flashcards on democracy and participation

Question 1

what is democracy?

Answer 1

A system of government in which the people have ultimate power. The term ‘democracy’ means ‘rule by the people’

Question 2

What is direct democracy?

Answer 2

A system of democracy in which the people make decisions, not the government. Votes take place on specific questions.

Question 3

What is representative democracy?

Answer 3

A system of democracy in which people vote for elected representatives. Elected representatives make decisions on people’s behalf.

Question 4

what type of democracy is the UK?

Answer 4

representative democracy

Question 5

what did the 1918 rep of the people act do?

Answer 5

• Allowed women to vote in national elections. Women who were married, owned property, or graduated, and aged over 30 were given the vote.
• All men aged over 21 were given the vote

Question 6

what do people do in a healthy democracy?

Answer 6

vote in election ms
join political parties
engage politically with important issues

Question 7

what does suffrage or having the franchise mean? And what does extending a franchise mean?

Answer 7

The right and ability to engage in politics and vote in an election. ‘Extending’ the franchise means increasing the number of people who can vote in an election.

Question 8

What did the great reform act do?

Answer 8

• created 67 new constituencies
• created a uniform franchise in the boroughs, giving the vote to all householders who paid a yearly rental of £10 or more and some lodgers.
• broadened the franchise’s property qualification in the counties, to include small landowners, tenant farmers, and shopkeepers.
• Many rotten boroughs we’re abolished, and representation was given to urban areas like Manchester.

Question 9

what did the 1928 rep of the people act do?

Answer 9

• Extended suffrage to women.

* It was passed under a conservative government.

Question 10

what did the 1969 rep of the people act do?

Answer 10

• Extended suffrage to people under 21, after attitudes towards adulthood changed in the UK.
• Passed under a Labour government.

Question 11

An example of a Woman’s suffragettes

in the uk and it’s method used.

Answer 11

The women’s social and Political Union (WSPU) used direct action and militant methods to show urgency of women’s suffrage.
• Militant methods included setting fire to buildings, attacking post boxes, and attempting to hurt politicians.
• Campaigners we’re imprisoned for their actions
- Suffragettes in prison went on a hunger strike and were force-fed.
- These actions made their struggle public and many people criticised the liberal government.

Question 12

Suffragists

Answer 12

Suffragists tried to organise cross-party support and convince and lobby politicians of the importance of female suffrage. Suffragists used peaceful demonstrations and gathered support with petitions.

Question 13

In the UK how are important decisions made by.

Answer 13

Referendums

Question 14

Give two examples of referendums taken place in the UK.

Answer 14

1. The united kingdom european union referendum 2016:
   - 33 million UK citizens voted on whether to remain a member of the EU or leave, 51.89% voted to leave.
2. The alternative vote referendum 2011:
   - Over 19 million citizens voted against adopting Alternative Vote System and chose to keep the first past the post (FPTP) system.

Question 15

methods of direct democracy in the uk

Answer 15

• online petition (over 100,000 signatures parliament may debate on it, but the topic must be sponsored by the ‘Backbench Business Committee)
• referendums
• protest (government don’t have to respond to protest)

Question 16

An example of an Online petition

Answer 16

1.6 million people signed a petition to stop former US President Trump from making a state visit to the UK. Although, MPs then debated Trump’s visit to Parliament and changed it from a ‘state visit’ to a ‘working visit’ in 2018.

Question 17

Examples of rallies and protests in the UK

Answer 17

• In 2017 thousands of citizens gathered to protest in London against the government’s economic and political decisions. People disapproved of austerity measures.
• In 2020 thousands of students marched in London to protest tuition fee rises.

Question 18

advantages of direct democracy

Answer 18

• Direct democracy is the purest type of democracy and does not involve any interpretations.
• People are more likely to engage in the political process if they believe their opinion will make a difference
• It ensures a strong level of openness between citizens and the government.
• It ensures that the will of the people is clear. So, the government will have a clear directive to act.
• Citizens become educated in key politics issues. E.g. The alternative vote referendum in 2011 educated the public on different kinds of voting

Question 19

Disadvantages of Direct Democracy

Answer 19

• Direct democracy means the public make important political decisions. Voters may be less knowledgeable and less able to make an informed decision than a representative politician.
• A system of direct democracy is too time consuming, expensive, and may not be practical to make frequent decisions. Especially for a big country. The Cabinet office estimated that the total cost of the 2016 EU referendum was £142.4million
• The electorate can be influenced, particularly by influential political figures, campaigns or the media. People may vote with their emotions rather than considering al of the options available.

Question 20

What is a local area called? There are 650 ___________ in the UK. The UK is a ___________ democracy.

Answer 20

1. Constituency
2. Constituencies
3. Representative democracy

Question 21

about UK general elections

Answer 21

• Takes place every five years in may ( a result of the fixed term parliament act 2011)
• Parliament can decide to hold an election earlier, by voting to support a motion of no confidence in the Government.

