Democracy topic Flashcards
What is Democracy?
Democracy is people being able to make a choice, typically when voting.
What is a referendum?
A yes/no vote on a major constitutional or political issue.
What are the pros of a referndum?
- Ends debates
- Neutral
- Large impact on parliament
- Freedom to choose
- Equal
- Can be educational
What types of democracy are there?
Direct Democracy is where people vote directly .i.e., referendums.
Representative Democracy is where elected people make decisions for the people the represent (their constituents).
What are the cons of a referendum?
- Expensive
- Emotional response
- Manipulative question
- Unsure of legal position
- Misinformative
- Can undermine parliamentary sovereignty
What is the background of democracy?
Originated in Greece. It was a crowd of men who gathered to vote. Black and White stones to show answers. Not feasible in 21st Century. Most votes won.
What is devolution of power?
Spreading of power .i.e., Scottish Parliament
Is there a participation crisis in the UK?
No, there are different ways of participating politically now; epetitions, pressure groups and direct actions. Pressure groups include RSPB, which has 1.2 Million members, and the
NFU.
The NFU led a campaign against bovine tuberculosis; killed badgers, harmful to farmers and costs UK economy £100 million a year. They had support from the DEFRA (Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and they went to trial in 2012/13 and won their trial ensuring that the badgers were ‘culled’. The outcome had public opposition as the public was against badgers dying.
Yes, election and referendum turnout has decreased.
1979, ge- 76%
1997, ge- 71.4%
2001, ge- 59.4%
2010, ge- 61.4%
2015, ge- 65.1%
Brexit ref- 72%
2017, ge- 68.8%
2019, ge- 67.3%
What are the types of pressure groups?
Interest Group- sectional groups, section of society .i.e., National Union of Teachers.
Cause Group- promotional group, specific cause .i.e., Greenpeace.
Social Movement- similar to cause group but without a formal structure .i.e., BLM
Insider Group- regularly consulted by govt .i.e., CBI (Confederation Business Industry)
Outsider Group- no link to govt, occasionally radicalised .i.e., Animal Liberation Front.
How much of the UK are apart of a pressure group?
40-50%
Evaluate the view that pressure groups promote pluralist democracy.
For:
- supplementing electoral democracy
- widening participation
- widening power
Against:
- unaccountable power
- narrowing participation
- concentrating power
What is a political party?
A group of like-minded individuals who seek to realised their shared goals by fielding candidates at elections
What is a candidate
Someone running for election
What is a political platform
WHat the party presents to the public
What is an ideological identity
Where people stand on the political spectrum
What is a manifesto?
What is said to get elected
What is a mandate?
The authority to carry out their manifesto as a result of electoral victory
What is the issue with Rishi Sunak’s legitimacy?
Not elected in a general election so therefore he has a weak mandate.
What is the role of political parties?
- representation
- formulate policies -> public opinions -> less democratic -> few people
- recruitment -> social media
What are the four policies for political parties?
- welfare
- law and order
- economic
- foreign
Summary of Labour policies
- welfare
- opposed benefit cuts
- £30 billion extra for NHS
- abolition of tuition fees
- fixed immigration system
- support pensions
- law and order
- abolition of section 28
- 10,000 more police officers
- opposed cuts to police forces
- economic
- common ownership of rail, mail, energy and water
- increased income tax 5%
- raise corporation tax
- foreign
- free movement
- no more illegal wars
- prevention of military intervention act
- review UK arms sales
Summary of Conservative policies
- welfare
- £8 billion extra NHS
- 50000 extra nurses
- 60000 more doctors
- 50 million extra GP appointments
- support lower income families
- support pensions
- law and order
- 20000 more officers
- end halfway automatic release for serious crimes
- ‘safer streets’
- increased presence of police officers
- economic
- no increased income tax
- keep 19% low corporation tax
- maintain low tax system
- haven’t raised tax, just lowered the boundaries
- foreign
- lorry drivers
- NI protocol - > increased computerisation
- negotiate trade deal with EU
Summary of Lib Dem policies
- welfare
- support pensions
- increased funding for NHS
- tackle child poverty
- law and order
- legalise cannabis - > stop gangs
- rehabilitation
- recovery of prisoners
- 2000 more officers
- stop and search knife powers
- economic
- restore corporation tax to 20%
- renewable energies
- foreign
- reverse Brexit
- increased overseas financial support for refugee crisis
What are indicators of a political participation crisis?
