paper 1 cramming Flashcards
name 3 positives and negatives of direct democracy
positives
- direct participation
- builds community - may encourage cooperation
- organisation easier in 21st century due to technology
negatives
- can divide communities
- people may not have the knowledge to make big decision
- impractical in modern day - slow
name 3 positives and negatives of representative democracy
positives
- people with expertise may decisions on behalf of the public
- more practical having a smaller population of delegates rather than the whole population
- representatives can give a voice to a minority
negatives
- delegates may act self interested
- people become lazy and do not participate in politics
- minority groups may be left unheard
4 features of UK democracy in 21st century?
- free and fair elections
- protects rights
- corruption is held to account and punished
- devolved decision making bodies
who cannot vote?
- under 18s
- convicted felons
- royal family
- those declared medically insane
4 methods of participation?
- voting in an election
- joining a political party
- signing petitions
- joining a pressure group
why may people be put off voting? (4 reasons)
- differences between parties is blurred since 1990s
- lack of trust in politicians due to scandals and corruption
- people are more interested when there is an issue at hand
- electoral system - wasted votes
3 reasons how to improve participation?
- online voting - easier and may reach youth audience who are apathetic
- lowering age
- compulsory voting - seen in australia
what are the 3 main types of pressure groups and an example for each?
- cause group - lobby for a specific cause (eg. extinction rebellion)
- interest group - lobby in the interest of their own members (eg. BMA)
- peak group - lobby for businesses (eg. CBI)
name 3 methods of pressure groups?
- public campaigning - demonstrations
- civil disobedience - throwing paint on things
- legal action - bring case to supreme court
3/4 factors that influence the success of pressure groups?
- group size
- insider/outsider status
- wealth
- public support
how to pressure groups enhance or threaten democracy? 3 reasons each
enhance
- disperse power and influence
- educate public
- another method of participation
threaten
- some pressure groups are in the hands of elitists - unfair
- may distort info encouraging people to support claim
- passive participation - not voting
whats a think tank, lobbyist, corporation?
- think tank - experts investigating policy to influence (eg. chatham house - international affairs)
- lobbyist - persuade politicians to favour group or cause
- corporation - companies influencing politics
brief summary of 5 key developments of rights?
magna carta
common law
statute law
HRA 1998
equalities act 2010
are rights protected in UK? - 3 points each
for
- strong common law tradition
- subject to ECHR
- judiciary upheld independence principles even to oppose gov wishes
against
- common law sometimes set aside - can be vague
- ECHR can be repealed as parliament is sovereign
- increasing pressure on gov to change rights in interest of national security
3 examples of conflicting individual vs collective rights
- freedom of expression vs hate speech
- demonstrate in public spaces vs freedom of movement in a community
- right to privacy vs report on matters of public interest
2 pressure groups concerned with rights?
- amnesty international - human rights abuses (eg. windrush)
- the fawcett society - gender equality
4 features of political parties?
- people holding similar views
- wish to gain governmental power
- organisation into hierarchy
- membership
3 functions of political parties?
- educate public on issues important to them
- improve society
- select suitable candidates for positions
3 ways political parties are funded?
- donations
- fundraising - conference, festivals
- membership subscriptions
should parties be funded by the state? 3 points each
for
- end corruption of donations (used to pressure)
- gives smaller parties more opportunities
- stop hidden forms of influence
against
- funded through tax - some may object to this
- difficult to decide on how to distribute funding - past performance?
- may lose independence - ‘organs of the state’
3 left wing beliefs?
- distribute income from wealthy to poor via taxation
- welfare state
- support aid to poorer countries
3 right wing beliefs?
