participation crisis Flashcards
how has turnout in uk general elections changed recently?
it has gradually decreased since WW2. for example in 1945 turnout was 72.8% but in 2015 it was 66.1%
why is turnout important in a representative democracy?
it is vital for the gov. to be seen as legitimate as if votes are too low then people may question their mandate
what is hapathy?
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
what is e-democracy?
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
evidence that the UK is experiencing a participation crisis
-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
evidence that the UK isn’t experiencing a participation crisis
-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 erros
-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
what was the turnout in 2019?
67.3%
what factors could increase participation?
-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
