Exam Q

Question 1

FOR and AGAINST 1- evaluate the view that participation is in crisis?

Answer 1

-GE participation crisis huge, 1987 GE 75.3% but dropped to 65.2% in 2010, poses threat to democracy as undermines legitimacy of gov in power and the policies they produce as they don’t have a clear mandate for change due to lack of consent from the public, overall highlights the questionable authority of the government to carry out their mandate and reinforces participation crisis

-participation has increased outside of the ballot box and some may argue that voting isn’t the only form of political participation and increased use of tech has allowed a more prominent political presence and engagement, 4 mill signed petition for second referendum 2016 and 2018 1,800,000 signed to not allow Trump, this went on to be debated in parliament as so this shows the significance of participation outside and also achieves wider participation as it is easier and appeals to younger generation.

Question 2

decline in trust- evaluate the view that the UK has a participation crisis?

Answer 2

-decline in trust and political system by misconduct and sleaze of actions of MPs recently, for example party gate June 2022 parties held by the conservative party whilst there were nation wide restrictions on the UK, led to a huge public outcry and mistrust in government especially heightened when clips surfaced of Allegra Stratton joking around about the situation and in turn Boris Johnson was found to have misled Parliament policies being brought into question and their legitimacy as if the government weren’t following policies how can people be expected to.

-trust only declined short term and can easily be reversed, partygate is a thing of the past and many will have forgotten about it before next election and inquiry by Privledges committee led by Sue Gray and a police enquiry led to account being held by politicians and politicians partly being forgiven, and this knowledge of public affairs can increase public awareness of politicians activities and be more willing to involve themselves in politics

Question 3

FOR and AGAINST 3- evaluate that the UK is in a participation crisis?

Answer 3

-constitution change has fixed short term, can be seen by limited benefits of constitutional reform act 2005 and allowed for a rise in tensions between judiciary and executive rather than heighten democracy the changes to the judicial system have lead to a loss of faith from the public, Gina Miller 2016 denied parliament the use of article 50.

-but constitutional reform has improved democracy by devolution 1997 by Blair and has allowed for the transfer of power and reinforced principle of consent and legitimacy and has obtained wider representation and local gov presence increasing feeling of involvement in politics.

Question 4

evaluate the view that collective or individual rights are secure in the UK

Answer 4

1- The UK does not have a systematic and
formal Bill of Rights where individual and
collective rights are defined, we do not have a codified constitution and that means that there is not a solid bit of legislation to define rights, instead we have singular bits of legislation which uphold rights like the 1998 HRA.
1b- however, there has been a long list of legislation protecting and creating rights for individuals starting with the Magna Carta in 1215 and come so far as the same sex marriage act in 2013.

Question 5

parliamentary sovereignty, evaluate the view that think-tanks, lobbyists and pressure groups have little impact on government decisions

Answer 5

-Governments can ignore the influence of think tanks lobbyists and pressure groups as they have the sole authority to make decisions due to parliamentary sovereignty and mandate.
-this was seen clearly during Blair’s time in office with the Stop the war coalition in 2003,(IRAQ INVASION) Tony Blair had a majority of 167 seats and was able to ignore the protests and was able to continue war preparations and just stop oil! can conclude that even though millions protested government decisions weren’t reversed by the actions of the organisations and indicates the little impact they have on government decisions.
COUNTER
-however on some occasions pressure groups more than the other two have persuaded the government into change
the BMA managed to pressure the government to increase spending on the NHS under a plan that would increase spending by 3.4% per annum from 2019 to 2024 Can conclude by this that papers were only released due to the pressure of the pressure group indicating that they do have impact on government decisions.

Question 6

incompatibilty, evaluate the view that think-tanks, lobbyists and pressure groups have little impact on government decisions

Answer 6

-is effected by insider status and organisations have made impact on government decisions if they are compatible with the governments as the government can then continue to carry out their mandate and seem to the public, like they are listening to public view and getting them on side.
-this can largely be seen by the institute of directors and the tax payers alliance published a report titled how to save £50bn showing how debt and deficit could be tackled by public spending cuts not tax rises, this was compatible with the Cameron government at the time and some of the ideas of the taxpayers alliance found there way into policy by the sector pay freeze and reducing the benefit cap from 26,000 to 20,000.
COUNTER
-also cannot be effected by insider status but more so by public support, impact is that if they have managed to get the public on board the government falls into line due to the consequence of electoral consequences.
-for example Marcus Rashford forced a U turn in government policy of wether they would continue to provide free school meals during an easter holiday at the start of the pandemic impact was profound an government changed policy due to social media campaign reaching extremely high levels of public support.