- low tax to encourage private enterprise and create incentives to work
- welfare benefits low to stop dependency culture
- national unity and patriotism
3 one nation conservative beliefs? + examples
- noblesse oblige (eg. increased funding for schools)
- need for welfare state
- accepts mixed economy - encourages private enterprise
3 new right conservative beliefs? + examples
- individual wealth shouldn’t be taxed
- welfare state - dependency culture (eg. universal credit)
- wary of immigration (anti-EU and pro-america) (eg. brexit)
3 old labour beliefs? + examples
- equality through redistribution (eg. increased min wage in 2025)
- rehabilitation in law
- diplomacy in international matters (eg. corbyn voted against action in syria)
3 new labour beliefs? + examples
- mixed economy (eg. blair didn’t reverse thacther privatisation)
- strong criminal justice sense (eg. 2019 manifesto to recruit more police offiers)
- diplomacy doesn’t always work - military intervention
3 old libdem beliefs? + examples
- free market free trade (eg. against 2019 increase of corporation tax)
- personal freedom
- smaller state - spending
(eg. coalition - tuition fees)
3 new libdem beliefs? + examples
- enabling state (eg. 2019 reverse school funding cuts)
- wealth based tax system (eg. 2019 tax on corporation increase)
- welfare state for freedom and eq. of opportunity
brief look at SNP?
left wing
- scottish independence (eg. want 2nd referendum)
- lifting benefit caps
- investment in renewable energy
what are some importances and limitations of smaller parties? 3 points each
for
- distribute votes to other parties
- small parties split vote in marginal constituencies
- affect large parties if appear threatening
against
- support limited to certain region
- FPTP - doesn’t care if vote is wide but shallow
- large parties may poach ideas - taking their votes
evidence of a dominant party system?
- conservatives have dominated executive in recent years
- even minority gov have held power
evidence of a 2 party system?
- FPTP ensures only conservatives or labour
evidence of a multi party system?
- minority parties seats are on the rise (eg. 2024 green party gained 3)
- more notice of these parties
3 factors affecting party success?
- leadership
- valence
- press
explain the process of FPTP
- members of a constituency place 1 vote each for a representative (party)
- the party with most votes over other candidates wins (plurality system)
- winning party doesn’t need absolute majority of votes (50%+)
- used for westminister elections
name 4 outcomes of FPTP
- safe seats with a minority of marginal seats
- discriminates against parties with wide spread votes but not concentrated in constituencies (winners bonus)
- produces a strong single party government
name advantages and disadvantages of FPTP? 3 points each
advantages
- single, clear winner with a mandate to govern - majority
- prevents extremist parties from coming to power
- simple to understand - more participation then more complex processes
disadvantages
- doesn’t always guarantee a clear winner - coalition and minority parties in gov
- despite few seats, extremist parties can still exert a movement and gain support
- encourages tactical voting - not entirely realistic of views (eg. electoral reform society estimated 6.5 mill tactically vote sin 2017)
explain the process of SV voting system
- 1st and 2nd votes
- if no one has 50% after 1st votes, 2nd added
- 2nd round, 2nd votes for others are transferred to first 2
- previously used in London mayoral and PCC elections
name 4 outcomes of SV voting system
- less votes wasted
- ‘2 horse race’ - not focus restricted to 1 party
- alliances between parties - adopting policies to gain secondary votes
- secondary votes for parties they ‘dont mind’ - not extremist parties (moderate instead)
name advantages and disadvantages of SV voting system? 3 points each
advantages
- winner has overall support
- relatively simple - doesn’t put people off voting
- first and second choices are relevant
disadvantages
- still a 2 party system - discriminatory
- winner may not gain majority of first choices
- still wasted votes
explain the process of AMS voting system
- 2 votes: candidate and party
- 2/3 seats allocated through constituencies voting for candidate
- 1/3 selected through list system of parties putting candidates
- proportional - 60% of votes = 6 seats
- used in scottish and welsh parliaments
name 4 outcomes of AMS voting system
- small parties can win seats despite not winning constituencies
- 2 types of representatives
- proportionality
- party reps do not have distractions of constituencies
name advantages and disadvantages of AMS voting system? 3 points each
advantages
- proportional outcomes and fair
- 2 votes - more choice
- constituency representation with proportion
disadvantages
- more complex
- can result in extremist, minority, or coalition gov
- produces 2 classes of representatives
explain the process of STV voting system
- 6 seats available in each constituency - each party can put as many candidates up
- voters rank them
- winning candidates elected via quota (votes/seats + 1)
- if no one reaches quota losers votes transferred - continued until 6 seats are filled
