TOPIC 2 - PART 1 - Democracy in the UK Flashcards
Is the UK’s political system representative or direct democracy?
The UK political system combines elements of representative and direct democracy.
Name 7 advantages of representative democracy?
- Having someone represent you means you don’t have to spend time being involved in politics
- Representatives have more experience, knowledge and expertise than the rest of the population.
- Representatives can be made accountable for their decisions, whereas the people as a whole cannot.
- People can react emotionally to issues, representatives can be more rational.
- Representatives can educate the public about political issues
- Representatives can take an overall view of their constituents and represent the majority view
Name 6 advantages of direct democracy and referendums
- It is the purest form of democracy, dating back to ancient ATHENS.
- Important decisions can be strengthened and given legitimacy if they receive the direct consent of the people such as referendums.
- Referendums and direct consultation can educate the public about political issues
- People can participate more directly in direct democracy. This improves engagement with politics and may strengthen positive citizenship.
- Important constitutional changes can be entrenched through a referendum
- When government itself is divided, referendums can solve the conflict and secure a consensus decision
Name 5 disadvantages of representative democracy
- It may be difficult to make representatives accountable between elections.
- Representatives may ignore or distort the demands of the people to suit political advantage or personal interest
- When dominated by parties, representatives may follow the party line rather than represent their constituents accurately
- Representative democracy may result in too much political conflict which can only be resolved by direct democracy.
- The idea of the electoral mandate is flawed in that voters are only presented with a manifesto, the whole of which they must either accept or reject. Voters cannot express preferences within various election manifestos.
Name 5 referendums that have taken place
- Whether the UK should remain within the EU (2016).
- Whether the UK should join the EU in 1975
- Whether Scotland should be independent of the UK (2014)
- Whether there should be devolution (1997)
- Whether there should be an alternative voting systems (2011)
Name 7 disadvantages of direct democracy
- Issues are too complex for the average person to understand
(EXAMPLE British membership of the European currency). - People vote in an emotional, irrational way
(EXAMPLE a vote of capital punishment). - If there are too many referendums people may suffer from voter fatigue and so the turnout may be low.
- Voters may start to lose respect for representative institutions if they become used to making their own decisions.
- Referendums and direct democracy may encourage the tyranny of the majority which results in the oppression of minorities.
(EXAMPLE the 2009 Swiss referendum banning the construction of Islamic minarets, a vote in California in 2008 outlawing civil partnership)
6.If there is a low turnout in a referendum the result may lack legitimacy
(EXAMPLE only 34% turnout in referendum to decide whether London should have an elected Mayor in 1998)
- A very close referendum vote may result in an unsatisfactory conclusion and fail to achieve acceptance of the outcome.
(EXAMPLE Brexit)
Name an example of how a referendum can resolve an issue without destroying the government
- 1975 - referendum on whether or not the UK should remain in the European Community
- 2011 - referendum on whether to adopt AV as an electoral system.
Name an example of when a referendum can be used to determine constitutional change.
- Brexit in 2016
- Scottish referendum in 2014
- Whether London should have an elected mayor (2008)
Name an example of when it is necessary to entrench an important constitutional change?
- 1997 referendum - whether to introduce devolved government in Scotland. - YES won.
- 2016 - Brexit - LEAVE won.
- 1997 referendum on whether to give the Scottish Parliament the power to vary the level of income tax - YES won
Give an example of when there is a special need to secure popular consent
1998 referendum in Northern Ireland to approve the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement - this agreement was designed to introduce devolved government and end inter-community conflict - Result YES
Give 5 distinctions between direct and representative democracy
- PURE - Direct democracy is purer than representative democracy.
- CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES - Direct democracy tends to deal with issues concerning constitutional change/reform whereas representative democracy concerns the day to day running of the country.
- INTERESTS OF PEOPLE - Representative democracy considers different interests in society whereas direct democracy is only concerned with the will of the majority
- ACCOUNTABILITY -Representatives are accountable but people are not accountable
- LEGITIMACY - Referendums can be seen as the more legitimate than decisions made by representative institutions.
Name 7 ways that citizens in the UK participate in the democratic process?
- Voting - local, regional and national elections
- Voting - referendums
- Taking part in political consultation exercises
- Joining or supporting a pressure group
- Joining a political party
- Becoming an activist in a political party
- Standing for public office at local, regional or national level
What evidence is there that there has been a decline in political participation? Provide 5 examples
- Turnouts in national elections have been falling
(nb exceptions to this were Brexit and Scottish referendums) - Party membership has been falling since the 1980s (exception to this is Labour Party membership is at at 20 year high following the leadership challenge on Corby)
- Activism in politcal parties has fallen
- Widespread disillusionment with party politics
- Identification with parties has fallen
Give 4 methods of increasing political participation
- Compulsory voting
- Votes at 16
- Citizenship education
- E-democracy (digital democracy)
What are the arguments for compulsory voting as a way of increasing political particiation?
- It increases turnout
- It forces people to think about politics
- People become more used to voting.
- Results have more legitimacy and thus are respected.
What are the arguments against compulsory voting as a way of increasing political participation?
- It abuses people’s freedom
- Results may be seen as artificial
- It is costly to enforce
- It cannot solve the problem of apathy
What are the arguments for allowing voting at 16 as a way of increasing political participation?