Question 7

elitism and resources, evaluate the view that think-tanks, lobbyists and pressure groups have little impact on government decisions

Answer 7

MAIN POINTS
- Some pressure groups lack the resources, like funding and numbers to create an impact on political decisions, they lack elitism and media status and this impacts the governments chances to support or listen to the group.
-for example influence is clearly seen through lobbyists who have the fund and ability to persuade for example in 2020 heavy lobbying by the UK spirits alliance and Scotch Whisky association contributed to a continued freeze on taxes on spirits, so by having the funding to pay for lobbyists they were able to influence parliament and more importantly the government.
COUNTER
largely underminded by them having a clear impact despite large financing, and insider status?
-38 degrees email tasks

Question 8

widen appeal, evaluate the view that the success of political parties now depends more on their leaders than anything else

Answer 8

-party leaders can widen the appeal to the general public, with them being the image of the brand, many of the public like a strong Charismatic leader, leaders do offer a brand to voters and have huge impact when voters find this attractive but it’s not just sheer personality.
-for example by Blair, his charisma and age allowed for a revamp of new labour which allowed election.
COUNTER
-media is far more important than party leaders and its perception of the party and the leader can change public opinion

Question 9

performance under spotlight, evaluate the view that the success of political parties now depends more on their leaders than anything else

Answer 9

-leaders have to perform under the spotlight and this can largely define party success by proving they know their stuff, they give out impression they can run the country successfully.
-this has been done by PMQ’s with
COUNTER
-success for a party has largely been seen as a team effort between the whole party, if someone messes up it can negatively impact electoral chance, and you vote for your MP not the PM.
-joint effort largely seen through Blair and Brown and By elections which Con lost after controversy and party gate.

Question 10

strong leader, evaluate the view that the success of political parties now depends more on their leaders than anything else

Answer 10

-strong leaders ensure party unity and hold various factions and groups in the party together as one, unity is an indicator to the public of a party’s ability.
-Corbyn’s bid for PM and Theresa May.
COUNTER
-range of other issues define how the public vote more so than party unity for example economic situation and party policy.
-2008 financial crash labour was out of office.

Question 11

turnout, using the source evaluate the view that proportional representation would improve elections to the commons

Answer 11

-PR voting would allow minority views in society to allow their voices to be heard and therefore would increase likelihood of voting and participation in politics, even younger generations might believe they’ll get say.
-this is because under FPTP not all votes are equal and this deters many voters who support minor parties from voting, for example in the past the ‘red wall’ which was always labour heartlands in the midlands and Northern England which have typically supported the Labour party, this means

Question 12

PM, evaluate the view that the only political parties that political system are the Labour and Conservative parties

Answer 12

-argued that the Labour and Conservative parties are the only one that matter because since 1945 with Atlee are the only ones who have reached the PM position and formed in power governments due to the FPTP system in which a two-party system is likely and so it is definitely true that these parties have alot of power in parliament as they create the government and pass legislation, for example Rishi Sunak’s current government have voted to pass a crucial part of his Nothern Ireland Brexit deal.
COUNTER
-but it is clear that the government don’t always all of the power in parliament in the FPTP system especially in the modern era. this was seen in crucially in 2010 when neither the Conservatives or the Labour party as the two main parties managed to form a majority government (LAB 258 and CON 306), This in turn meant that huge political power was given to the Lib dems to form a coalition government to form a majority. The Libdems decided to form a coalition with Camerons Conservative party and this was significant as he was able to push the liberal democrat agenda, for example the AV election in 2011 was a policy pushed by Clegg to reform the election system, although the public did not vote in favour of change, more importantly they were able to block the agenda of the CON and knock the sovereignty of the CON who had received the most votes in the 2010 election. This all shows that small parties matter.

Question 13

source of ideas, evaluate the view that the only political parties that political system are the Labour and Conservative parties

Answer 13

-it could also be argued Lab and CON are the only party that matter because the main source of ideas in English politics lie purely between them, and have originate from them. This is somewhat true as both parties have been known by the policies which have stayed in their manifestos for years and have developed over time for example Labour’s commitment to workers and working with trade unions, as well as this the media have developed a focus on the two main parties.
-COUNTER
-however, it is hugely unfair to suggest that smaller parties don’t have their own ideas and so do not matter. this is due to the world modernising and people becoming aware of different social views and changes that should be made, they have pressure the two main parties to change their ideas and in turn their manifestos, an example of this being climate change as both the Greens and the public have pressurised the Con into policies and 2019 manifesto put forward ‘next zero by 2050 and investments into renewable energy sources’, this largely establishes that the parties swallow the idea of other parties, showing that they do matter, and they do this because the consequences could be a real issue for the tories.

