participation crisis

Question 1

how has turnout in uk general elections changed recently?

Answer 1

it has gradually decreased since WW2. for example in 1945 turnout was 72.8% but in 2015 it was 66.1%

Question 2

why is turnout important in a representative democracy?

Answer 2

it is vital for the gov. to be seen as legitimate as if votes are too low then people may question their mandate

Question 3

what is hapathy?

Answer 3

when the public are removed from politics as they have stable/happy lives. people may also be too busy to vote, or there may be a rise in anti-politics where people don’t trust politicans

Question 4

what is e-democracy?

Answer 4

e-petitions. between 2011 and 2015 there were over 150 petitions which got a response from parliament and were debated in the house of commons

Question 5

evidence that the UK is experiencing a participation crisis

Answer 5

-low turnout figures for recent elections, which leads to a questionable mandate (e.g. in 2015 GE only 24.4% of the poplulation actually voted for the Tories but they won
-decline in formal democracy + increasing partisan dealignment
-2019 audit of political engagement- 15 year high in the number of people who disagree that political involvement can actually do anything
-turnout is low in the younger generation

Question 6

evidence that the UK isn’t experiencing a participation crisis

Answer 6

-pressure groups are constantly growing in size e.g. just stop oil have 70,000 followers on instagram
-rise of e-democracy
-formal participation could be 9% higher than previously thought, due to the electoral system possibly containing errors
-differential turnout- voting figures might show a low overall turnout but that might not be representative of certain areas where turnout was high
-turnout amongst over 65s is high

Question 7

what was the turnout in 2019?

Answer 7

67.3%

Question 8

what factors could increase participation?

Answer 8

-votes at 16
-online voting
-compulsory voting
-changing the electoral system so everyone’s vote counts equally
-adopting a proportional electoral system
-increasing political education in schools
-reducing membership fee of parties
-more direct democracy

Question 9

what was the turnout in 2024 general election?

Answer 9

around 60%