- It makes the young more politically aware
- It improves the level of identification with politics
- It makes political education more relevant
What are the arguments against voting at 16 is a way of increasing political participation
- 16 yr olds are too young to make a judgment
- Many 16 yr olds may not vote
- There are not many party politics to attract young voters
What are the arguments that citizenship education will increase political participation
- It improves political knowledge
2. It encourages engagement with politics
What are the arguments against citizenship education being a way to increase political participation
- Education is expensive.
2. It may not create genuine interest
What are the arguments that say that E-democracy (digital democracy) will increase political participation
- It provides greater access to politics for citizens
- It can promote a more direct form of democracy
- E-voting might increase electoral turnout
- The internet provides a vast source of independent political information
What are the arguments against E-democracy being able to increase political participation
- It is vulnerable to fraud and hacking
- Illicit and false information can circulate easily
- Those who lack technical knowledge might be excluded
What evidence is there that there is increasing political participation
- Pressure groups are growing in number and membership.
EG - environmental groups, old age campaigners - There is increasing use of campaigning through social media
EG campaigns against road pricing, sale of National Forest - There has been a growth in examples of direct action
EG anti-tuition fees, anti-Iraq war campaign
How democratic is the UK - list the positives.
- REGULAR ELECTIONS - there are regular free elections.
- FREE MEDIA - there are free media and many independent sources of political information
- There are democratic institutions such as local councils, devolved assemblies, parliament and government.
- FREEDOM - to vote, stand for office an form political parties
- ACCOUNTABLE - parliament makes the government accountable for its actions
- REFERENDUMS - held from time to time to decide on important constitutional issues
- FREEDOM, EQUALITY and RIGHTS - protected by parliament, common law and European Convention on Human Rights
- INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY
- RULE of LAW - all are equal in the eyes of the law
- FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT enables citizens to access important information about government and the administration of the state
How democratic is the UK - list the negatives
- Unelected institutions persist in the form of the monarchy and House of Lords
- Elections are arguably not fair owing to the first past the post system
- Governments are elected on a minority of the national vote
- The prime minister enjoys arbitrary, prerogative powers
- Great deal of power has been transferred to Europe
- There is a growing degree of political disengagement
- Parliamentary sovereignty means that individual rights and liberties are inadequately protected
Would replacing the monarchy with an elected head of state improve democracy in the UK? Provide the arguments in support of this
- This would increase the democratic legitimacy of the head of state.
- It would make the head of state democratically accountable.
- An elected head of state would be able to settle political deadlocks.
- An elected head of state could increase popular political engagement.
Would replacing the monarchy ith an elected head of state improve democracy in the UK? Provide the arguments against this?
- A political head of state might destabilise politics.
- Such a head of state might give too much power to the governing party.
- The UK would lose an important historical institution.
Would introducing an elected second chamber improve democracy in the UK? Provide the arguments for and against.
FOR
1. This would increase the legitimacy of the second chamber.
- A democratic second chamber would be an effective check on government power
AGAINST
1. An elected second chamber might be less independent.
- It might check government excessively
- It might challenge the authority of the Commons
Would reforming the electoral system improve democracy in the UK? Provide the arguments in support of this
FOR
- Alternative systems would be fairer and give the electorate more real choices reducing the numbers of wasted votes.
- House of Commons would be more politically representative.
- It would increase the democratic legitimacy of MPs and government
- The outcome would probably reflect the pluralistic nature of politics more accurately.
Would reforming the electoral system improve democracy in the UK? Provide the arguments against this
AGAINST
- Proportional representation would remove the important MP constituency link.
- Multiparty government might ensue and be less stable. It would be more difficult to form a government if no party won an overall majority.
- There would be unpredictable consequences
- Voters might find it difficult to accept a new system
Could increased use of referendums improve democracy in the UK? Provide the arguments in support and against this idea.
FOR
- Referendums would increase political awareness
- They could be seen as a purer form of democracy
- They would improve political education
- They would increase political participation
AGAINST
- Too many might result in voter fatigue and low turnouts
- The electorate might find many issues too complex to understand properly
- Referendums could lead to the tyranny of the majority. The minority might be discriminated against.
- Voters might be unduly influenced by emotional, irrational appeals.
- Voters might lose respect for representative institutions and for political processes in general
Would introducing a codified constitution improve democracy in the UK? Provide arguments for and against
FOR
1. A written constitution might stop the drift towards excessive power of government and the prime minister
- It would make people more aware of how the political system works.
- It might create more public engagement with the political system
- Rights and freedoms would be better protected.
AGAINST
- The political system would lose flexibility
- It would destroy many political traditions and so reduce public attachment to politics
- It might put too much power into the hands of unelected unaccountable judges who have t interpret a constitution
Would decentralising the political system improve democracy in the UK. Provide arguments for and against
FOR
1. Local and regional government are smaller scale and seen as more democratic
- Government would be less remote and closer to the people
- There might be less tight party control over politics
- It would strengthen local communities
- Control central government from being too powerful
AGAINST
1. More powerful local and regional government would mean more variable state provision
- Citizens might take local and regional governments less seriously, resulting in, for example, low voting turnouts
- Tensions between central and decentralised government might increase