Question 14

reach, evaluate the view that the only political parties that political system are the Labour and Conservative parties

Answer 14

-could be argued that smaller political parties dont matter as they don’t have the same reach as Con and Lab, this can be seen to be partly true as Labour with the trade unions and conservatives with JC Bamford, show that they will always have money to put their message across to the electorate, meaning they will have more power.
COUNTER
-however, it is not true that smaller parties don’t matter just because they receive less funding as many factors contribute towards the two parties success, like leadership and smaller parties have been shown to be successful without. Seen by DUP in 2016 in their deal with Theresa May and the Con party, due to their low majority and time of political disruption due to BREXIT, they capitalised on her weakness and need to pass Brexit deal and secured £1 billion in funds for Northern Ireland and still showed control over May, largely by opposing her Brexit deal not allowing it to pass through Parliament, shown that they can sometimes matter more than the two main parties.

Question 15

increase fairness, evaluate the view that the time has come for state funding of political parties

Answer 15

-state funding rather than outside donations and membership fees, would allow for an equal basis and would encourage politicians to focus on voters, and this could increase participation due to increased listening from MPs, for example there is currently a large impact on the money received from donations, with in 2019 the Tories having received £19.4 million and the Greens only received £245,000, this shows a clear adavantage, as the Tories are able to spend more on campaigning and be able to get voters onside, whereas the Greens had little reach and this is shown in the Tories winning 365 seats and the Greens having one only 1.
COUNTER
-however, it is argued that party funds are representative of popularity in the electorate and this overall improves legitimate democracy as the mandate are allowing for the most popular to receive the most funds, and by high participation rates willing to pay membership fees there is little support and activism from the public. for example, the high numbers and increased democracy has been seen by the decrease in memberships rate and increase in number, in 2021 Conservatives lowered their membership fees to create increased membership to 200,000 in 2021 compared to 124,000 in 2018 and this has allowed for increase democracy.

Question 16

transparency, evaluate the view that the time has come for state funding of political parties

Answer 16

-with state funding their would not be such an issue around the transparency for paying for policies, this is largely questioned in it’s transparency with some suggesting that the elite companies are paying for legislation to be in their favour, for example Between Jan and March 2010 to 2020 tories received 80% of political donations from individuals and companies related to property interests and ministers held 669 meetings with 894 separate interest groups to discuss housing issues between Jan 2017- March 2020, and were not transparent on the nature. This largely undermines the democracy of the UK as government are not acting on the majorities wishes, however donations over £7,500 have to be declared under PERA Act 2000 which somewhat increases transparency.
COUNTER
however, the funding of state party is not necessarily needed for smaller parties to carry an impact on an election, and political parties with limited funding have made major difference to both elections and parliament, therefore they do not necessarily need equal funding. Lib Dems Therefore the success in an election is not necessarily all about money but often other factors like the opinion of the public potentially swayed by other things like the media or leadership qualities therefore state funding does not buy votes.

Question 17

funding, evaluate the view that the time has come for state funding of political parties

Answer 17

-it would be easier to implement and not as expensive as expected, and needed to avoid the idea that the extensive donations of the top two parties help win elections and this would allow minor parties to have chance of making a mark on the election. for example Green party, Libdems etc. the benefits of a fairer and more representative election is better than no change to the system, however there is little asking and many in the UK have become disengaged with politics due to scandals and the cost of living crisis would mean that a rise in tax would be simply impossible for some families.
COUNTER
however, the current system generally works it upholds democracy and the strong two-party system allows for a strong majority party and the election to be fair as parties are funded correctly in proportion to popularity in the polls for example tories received 2019 highest poll rating of 42.6% thus making it fair they received the most donations, the funders are the voice of the electorate, however unstable May and Libdems.

Question 18

Coalition, evaluate the view that since 2010 the UK has seen a return to cabinet government.

