Participation crisis Flashcards
what is a participation crisis
when there is a lack of involvement within politics, often comes from voter apathy
what is voter apathy
when the electorate find no reason in voting or are simply to lazy to go and vote
what was the general election turnout in 1950
83%
what was the general election turnout in 2001
59%
what was the general election turnout in 2024
62%
why was there an extremely low turnout in both the 2001 and 2024 general elections
there was large amounts of voter apathy due to both Tony Blair and the poor conservative government
why does lower voter turnout weaken government mandate
if there is a lower voter turnout then the government doesn’t have as much legitimacy
what percent of votes did Labour get in 2024 general election
37% of votes
what is voter turnout like in ‘second order’ elections
there is an even lower turnout
how has party membership changed since 1950
there had been a steady decrease until 2017 with Labour and Jeremy Corbyn
why did Jeremy Corbyn cause a spike in party membership
in 2017 Jeremy Corbyn had more left wing views which received the backing of the parties left wing supporters who wanted to support him and his views
what has happened to trust in politicians recently
there has been less trust in politicians due to the expenses scandal following the FOI and then the lockdown scandal during Covid
what was the turnout in the Surrey PCC election
29.9%
what was the turnout in the Liverpool Mayoral election 2024
24%
how many E-petitions have reached 10,000 signatures
456
how many e-petitions have reached 100,000 signatures
74
how has social media had a negative effect on politics
lead to slacktivism where people think they are making a difference by simply liking or reposting a video
how many people are in pressure groups
14 million in the UK
what are some famous examples of pressure groups
- National trust
- LGBT
- BBA (British Bankers Association)
- Just Stop Oil
why can pressure groups be insignificant
they are often ignored by the government if their views do not align
In 1950 how many people were party members
3.8 million people
(7.5% of the UK)
in 2024 how many people are party members
814,000 people
(1.1% of the population)
how did party membership increase voter turnout
it created a social divide which made it more simple and easy for people to decide who they would vote for
how could compulsory voting help to combat the participation crisis
- forcing people to vote would increase the turnout
- in Australia they get an average of above 90%