- used in Northern Ireland Assembly & NI and Scottish Local Council elections
name 4 outcomes of STV voting system
- proportionality
- multi party system
- encourages power sharing - coalitions are norm
- weakened constituency links
name advantages and disadvantages of STV voting system? 3 points each
advantages
-simple choice of ranking
- broadly proportional - no wasted votes
- wider choice - not limited
disadvantages
- calculating and counting is a long, complex process
- lines of accountability not clear - 6 representatives
- coalitions or minority govs could be unstable
arguments for and against electoral reform? 3 each
for
- fptp delivers unproportional results
- votes are wasted in fptp
- tactical voting wont be necessary
against
- fptp creates decisive strong stable government with strong constituency links
- other systems waste fewer (SV) if any votes (STV)
- complex systems may decrease participation even more
arguments for and against wider use of referendums? 4 each
for
- purest form of modern democracy (direct)
- can unite people and resolves conflicts (eg. 1998 good friday agreement)
- people may be encouraged to educate themselves and participate
against
- some issues are too complex for public
- referendums can cause societal divisions (eg. brexit)
- tyranny of the majority - especially in close results (eg. brexit)
2 examples of referendums in the uk
2014 scottish independence
for = 44.7% against = 55.3%
turnout = 84.6%
brexit
for = 51.9% against = 48.1
turnout = 72.2%
why are referendums held?
- to resolve issue that had divided government
- constitutional significance - public importance
- another form of democracy
in 1997 how much of AB class voted conservative & DE class voted labour?
AB = 41%
DE = 59%
in 2019 how much of AB class voted conservative & DE class voted labour?
AB = 45%
DE = 39%
how is class important in voting behaviour?
- class voting and division is expressed in multiple niche, intersections of society -interlink factors
- education can be reflected in class
- class plays important role is campaigns and how individuals are targeted
the significance of age based voting
- age divisions are prominent in recent elections
- reflects the methods parties may use to target their audiences
- the nature of the parties ideologies can present the age groups that they may ‘favour’ in terms of securing votes - the issues most important
the significance of region based voting
- the cultural values in each region can determine how they vote (eg. the north tends to vote labour - working class background)
- specific issues may sway the vote (eg. brexit)
the significance of gender based voting
- gender has very little impact on voting
- women tend to vote labour more - perhaps due to progressive attitudes
- age can play into this factor (2019 more women 18-24 voted for labour than men)
the significance of ethnicity based voting
- BME voters may tend to vote labour more considering conservatives anti-immigration attitudes
- other factors such as wealth may overtake this factor - many asian hindu voters have become wealthier overtime and therefore lent towards conservatives more
- could be influenced by representation in the parties
the significance of voting based on valence
- party unity - stable?
- image - can you trust the leaders?
- history of the leader/party - are they competent in governing?
the significance of voting based on party leadership
- party image - how do they collectively represent the whole party?
- personality - are they likeable?
- competency - their professionality and experience?
the significance of voting based on issues
- people may see elections as a referendum - if you vote one party they will resolve an issue in a certain way
- people may consider whether the party is competent to deal with the issue
the significance of voting based on campaigns/manifestos
- have candidates campaigned to prove their devotion to the role?
- are campaigns memorable?
- have campaigns reached other voters?
- whether the manifesto conforms to voters beliefs
4 positives and negatives of opinion polls?
positives
- polls give politicians valuable info to appeal to the voters more
- polls are published - creates more discourse and interest in elections (participation)
- people may be encouraged to vote if parties are close
negatives
- can often be inaccurate (2017 - didn’t pick up youth voters)
- unrepresentative - some voters may not take part that couldve changed the result
- people may be put off voting if one party if far ahead
influence of print media
- negative representation of parties and policies may encourage them to change
- the press can influence voter perception - the sun ‘wot won it’
- politicians can write articles in newspapers expressing their attitudes - making them seem closer to the people
influence of broadcast media
- mainstream broadcast is usually impartial - viewers can form their own decisions
- hidden bias - broadcasters have been accused of passively expressing bias
- live debates
influence of social media
- reach wider audience - young people
- can encourage passive participation - not interacting
- educates people in a more digestible way