Answer 18

-cabinet gov is one where the PM is first among equals and tries to get an agreement throughout cabinet on policy decisions.
-could be argued that return as based on the coalition of 2010-2015 between the Libdems and the Cons, evidence as Cameron had to appoint members of Libdems into his cabinet, and for the coalition to work he had to hand power back to the cabinet on policy decisions, for example he was pressured by his cabinet to have a referendum for new voting system 2011 AV, can conclude a temp return to cabinet government, this was further seen by May who used her cabinet equally with Remain conservatives and leave conservatives like Bojo,
-Counter
however this return to cabinet government is not all that it seems as Cameron himself used a smaller group of ministers within his cabinet to make key decisions quad government, known as the fab four. this is strong evidence to support the view that there has not been a return to cabinet government as this does not support the view of Primus inter pares, first amongst equals. Aswell during his years collective ministerial responsibility was kept strong, this shows strongly that Camerons government could have been forced to agree to decisions or risk losing their positions. and this means they lack in scutiny e.g the Libdems agreed to oppose the mansion tax which they had previously supported, this could’ve led to a lack of scrutiny on gov by cabinet.

Question 19

majority, evaluate the view that since 2010 the UK has seen a return to cabinet government.

Answer 19

-failure of FPTP to provide a strong majority government, and so increases the power of cabinet as it makes the PM more reliant on a loyal cabinet to support and legitimise their decisions. for example, May after 2017 had no majority and partnered with DUP this meant she had to rely on having a cabinet which would support her choices in Brexit as she knew it would define her ability to successfully pass Brexit legislation and be a successful PM. because of her weak position in the media and in her own party and parliament concepts such as collective ministerial responsibility broke down, this meant this was a huge time full of backbench rebellions unhappy with the party and unhappy with Brexit negotiations and handed power to cabinet for a period as may had no authority because of her weak personal and parliamentary mandate.
COUNTER
however, this was just a blip of brief cabinet power. since this Johnson secured a powerful mandate and this has carried through onto Truss and Sunak. Johnson was largely able to get his cabinet on his side and shows the majority which FPTP usually creates and makes cabinet easy to dismiss or to not fully listen to although Boris was eventually taken out of his position by his party. This has also been seen through Sunak’s marjority with him affording to not listen to all parts of his party and potentially cabinet and this was seen through the 40 Tories rebelling over the online safety bill and him still being able to pass it.

Question 20

divisons, evaluate the view that since 2010 the UK has seen a return to cabinet government.

Answer 20

-having been a return to cabinet governments is because of their being strong divisions in political parties, this has been largely seen with Johnson, with Johnson having caused extreme divisons in the party. big divides mean the party has to attempt to appear united through cabinet, for example Boris Johnson replaced May’s government of remainers and leavers to showcase a strong cabinet to ‘get Brexit done’ as they would support him all the way, this largely gives more power to cabinet as they are needed as one to support the authority and to allow the party to follow suit however still had rebellion over Brexit.
COUNTER
-however, clear the return is limited as even in fully disunited parties PM’s still have huge powers of patronage and so are able to appoint who they want and receive loyalty, means if a PM wants they can appoint ministers who will only agree with them fully and is seen potentially through Sunak’s government and again with Johnson’s a better explanation for him being able to deal with the extreme divisions well is by patronage, and can fire ministers they don’t agree with for example Sunak sacking Zahawi from chairman of the conservative party after he broke the ministerial code and Gavin Williamson

Question 21

evaluate the view that collective or individual rights are not protected in the UK

Answer 21

2- Governments can and do regularly remove or restrict individual rights This has occurred over several areas, and has happened with the government’s legislation being overturned by judicial review, Belmarsh case.
3- The Human Rights Act 1998 has made a
huge difference to individual and collective rights, introduced by Blair’s government it has allowed for judicial review on the government and rights cases to be tried in the UK courts system, 21 April 2010
-made a ruling that the government was unable to keep sex-offenders on the register for their whole lives as this breached their human rights and they should have the right to appeal against registration 15 years after leaving jail

Question 22

Evaluate the view that collective or individual rights are not protected in the UK

Answer 22

4- Governments can and do regularly restrict collective rights, largely seen through their willingness to take away protesting rights, seen through the 2023 strikes bill in which the government is willing to restrict the right to strike due to ambulances and restricting the right to demonstrate by Suella Braverman’s public order bill.
5- The Equality Act 200 was another landmark piece of legislation to protect and guarantee both individual and
collective rights. This legislation brought together important earlier legislation and updated the coverage
of rights. Now added to race and gender come other individual and group cohorts such as age and sexual orientation.

