Democracy + Participation Flashcards
Definition of democracy
Power held by the people
What is direct democracy?
A system where the people are able to make decisions directly on an issue, usually through a referendum
What is representative democracy?
A system where people elect others to rule on their behalf
What percentage of the ENTIRE population voted for Brexit?
37.7% - is this democratic?
What is liberal democracy?
- The right to vote is widespread
- Representatives act in the interest of everyone in society
What is majoritarian democracy?
The will and desires of the majority of a population should be the prime considerations of government
What is parliamentary democracy?
The system where parliament stands as the highest form of democratic authority
What is presidential democracy?
The system where the executive is directly elected and is therefore accountable to the people
What is pluralist democracy?
A system where there is competition between different groups who represent the wider society
3 functions of democracy
- Representation - People have their views represented in government
- Accountability - The people can hold the government to account through elections
- Legitimacy - Being chosen by the people gives a leader legitimacy
Advantages of direct democracy
- Increased legitimacy
- Increased participation
- Pure form of democracy
- Ensures public are politically educated
Disadvantages of direct democracy
- Tyranny of the majority
- Impractical
- Low turnout (AV referendum?)
- Popular choice isn’t always realistic (no taxes?!)
Does the UK have a strong democracy? - YES
- Turnout is reasonable, always above 50%
- Universal suffrage
- Good choice of parties (unlike US?)
- Parliamentary sovereignty stops tyrannical leaders
What is tyranny of the majority?
When the majority of people introduce laws which negatively impact minorities
Does the UK have a strong democracy? - NO
- Unelected House of Lords
- Turnout is low for most non-general elections
- Lack of entrenched rights
- FPTP has many issues
What percentage of the UK population are able to vote?
71.5%
What year did women gain the right to vote?
1918
Why did women gain the right to vote?
- Suffrage movement
- Many women had began working and paying taxes, particularly during WW1
- With men away at war, women proved they could look after themselves (crazy!)
Representation of the People Act 1918
- Women over 30 could now vote
- Voting age for men lowered to 21
Representation of the People Act 1928
All people over the age of 21 could vote, no matter class or gender
Representation of the People Act 1969
Voting age lowered to 18
Leader of the Suffragists
Millicent Fawcett
Suffragists organisation
NUWSS (National Union of Womens’ Suffragist Societies)
Suffragettes organisation
WSPU (Womens Social and Political Union)
Number of suffragist members
50,000
Number of suffragette members
Between 2,000 and 5,000
Aim of the suffragist movement
To achieve the right to vote for women through
constitutional and peaceful means
Examples of rights 16-year-olds have
- Join the army
- Get married
- Pay income tax and national insurance
- Join a trade union
What parties want to reduce the voting age?
Labour and Lib Dems
In what year did the Scottish Parliament give 16-year-olds the right to vote?
2015
What court ruled that a blanket ban on allowing prisoners to vote is against human rights?
European Court of Human Rights
Examples of pressure groups that want to extend the franchise to prisoners
- Howard League
- Prison Reform Trust
- Amnesty International
Where in the UK have some prisoners been given the right to vote?
Scotland, since 2020, if their sentence is less than 1 year
Should prisoners be given the right to vote? YES
- Rehabilitation, keeps them a member of society
- No evidence losing the right to vote deters crime
- European Court of Human Rights ruled it as a violation
Should prisoners be given the right to vote? NO
- Those who break the law should not be able to influence law-making
- Prisoners are highly concentrated in a few constituencies and their vote may have an actual impact
Traditional methods of participation
- Voting
- Joining a party
- Joining a pressure group
- Signing petitions
- Going on marches
Modern methods of participation
- E-petitions
- Social media
- Blogging
What does the term ‘slacktivism’ mean?
Engaging in politics online but doing little in person to make a significant difference
What is the lowest turnout for a UK general election?
59% in 2001
Until 1992, what % was turnout usually?
