Elections Flashcards
what is the debate about elections?
elections are one of the most obvious ways that the public can participate and engage in democracy
however, the extent to which elections actually promote democracy and participation in the UK political system is widely debated
arguments to suggest elections promote democracy and participation
provide strong links between representatives and constituents
allow the electorate to have influence over policy
encourage participation
arguments to suggest elections do not promote democracy and participation
the non-proportional nature of the Westminster electoral system seems to undermine democracy
the gap between elections theoretically allows the government to ignore the public
the low turnout in elections suggests that they neither promote democracy nor participation
conclusion
while elections do have some flaws and limitations, overall they are one of the most vital forms of democracy in the UK
therefore, it can be argued that elections do promote democracy and participation in the UK political system
provide strong links between representatives and constituents
elections are essential in providing representation and fostering a strong link between representatives and constituents
the most fundamental purpose of elections is to choose a representative to speak on behalf of the community and provide a link between the community and parliament by turning votes cast into seats, each of which is held by an MP that represents a constituency
under FPTP there is a particularly strong link between MPs and constituents, which increases the stability of the government and ensures that the people are involved directly in the governing of the country, which is vital to democracy
the single-member representation under FPTP leads to a single MP being responsible for representing one small size constituency, which results in a strong link between them
one way that this link is maintained is by MPs holding surgeries - e.g. Stephen Timms
enables people to feel closer to government, making them more willing to participate and giving them more opportunities to get involved and engage in politics as they have clear links to government through a single person
do not provide strong links between representatives and constituents
the public does not always feel strongly linked to the government, people often feel misrepresented and as if their views have been distorted
FPTP is non-proportional so often distort voters’ wishes and means that governments can form without a majority of popular support (1951 and 1974)
most MPs do not command majority support within their constituency (in 2015, an SDP MP in Belfast won with only 24% of the vote, however turnout in Belfast was only 60% so he actually only won 14% of the overall support)
in 2005, Labour under Tony Blair was re-elected on only 35% of the vote, meaning that most people did not vote for Labour yet they were still able to form a government
seems to undermine democracy rather than promote it because in a democracy, the people should feel represented by those in power
influence over policy: elections victories and defeats
elections allow them to vote into power the party whose policies they most agree with and give the winning party a mandate to carry out these proposals
election defeats also send a message to parties not to persist with unpopular policies if they hope to form a government, thus giving voters even more influence over policy
for example, after their huge defeats in 1979 and 1983, Labour recognised that their radical left wing views were no longer appealing and so moved more to the centre and began to modernise the party
influence over policy: support for smaller parties
if a significant section of society support a smaller party then this party can put their views across and draw attention to their aims, sometimes influencing larger parties to adopt their policies
for instance, in the 1990s, the Green Party’s public profile increased and led other parties to begin to emphasise the importance of fighting climate change and tackling environmental issues, so as to not lose voters
this demonstrates that via elections, there are numerous ways that the public can have their say, which promotes democracy and participation
do not allow genuine influence over policy: why do elections only allow the public minimal influence over policy?
it can be argued that this influence over policy is often rather minimal as elections only take place every 5 years under the 2011 Fixed Term Parliaments Act
this makes it rather easy for the government to appeal to voters in order to secure an electoral victory and then proceed to ignore or dismiss public opinion until the next election
do not allow genuine influence over policy: examples of government’s ignoring the people in between elections, denying them influence over policy
in 2001, Labour stated in their manifesto not to introduce top up fees for university tuition, but when they won the election they increased these fees
then, in 2005, they promised to grant a referendum on the new European Union treaty but failed to do so
this demonstrates that parties often make manifesto pledges but never fulfil them or actually do the exact opposite of what they promised to do, which limits the influence that voters seem to have over policy and suggests that elections do not adequately provide democracy
encourage participation: how do elections encourage participation?
voting in elections is the most obvious way that people can get involved in politics which increases democracy and participation
casting a vote and having their say via the ballot box has been the most vital and fundamental way that the people have been able to put their views across and engage with the political system
the right to participate in such elections has been fought for throughout history, as seen in the numerous campaigns for extending the franchise from the Suffragettes to Votes for 16, indicating that voting is essential in being able to participate in the political process
encourage participation: increasing participation in elections
voter turnout is also gradually increasing
although voter turnout at elections was only 60% in 2001, it has been rising modestly since then and shows no signs of reversing
by 2010, turnout had risen to 65% and by 2017, this had increased yet again to 68%
these may only be small improvements but they do seem to demonstrate growing participation, suggesting that elections do promote democracy and participation in the UK political system
do not encourage participation: low voter turnout
voter turnout at elections is still worryingly low and not enough people are participating, so it seems that elections do not promote participation to a sufficient degree
in fact, there actually seems to be a participation crisis as there is an obvious lack of participation and engagement in politics and in recent years, general elections in the UK has been victim to this
for example, the average turnout between 1945 and 1997 was 76%, but since then it has fallen considerably. In 2001, it was less than 60% - the lowest turnout since the end of WW1 in 1918
do not encourage participation: turnout is even lower for second order elections
turnout is even lower in ‘second order’ elections such as local council elections and those for devolved bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
the average turnout in the May 2016 local council elections in England was only around 33%, possibly because people do not feel as if these bodies are able to make any real changes so feel less motivated to cast a vote and have their say
furthermore, only 15% of people voted in the 2012 Police and Crime Commissioner elections
in European elections, the average UK turnout is 35% whereas the average turnout for EU countries in European elections standing at 42%
do not encourage participation: ranking of the UK worldwide in terms of voter turnout
due to all of these factors, the UK is ranked 76th in the world in terms of voter turnout, which is rather worrying considering that the UK is supposedly one of the leading democracies in the world
yet its voter turnout suggests that citizens do not truly engage in the democratic system and indicates that elections do not really promote democracy and participation