Question 23

evaluate the view that the use of referendums have improved democracy in the UK

Answer 23

-One way that referendums can be viewed to enhance democracy is it being a form of direct democracy and through the use of the media contributes to encouraging participation, while also educating the public about the single issues involved.
-Clearly seen through the election 2017 turnout being 68% and the turnout for the SIE 84% and BREXIT 72% this demonstrates that referendums have improved democracy in the UK, however 42% AV turnout with people being more likely to vote on individual factors from referendums.
-has also allowed for increased turnout for young voters, which has been hard to achieve in GE, with 75% of 16-18 voters voting in the Scottish general election
C- in contrast, referendums can be seen to not improve democracy in the UK with confusion and complicated questions being given to the electorate, the EU question was one which the conservative party full of interests in politics were not themselves able to answer.

Question 24

evaluate the view that referendums increase democracy

Answer 24

1- Issues that could influence the constitution clearly couldn’t be made by the government on their own and a public turnout was needed for consent.
Scotland asked the public about a Scottish Parliament being established in a 1997 referendum, popular consent was needed and was received with 74.3% voted yes and 25.7% voted no with 60.4% of Scotland turning out. Wales had a referendum about establishing a Welsh assembly which was also voted for with a 50,3% yes vote and 49.7% voting no but with a 50.1% turnout.
2- however, from election campaigns politicians can be seen to use half-truths and lies to get their way, Bojo 350 million promised for the NHS and lowered immigration.

Question 25

evaluate the view that referendums increase democracy

Answer 25

3. Provide a clear decision and popular mandate that is required for the government to then act upon.
   Divisions between Ireland and N.Ireland - clear need for support for the Belfast Agreement referendum in 1998 - 81% turnout and 71.7% voting yes while 28.9% voted no. Give the public the ability to show when they clearly don’t want something, with the referendum in 2005 of a ‘congestion change’ zone in Edinburgh being shot down with 74.4% voting no and 25.6% voting yes.
   A: Shows clear evidence what the public wants and therefore justifies the actions of MPs afterwards
   4- Cases of low turnouts to referendums leading to low majorities, therefore lowering the legitimacy of the result.
   Referendum to change the electoral system from FPTP to AV in 2011 only had a 42.2% turnout with 32.1% voting yes but a majority of the small amount who voted chose no, which had 67.9%. 2004 there was only a 47.7% turnout for a referendum of devolving more powers to the northeast of England and creating a regional assembly, which would have been a significant change and had 22.1% yes and 77.9% no.
   A: Majoritarianism can end up not taking the view of the minority into account no matter how low the turnout was.

Question 26

evaluate the view that the political system should become a direct democracy?

Answer 26

1- cause democratic renewal, as public have shown interest. Largely seen in 85% turnout for Scottish referendum, 72% Brexit and even 75% of 16-18 voted in scottish ref, GE only a turnout of 69% 2017 shows that representative system isnt working. however AV.
2- no, even with access to education public are all definitely not informed and educated enough politically to make decisions, seen through untruths and misleading info in elections, Brexit 365 mill towards NHS. in contrast MPs are mostly privately educated and take an overwhelming interest in politics.

Question 27

evaluate the view that our system should be a direct democracy system

Answer 27

-likely to accept result that come from referendums due to popular will, therefore deemed acceptable and legitimate 74% of mps voted against brexit and yet still impose, parliament are unrepresentative of society and only 4% women mps, however likely topics of referendums are want to be referendums.
-not practical in democratic society of population of 66 million, can largely be swayed by big voices and leaders and most accept the system with participation at 69%.

Question 28

evaluate the view that our system should be a direct democracy system

Answer 28

-one positive is that it can work, it increases legitimacy on topics and in practical modern society doesn’t effect. this is seen in European countries like Switzerland who use intiatives, which is the process of the public by popular demand calling for a referendum on a topic through petitions, this allowed for Switzerland to ban minaret of mosques.
-however, by differing forms of direct democracy by allowing us to all constantly vote on issues, would lead to a lack of policy formation due to the inability to come to a consensus on legislation if every vote needed the public to vote on and current system allows involvement through folks back home engagement, East hamm Timms was voted in with 85% of the vote