Around 75%
Turnout in 2010 general election
65%
Turnout in 2015 general election
66%
Turnout in 2017 general election
69%
Turnout in 2019 general election
67%
Welsh Assembly election turnout 2021
45%
Scottish Parliament election turnout 2021
63%
EU 2019 election turnout UK
37%
What percentage of the WHOLE UK voting population actually voted Conservative in 2019?
30% - they have an 80 seat majority. Is this democratic?
What are some problems with low turnout?
- It increases the chances of small extremist parties to get in
- Leads to a lack of accountability as politicians do not fear the electorate
How many Conservative members are there?
180,000
How many Labour members are there?
485,000
How many Lib Dem members are there?
115,000
How many SNP members are there?
125,000
How many members did Labour have in the 1950s?
1 million
Evidence of a participation crisis
- Turnout is mid
- Few party members
- Weak power of trade unions
With what % of the national vote did Labour win with their landslide 2001 majority?
26%
What is corporatism?
Term to describe the government working closely with trade unions and businesses
Why is the end of corporatism bad for democracy?
Workers are left with a much weaker to represent their needs and concerns to the government
Evidence that there isn’t a participation crisis
- Turnout increasing since 2001
- Referendums such as Brexit and Scottish Independence attracted high turnout
- Pressure group membership rising
How many different political parties are represented in Parliament?
11
How much did Labour set their membership fee as to try and attract new members?
£3
3 aspects of human rights
- Fundamental: essential part of life
- Universal: applies to everyone
- Absolute: cannot be compromised in any way
What are positive rights?
Rights clearly given to a citizen, usually in the form of a constitutional protection
What are negative rights?
Rights that are not explicitly set out and only exist as there is no law that bans them
Until the Human Rights Act, did we have positive or negative rights?
Negative as they were not codified into law
Why are positive rights stronger than negative rights?
They are protected in law so citizens have much greater legal protection
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Gave citizens the right to access any non-security related information held by public institutions
What changed in 2016 regarding drug usage laws?
Until 2016, drugs were only illegal if they had been banned by law. This created many legal highs as government legislation could not keep up.
In 2016, the government passed a law that stated that drugs were not legal unless they had been permitted by the government.
Does the Human Rights Act effectively protect rights? - YES
- Rights are now enshrined in statute law
- Legislation must comply with the Human Rights Act
- Citizens can access protection from UK-based courts
Does the Human Rights Act effectively protect rights? - NO
- The act is not entrenched therefore it can be replaced. The Tories have hinted at removing it
- The act cannot overturn primary legislation in Parliament
- The act can be ‘set aside’ by the government. This happened following 9/11 to interrogate terrorist suspects.
Example of the Human Rights Act defending individual rights
In 2004, it was ruled that a law that gay partners could not inherit council flats was discriminatory
Equality Act 2010
Attempted to codify all anti-discriminatory legislation into one law. Included race, gender, sexuality, etc.
What are civic responsibilities?
Duties which citizens are expected to perform or abide by
Examples of civic responsibilities
- Respect the law
- Pay taxes
- Not causing harm to others
- Vote
Is the judiciary the best place to protect rights? - YES
- They exercise rule of law
- Judicial independence means they can act without political pressure
Is the judiciary the best place to protect rights? - NO
- Judges are not elected so are unaccountable
- No codified constitution means the judiciary cannot strike down primary legislation
- Judges are unrepresentative as they are from a narrow background
Potential reforms to increase turnout
- Compulsory voting
- New voting system (replace FPTP)
- Online voting
Advantages of compulsory voting
- Turnout will increase
- People are likely to be more aware of political issues
- Money raised from fines could be spent on greater political education
Disadvantages of compulsory voting
- Too authoritarian, reduction of freedom
- Could increase apathy having to vote for a system you don’t like
- Many people might vote randomly
How would reforming the House of Lords improve democracy in the UK?
Brings greater legitimacy to the system
Advantages and disadvantages of being able to vote online
+ More people will vote as it is easier
- Many might argue it is a system too easy to exploit
When was the UK’s online petition system introduced?
2011
How many signatures does a petition need to get a response?
10,000
If it gets 100,000 it will be discussed in Parliament