Question 22

Advantages of representative democracy

Answer 22

• The public and instruction can hold representative accountable for their decisions. (in direct democracy it is harder to hold the people as a whole accountable)
• Representatives can make sure that all in society are accounted for.
- Representatives can protest the interests of minority groups better than the majority of the population can when voting.
• Representatives can put together the interests and demands of voters and make policy proposals that work best for everyone.
-Voters in direct democracies may have lots of different demands and difficulty comes when those decisions have to be enacted.
• It is practical as citizens cannot be expected to always make decisions and so the election of representatives acting on their behalf is more practical and beneficial.
• Representatives are better informed to make important political decisions as they often have greater expertise and knowledge than most of the population. The public can be educated on public policy and current political issues.

Question 23

Disadvantages of representative democracy

Answer 23

• Representatives can either act as delegates, and express the view of those they represent, or as trustees. Representative acting as trustees have more freedom to choose actions they think will be best for their constituents.
If a representative is acting as a trustee, but voters wish for them to be a delegate, they may not be accurately representing the wishes of their voters.
• A parliament may not have descriptive representation (where the representatives share characteristics with their constituents). 29% of MPs are privately educated, but only 7% of the UK is.
• A parliament may not have substantive representation (where the representatives advocate on behalf of certain groups). David cameron pushed through legislation to legalise gay marriage in the UK, despite not being gay. It can be argued that a parliament needs to have both types to truly represent.
• Representatives may choose to act in their own best interest, or in the best interest of a select few constituents, rather than all of them.
• If few people participate in the election of representatives, the representatives will not accurately reflect those they represent in parliament.
-Turnout for EU Parliament elections in the UK was 35.6% in 2014 and as a result, more marginal and radical parties have seats.
-UKIP won 26.6% of the UK popular vote in the European Parliament, but at the 2015 general election only won 12.6% of the vote.

Question 24

what do trustees and delegates do?

Answer 24

Trustees- act in the best interest of their constituents.

Delegates- Express the views of their constituents.

Question 25

Differences between direct and representative democracy

Answer 25

• Each and every voter makes decisions on their own in direct democracies.
• In representative democracies, a representative makes decisions on the
behalf of lots of voters.
• In representative democracies, each vote might be worth different amounts depending on constituency size.
• Direct democracy uses mandates from public votes.
• In representative democracies, the votes for a representative are taken
as a mandate, or the votes of several representatives is taken as a mandate.

Question 26

What’s a mandate?

Answer 26

• A mandate is when a political party or decision maker has the authority to make decisions or put policies in place.
• Winning a seat in an election gives the member of parliament a mandate from their voters.

Question 27

Similarities between direct and representative democracy

Answer 27

• Both representative and direct democracies are forms of democracy
that allow voters to make important decisions.
• Both types of democracy use mandates from the public to make decisions

Question 28

Factors influencing voting

Answer 28

Partnership- voters may choose to support a party because they strongly identify with that party. There has been partisan dealignment in the UK recently where voters have stopped identifying themselves with a particular party and have instead become floating voters who could vote for a number of parties. Voters have lost faith in politics and lack confidence in politicians to be able to solve important issues.
Class based voting- social class impact voting. working class usually vote for labour while middle class
vote for conservatives.
• Governing competency is how voters perceive the ability of each party to run the country effectively. This can influence voting decisions.
- The success of a government’s policy, including economic policy and strong leadership, affects how competent they appear to voters, whilst voters are also influenced by the potential governing
competence of opposition parties.
- In 1997 John Major’s lack of competency was a factor in Labour
winning the election.
• Age. Traditionally older people support conservatives because the conservatives are more likely to protect the material interests of older people and because older people vote less for major changes in society. In 2017 labour had 47% more support from voters of the age of 18-19 than conservatives. -Young people are less likely to vote than older people. In 2017 84% of people over the age of 70 voted but only 57% of people aged 18-19 voted.
•Region. People in poorer areas of the country (north of England) vote about compared to people in richer places in the country ( south of England apart from London) that vote conservatives.
•Ethnic minorities are more likely to support Labour because Labour policies are often stronger in promoting a multicultural agenda. - In 2017 65% of ethnic minorities supported Labour.
- Traditionally women were more likely to support the Conservatives than men because of the Conservatives’ emphasis on the family, which was thought to be an important factor for women when choosing how to vote.
- More recently gender has been less significant in influencing voters.
-New Labour was supported by many women.

Question 29

in which election was class a less significant role in deciding voting intention?

Answer 29

2010

Question 30

what’s dealignment? Reason for class dealignment in the uk

Answer 30

Dealignment is a trend where a large portion of electorate abandon its previous political party.

1. increase in the size of the middle class
2. Decline in trade union
3. Privatisation of industries

Question 31

The important of age changed in the 1979 election

Answer 31

In 1979 age was less significant, with a similar level of support for Labour (41%) and the Conservatives (42%) from voters aged 18-24.

Question 32

The important of age change in the 1997 election?

Answer 32

In 1997 many more younger people supported the Labour party with 49% of voters aged 18-24 and 25-34 voting for Labour.

Question 33

The important of age change in the 2010 election

Answer 33

In 2010 there was a large difference among older voters, with 44% of voters aged over 65 supporting the Conservative compared to 31% of voters supporting Labour.

Question 34

what’s women suffrage

Answer 34

Women’s suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the mid-19th century.