Question 29

evaluate the view that the franchise should be further extended

Answer 29

1- 16 year olds don’t have the vote in general elections therefore extending the franchise isn’t a thing of the past Over 100,000 16 year olds voted in the Scottish referendum of 201475% of 16 and 17 year olds voted showing their willingness to participate and interest in politics, therefore it’s only fair if they receive the voteUnder 18s deserve the vote as they are exposed to enough information and Corbyn has under 2 million followers, many of who support but can’t vote him, which is unfairParticipation e.g #JEZWECAN in 2017 shows the youth being active in politics. however, teenagers aren’t fully developed and are more likely to give into peer pressure and be uninformed less than adults
2-Yes – women have the vote; making the system fair1918 the representation of the people act was passed This gave women the vote ultimately, as 6 million women could now vote, which made the campaign led by both the suffragists and suffragettes successful in the end Followed by reform in 1928 given to all women over 21 years, allowing better gender equality between men and women; as gender equality is reached within the voting system, therefore extending the Franchise is a thing of the pastUnder 50% of women voted for Thatcher; possibly due to this change, so equality is clear as standards and rights are consistently improving as a result of this reform

Question 30

should the franchise be extended?

Answer 30

-Involving youth may have a trickle up effect and mobilise their parents
- Increasing rates at a time of apathy
- Structured environments like school can increase turnout by helping them overcoming obstacles like registering
- Youth politically engaged on social media and direct action
- Strengthen youth political interests and reorintate politics around issues like education
Against
- Younger voters less likely to vote. In the 2015 election just 43% of 18-24 year olds voted compared with 78% 65+
- Voters who do not vote in their first election are the most unreliable voters so it could create a generation of abstainers

Question 31

should the franchise be extended?

Answer 31

Compulsory voting
For
- Turnout in Australia has never dropped below 90%
- Gives politicians more legitimacy
Against
- It does not tackle the root causes of low turnout, merely the symptoms
- People do not want to vote due to dissatisfaction with the parties and the voting system
- May force people to vote for parties that they don’t want to and so the system will never change
- Politicians are elected with the votes of the least interested and most ill-informed of the electorate and these may be influenced more by the tabloid newspapers.
- Some voters will make a random choice on the ballot paper because they have to vote.

Question 32

how serious is the democratic deficit in Britain today?

Answer 32

FPTP used for both Westminster and local elections in England and Wales undermines democracy as it under-represents minorities (despite having widespread support) and results are disproportionate to votes e.g. 2015 UKIP, 3.8 mill votes but 1 seat yet SNP 1.5 mill but 56 seats
- this brings legitimacy of MP’s and gov into question as they can receive fewer votes but more seats. most gov’s elected between 35-40% so most end up with party they didn’t vote for
- millions of votes wasted and caused voters to become disillusioned with process
- deficit as many underrepresented and lack of legitimacy
-A- it improves democracy as it is a simple system which is fair to give each voter one vote which encourages people to vote in comparison to a more complex system
- democracy more stable as it doesn’t allow minority parties to have significant representation
- accountability improved since recall of MP’s act (explain but only 2/3 success)
- but these are weak arguments people’s voices and votes should be fairly heard
- undemocratic to deny parties representation if they’re being voted for

Question 33

evaluate view there is a democratic deficit

Answer 33

n conventional methods
- election turnout declining in all elections (2017 - 68%)
- democracy only strong if people engage in process
- local election turnout low (2015 P+C 15%)
- signifies complete apathy or choice not to engage, many people feel votes are wasted in FPTP and the domination of Lab and Con
- party membership low (Con dropped by over 1m member since 1970’s) members are no longer involved in policy making process
A-n conventional methods
- election turnout declining in all elections (2017 - 68%)
- democracy only strong if people engage in process
- local election turnout low (2015 P+C 15%)
- signifies complete apathy or choice not to engage, many people feel votes are wasted in FPTP and the domination of Lab and Con
- party membership low (Con dropped by over 1m member since 1970’s) members are no longer involved in policy making process

Question 34

evaluate the view there is a democratic deficit?

Answer 34

• in executive and legislative branch
• only 34% of MP’s are female compared to 51% of population
• only 10% of commons are BAME compared to 20% of population
• whilst not essential to be a part of one demographic to represent them it will likely increase empathy and understanding of issues
• the gov have clearly lacked on issues of domestic violence and racial inequality
• out of touch with electorate, 20& privately educated compared to 7% of population - people disengaging and they feel they cant be represented by people who have never experienced same challenges.
  A– UK improved
• parliament no longer a ‘boys club’
• current cabinet more ethnically diverse than any other conservative cabinet with an Asian-British Chancellor of the Exchequer
• LGBTQIA+ representation in parliament positive statistically and more MP’s who attended state schools than private