- party de-alignement
- decline in political party membership
- low voter turnout
What is party de-alignement?
When people no longer strictly vote for the same party each time
What are the pros and cons of compulsory voting?
pros:
- more votes
- more voices
- forces politicians to address young people
cons:
- could backfire
- gov is technically taking away civil liberties
What is universal sufferage?
Everyone gets a vote
Who doesn’t get to vote?
- people in jail
- people under 18
- royal family
What are human rights?
- absolute - > cannot be compromised
- universal - > applied to everyone
- fundamental - > essential part of life
Why do we have human rights?
- to protect us from government intrusion
- to allow us to express ourselves freely without fer of oppression or a police state
What is the history of human rights
HRA (Human Rights Act) created in 1998. It set out positive rights. Previously, in Britain, rights were based on common law and had little authority. HRA set out a clear list of rules.
Does the HRA protect rights and liberties in the UK.
Yes:
- rights enshrined in statute law
- legislation has to comply with HRA
- citizens cans access rights protection through UK based courts
No:
- not entrenched
- cannot overturn primary legislation
- can be set aside .e.g., derogation of the rights of terror suspects after 9/11
What is are examples of the HRA defending individual rights in the UK?
Belmarsh, 2004:
- foreign terror suspects
- Labour’s indefinite hold policy
- lawyers’ argued it was against HRA
Abu Hamza, 2014:
- deported to America
- appealed on the grounds of inhumane treatment - > Guantanamo Bay
- managed to deport him to America
Abu Qatada, 2013:
- expelled from UK in July 2013
- trialled and found not guilty
- treaty with Jordan about no torture
What are the pros and cons of letting the judiciary defend human rights?
Pros:
- judges use HRA to ensure rights in UK are fully protected
- judiciary is separate from other two branches of the political system
- judges are neutral so they are more effective at upholding individual rights
Cons:
- judges are undemocratic as they are unelected
- senior judges work with parliament
- lack of codified constitution means that the judiciary cannot strike down primary legislation
- unrepresentative and from a narrow social and gender background
What are the pros and cons of letting parliament defend the rights of citizens?
Pros:
- holds sovereignty so therefore can determine what rights are in the UK and should and shouldn’t be enforced
- more representative of the people so reflects societal values
- introduces and passes all acts relating to human rights
- MPs represent their constituents and are in a position to raise the issue of citizens rights with ministers
- democratically elected
Cons:
- short-term political considerations may be more important than defending human rights
-parliament has ability to suspend human rights
-dominated by governing party
-HoL undermines democratic credibility
Mps may be reluctant to champion the cause of human rights if it benefits an unpopular element like criminals or terrorists.
What electoral system does England use?
FPTP (First Past The Post)
How many constituencies does England have?
650
What is an absolute majority?
More than 50%
What parties struggle to win seats due to being geographically disperesed?
Green Party, UKIP
Who does FPTP favour?
The two major parties
What does FPTP prevent?
Serious challenges from regional/ dispersed/ extremist parties
What is meant by a winners bonus?
It shows the disproportionality of FPTP as it exaggerates the support of the winning party. Low % difference of votes with a high % difference of seats. For example, in 2017 there was a 3% vote difference with a 9% seat difference.
What type of government was it in 2017?
Minority government
What is a coalition?
Two temporarily aligned partners signing an alliance for a government.
What is a safe seat?
A seat that doesn’t changed political parties often .e.g., Wokingham has had a conservative MP since 1950
