Political participation in the UK Flashcards
What two questions do we have to ask to determine the utility of political participation?
- What kind of participation is it?
- How intensive is it?
Describe the process of standing for public office
- The most intensive form of participation
- Many local councillors are part time, but they still have to dedicate lots of time to attending meetings, campaigning, meeting constituents, reading information and making decisions
- Full-time politicians must immerse themselves in the job
- Even those who stand unsuccessfully must devote considerable time and effort to their campaign
Describe active party membership
- Active members are also called ‘activists’
- Only a minority of party members are actually activists
- Activists are fully engaged with the party; attending local meetings, voting for officers, campaigning in the community and canvassing at election time
Describe active pressure group membership
- Involves raising money and awareness
- Often means attending or organising demonstrations and other forms of direct action
Describe passive party/pressure group membership
- You are enough of a support to join, but engage in little active support
- Often confine their actions to helping at election times/signing a petition etc.
Describe digital activism
- The internet and social media has become a growing form of participation
- Individuals will take part in campaigns/movements that happen online
- Examples include signing e-petitions, joining social media campaigns or expressing support for a cause on social media
Describe the process of voting
- Most fundamental yet least taxing form of political participation
- It has become more convenient with the growth of postal voting
- With local, regional and national elections along with referendums, voters will normally have the chance to vote at least once a year
Why is political participation important?
If citizens are passive and don’t concern themselves with politics, the system becomes open to abuse. Popular participation holds decision makers to account, ensuring that they carry out their representative functions
What is a participation crisis?
A lack of engagement with the political process by a significant number of citizens, either by choosing not to vote, become members of political parties or run for office
What is an elective dictatorship?`
A goverment that dominates parliament, usually due to a large majority, and therefore has fewer limits on its power
What was the turnout of the 2001 general election?`
A historic low of 59.4%. This was 12% lower than 1997 and 18% lower than 1992
What is happeing to political party membership?
It is in decline
What could be used to partially explain the record low turnout in 2001?
The dominance of New Labour made many feel as if there was little point in voting
How do low turnouts often lead to accusations of elective dictatorship?
Any sense of a participation crisis could lead to a democratic deficit where the legitimacy of those in power and the ability of the public to hold them accountable are limited
What level was political party membership at in the 1940s and 50s?
3 million, but the figure could be several million higher still if we counted trade union members affiliated with Labour
What proportion of the electorate are party members?
2.1%
Give three recent examples that buck the trend of declining party membership
- The Labour party in 2015, after Ed MIliband made it possible to join the party for just £3
- SNP membership surged to 100,000 out of a population of 5 million following the 2014 independence referendum
- There was a huge surge in people joining UKIP in the run up to the 2015 general election
When do public seem more willing to become party members?
When the party is proposing some kind of radical change. But when it comes to more convential policies and established parties, membership continues to decline
In roughly how many countries does compulsory voting exist?
Around a dozen
What can those who don’t intend to vote do to avoid a fine in a complusory voting system?
‘opt out’ before the election
What is the turnout in Belgium and Australia (both have compulsory voting)
Over 90%
What happened when Italy removed compulsory voting in 1998?
After enjoying turnout levels of around 90%, this had dropped to 72% by 2018. This proves that compulsory voting has a dramatic effect on turnout
What does compulsory voting force people to do?
Make themselves more informed about political issues. This is the case especially with the young
What would be the benefit to compulsory voting causing increased turnout?
It would give greater democratic legitimacy to those who win an election
What is the benefit of compulsory voting making sure all sections of society are involved?
Decision makers would have to make sure that policy addresses the concerns of all in society, rather than just those who vote in large numbers
What do some people argue voting is?
A civic duty, so citizens are obliged to carry it out
What do many argue compulsory voting is a violation of?
Civil liberties, as they argue it is a basic right not to take part
How could compulsory voting make voting more ill-informed?
It would force uneducated, perhaps indifferent, voters to vote
What is the negative finacial cost of compulsory voting?
It would take large amounts of public expenditure to enforce and administer
Why would compulsory voting favour larger parties at the expense of smaller parties?
Because the less informed citizens now being forced to vote may only have heard of the better known candidates and parties
What proportion of the 18-24 demographic vote in UK general elections?
35%
What proportion of over 60s vote in UK general elections?
80%
What is the consequence of the elderly voting at a higher level than the young?
The government may favour the older generation against the young when setting policy
Which groups are against compulsory voting?
Civil rights campaigners
Why is the current conservative government unlikely to support compulsory voting?
Younger people tend to be more left-wing than older voters, which would make them likely to vote for Labour and left of centre parties
Define ‘e-democracy’
Used to describe the growing tendency for democracy to be carried out online in the form of e-petitions and other online campaigns
What caused e-petitions to grow in popularity?
The introduction of official government petitions were introduced; where any with 10,000 signatures received an official government response and any receiving 100,000 would be considered for parliamentary debate
List the advantages of e-petitions
- They require little effort
- It is immediately apparent how much support an issue has
- Combined with social media, they can very rapidly raise the interest in an issue
Why are e-petitions criticised?
They take so little effort that there is no guarantee that the participants actually know anything about the issue
Give two occasions where e-petitions had an influence
- Led to a re-opening of the investigation of the Hillsborough football tragedy
- Influenced the debate about whether Donald Trump should be allowed into the UK
Give an example of two sites that help facilitate social movements
- 38 degrees
- Change.org
List some of the typical online campaign concerns
- Hospital closures
- Opposition to road-building projects
- Claims of miscarraiges of justice in the courts
- Demands for inquiries into the behaviour of large companies
Why has social media become important in election campaigns?
It allows parties to circumvent the regulations around TV and radio broadcasts
How do parties use data gathered from social media accounts?
To target voters with specific issues that will resonate with them
How does social media campaigning allow parties to use their resources more effieciently?
They can concentrate efforts on voters in key constituencies, rather than wasting time on those unlikely to vote or who will not be persuaded
What is the downside of parties using social media to campaign?
- Likely to benefit wealthier parties
- No scrutiny from the Electoral Comission
What has replaced the decreased party membership?
Pressure group participation
What can we conclude about the current state of political participation?
- It is more widespread than ever before
- It is less intensive and places less of a burden on people’s time
- The fall in voter turnout and party membership has been largely replaced by alternative group membership
- Rather than being in ‘crisis’, participation is evolving and adapting to modern society
