can be obtained via success in elections.
• It can be achieved with the use of referendums.
• It can be secured by a majority vote in the legislature.
• It can be obtained by adherence to accepted constitutional arrangements and procedures.

Question 37

Explain three ways in which representative democracy in the UK could be improved.

Answer 37

• Electoral reform for the House of Commons.
• Introduction of elections for the second chamber.
• The use of digital or electronic methods to speed and aid democracy has been suggested, such as e-voting. This would bring politics more into the modern era.
• Developing and improving the power of recall of MPs.
• The lowering of the voting age from 18 to 16 has been suggested to raise awareness and participation levels and reflect the attitudes of contemporary society.
• Compulsory voting for all adults with the sanction of a fine. This would raise participation levels and add to democratic accountability.
• Specific methods for strengthening minority representation such as all women shortlists.

Question 38

To what extent is there a democratic deficit in the UK?

Answer 38

Because this question asks ‘To what extent…’ it would require both sides of the argument.

Those who argue that in the UK there is a ‘democratic deficit’ may cite the following:

• The low turnout at elections at all levels serves to undermine the democratic legitimacy of those who are elected into office. It suggests governments have no real mandate to introduce policies. Also it means that elected officials do not speak or act with the confidence of the majority of citizens.
• This leads to wider political malaise endemic in the population with apathy about politics and ignorance of the democratic system.
• The inherent bias or flaws in the electoral systems most notably the first-past-the-post system used for Westminster elections
• Membership of the EU means that decisions are now taken far away from the legitimate points of power, away from democratically elected legislature and in a non-elected bureaucracy in Brussels.
• Undemocratic institutions such as the House of Lords and monarchy.

However there are those who deny that there is any sense of democratic deficit and cite the following:

• UK democracy has acceptable levels of electoral participation in line with Western democracies, and the arguably low turnout could be portrayed as contentment with rising levels of affluence.
• An active media serves to check politicians and elected officials. Corruption is exposed and dealt with.
• There is no major demand for electoral reform as seen with the results of the 2011 AV Referendum.
• Membership of the EU has widened UK trade and given the country a shared or pooled sovereignty in decision making.
• Pressure groups are a supplement to UK democracy, and their membership and influence are arguable growing.

Question 39

Outline four ways that people can participate in politics.

Answer 39

• They may join a political party and become active within its ranks or simply a paid up member who contributes to its funding.
• They may join a pressure group and again support a political cause by contributing to funds of the pressure group or becoming more active in the organisation
• They may stand in elections at various levels, local, regional or national. This could be as an independent candidate or as an officially endorsed candidate for a political organisation/party
• They may contribute and engage in political dialogue in society, this could be by writing to political officials (e.g. MP/Local Council), or it may be signing a petition or e-petition.
• They may join political demonstrations and protests against or in support of as given political stance.

Question 40

Explain three critcisms that have been made of referendums.

Answer 40

• They can be manipulated by those in power to suit their own needs and solving internal rifts/divisions as opposed to delivering clear democratic needs
• Often it is impractical to place an issue in a yes/no format as a referendum requires, issues are too complex for a binary vote/choice
• The over-use of referendums can cause a lethargy eventually in the public
• A referendum rarely has a neutral or unbiased platform. Often one side has more money, more favourable press coverage and finance determines the outcome.
• Low turnouts can bring into focus the extent of legitimacy provided by the referendum

Question 41

What are some of the strengths of the representative democracy we have in the UK?

Answer 41

• It is a system of representative democracy which in the main produces strong and stable government. In the post war period there have only been two elections which did not deliver a single party with a majority.
• It possesses fair electoral systems which secure accurate representation. For the FPTP system strengths such as simplicity, speed, constituency and MP links etc. Other electoral systems exist which demonstrate the flexibility and variance of the representative process.
• It is a representative democracy with tiers of government at local national and regional a level. Since 1997 power has been devolved to Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland and the quality and scope of representative democracy has expanded.
• It is a representative democracy where civil liberties and human rights are values respected and widely known. We have the Human Rights Act and various civil liberties constructed to protect freedoms.
• It is a system of representative democracy where there is political diversity and numerous avenues to participate and engage in politics. Political parties freely form; pressure groups proliferate and channel political voices to those in office.

Question 42

What are some of the weaknessess of the representative democracy we have in the UK?

Answer 42

• Many cite the existence of an elective dictatorship by which governments have excessive power and act in an autocratic fashion;
• Many cite that participation in politics is loaded against many. Political power is not easily wrestled from the main political parties; there is an imbalance in pressure group power where only the wealthy pressure groups succeed;
• It has been argued in recent years that civil liberties have been eroded, the UK is alleged to be moving to a state where privacy is encroached and denied.
• Criticisms have been levied against the devolved regions in that they are an unnecessary tier of government which cost too much and where turnout is low at elections.
• Many cite that fact that turnout is low and this creates several problems such as legitimacy, accurate representation and political disengagement.

Question 43

What are some of the features of direct democracy?

Answer 43

Direct democracy has many features both in its historical and contemporary context
• It is seen a system where the public make decisions themselves, they do not act through others
• Decisions are reached on a majoritarian basis
• This process of decision making is continuous and perpetual
• A historical example is Athenian Democracy
• A more contemporary feature of direct democracy are referendums

Question 44

Explain three criticisms of representative democracy.

Answer 44

Various criticism have been levied against the system of representative democracy some of these include:
• Participation levels are often low and this calls into question the legitimacy of the system
• Criticism is levied as to the narrow nature of representatives who are seen as not a true reflection of the people in society who they claim to represent.
• Problems have emerged with the political parties who influence the political process, claiming such things as narrow choice and elite rule
• Some minorities may feel excluded and marginalised under a system, of representative democracy

Question 45

How can democracy in the UK be improved?

Answer 45

Increased use of referendums

The introduction of initiatives

The introduction of compulsory voting

The wider use of digital technology

Other methods such as the use of recall, constitutional reforms and lowering of voting age etc may be assessed.