Democracy, participation and the franchise Flashcards
1. Features, similarities and differences, and pros and cons of direct and representative democracy 2. Reforming democracy in the UK 3. Participation crisis in the UK 4. Extending the franchise to 16 year olds 5. The movement for women's suffrage
What is democracy?
A political system in which the people choose how the state is governed
What is direct democracy?
A democracy in which people make decisions over policy themselves
What is representative democracy?
A democracy in which people elect representatives to make decisions over policies on behalf of the people
What are the similarities between direct and representative democracy? (4)
- Both concern the people choosing how they are governed
- Both utilise voting to make decisions over policy
- Both require a majority of support for a decision to be made
- Both ensure that power is not concentrate with a small elite
What are the differences between direct and representative democracy? (4)
- Direct democracy votes in referendums whilst representative democracy votes in elections
- People make decisions themselves in a direct democracy whilst elected representatives make decisions on behalf of the people in a representative democracy
- People hold the power in a direct democracy whilst elected representatives hold the power in a representative democracy
- Direct democracy requires a high level of engagement and education of the people whilst representative democracy requires a high level of engagement and education of the elected representatives
What are the advantages of a direct democracy? (3)
- Genuine ‘people power’
- Educates and engages citizens with politics
- People take responsibility for their actions
What are the advantages of a representative democracy? (5)
- Prevents tyranny of the majority as Parliament can act in the interests of all social groups
- Politicians have greater expertise over policy areas and can make better informed decisions
- Politicians may vote for unpopular but necessary policies
- Representatives can easily be held accountable
- More practical
What are the disadvantages of a representative democracy? (4)
- Representatives may not act in the interests of the people
- FPTP system means that supporters of smaller parties may lack party representation
- Party discipline can influence the actions of representatives
- Low turnout rates can undermine the legitimacy of the elected representatives
What are the arguments in favour for there being a democratic crisis in the UK? (4)
- HoL reform remains uncompleted
- Electoral system results in disproportionate outcomes
- Low turnout levels threaten legitimacy
- Party membership declining
* HELP*
What are the arguments against there being a democratic crisis in the UK? (7)
- HRA protects civil liberties
- Independent judiciary upholds rule of law
- Increased use of referendums
- Decentralisation of power
- Universal suffrage
- Pressure group participation increasing
- Free and fair elections
* HIRDUPF*
What are the arguments in favour of there being a participation crisis? (3)
- Low turnout rates
- Decline in party membership
- Little participation in politics
What are the arguments against there being a participation crisis? (3)
- Party membership improving
- Turnout rates improving
- Increase in informal political participation (ie. E-petitions, pressure groups, etc.)
What are some methods in which democracy can be improved in the UK? (8)
- Increase use of referendums
- Greater recall of MPs
- Further decentralisation of power
- Increased internet usage
- Lower voting age
- Electoral reform
- House of Lords reform
- Compulsory voting
Evaluate the increased use of referendums (3 + 4)
YES:
- More direct democracy (people power)
- Helps settle disputes in Parliament (eg. EU referendum)
- Educates citizens on key issues
NO:
- Low turnout rates threaten legitimacy (eg. Welsh devolution referendum)
- Politicians may skew the debate to ensure that they win (eg. £350 million to the NHS in the EU referendum)
- Public may lack time to learn about the issue and hence make ill-informed decisions
- Clash between popular sovereignty and parliamentary sovereignty
Evaluate the Recall MPs Act 2015 (1 + 4)
YES:
- Greater accountability
NO:
- Power lies with Parliament on whether MP should be recalled (cannot be initiated by constituents)
- Very restrictive (only if MP is found guilty of an offence that meets the criteria - ie. so not if they are found to be unrepresentative of their constituents’ views)
- May be used in protest of the government
- Tyranny of the minority (only 10% of constituency required to trigger the by-election)
Evaluate the further decentralisation of power (3 + 2)
YES:
- More opportunities to partake in political activities
- Brings government closer to the people
- More access points for pressure groups
NO:
- Low turnout rates threaten legitimacy (eg. Sheffield mayor won based on a 25% turnout; Welsh devotion turnout 50% of 50%; PCC turnout around 25%)
- Greater inequality of services
Evaluate the enforcement of compulsory voting (3 + 3)
YES:
- Voting may be seen to be a civic duty
- Improves turnout rates hence boosting legitimacy
- Forces people to be educated and engaged with politics
NO:
- People should have the freedom of choice to abstain from voting
- People may spoil their votes
People may make ill-informed decisions
Evaluate the case for further use of e-democracy (2 + 1)
YES:
- Social media can engage youths in politics (eg. Usually, less than 50% of youths turnout to vote)
- E-petitions have had some success (eg. over 300 received a government response, and over 60 have been debated in Parliament, petition to accept more refugees led to David Cameron accepting 20,000 more)
NO:
- E-petitions have not proved totally successful (eg. 4 out of the 10 highest signed petitions in 2017 were denied debate and none were successful in achieving its aims)
Evaluate the case to lower the voting age to 16 (5 + 6)
YES:
- Consistent with other rights at 16 (eg. Marry, join the armed forces, have sex, leave school, join the workforce and pay taxes)
- Improve youth engagement and boost youth turnout rates (eg. Denmark study found that 18 year olds were more likely to cast a vote than 19 year olds, and every month of age reduces likelihood of voting
- Youths should have a say over issues that affect their lives (Brexit, EU)
- Seniors disproportionately affect the outcome of elections and referendums as they turn out in higher numbers (eg. Over 70% of over-70s supported Conservative whilst only 19% of 18-19 year olds supported Conservative) (eg. Seniors voted overwhelmingly to leave and youths remain in the EU referendum)
- Adults are not necessarily more engaged or educated on political issues (eg. High turnout of 75% of 16-17 year olds in Scottish Independence referendum, compared to over 50% of 18-24 year olds)
NO:
- Rights of 16 year olds are limited (eg. Requires parental consent to marry, cannot join frontline service in army, must stay in further education or join an apprenticeship until 18, cannot drink, taxes only occur on earner above £6475, which many teenage earners do not qualify)
- Low turnout of 18-24 year olds suggests that lowering the voting age may have minimal impact + should focus on increasing turnout of those who do have the vote
- Turnout of 18-24 year olds increasing, hence do not need the vote at 16 to be persuaded (eg. Increase from 43% in 2015 to 58% in 2017)
- Youths lack real world experience and may have idealistic views
- Youths have not had the time to develop their political stances and may therefore be easily pressured to vote like parents or peers
- Youths are not as engaged or educated on political issues as adults (eg. Survey on the EU saw less than a fifth of youths answer all three questions correctly compared to a third f over 40s)