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UK Democracy And Participation Flashcards

1
Q

Define democracy ?

A

A systems of government in which the people have ultimate power

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2
Q

What are the two main forms democracy present in the UK

A

-representative democracy
-direct democracy

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3
Q

Define direct democracy ?

A

A form of democracy in which people decide on policy initiatives directly

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4
Q

Define representative democracy ?

A

A system of democracy in which the people vote for elected representatives, they then make decision on peoples behalf

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5
Q

What are the features of democracy ?

A

-elections
-representation
-legitimacy
-participation
-accountability
-rule of law
-smooth transition of power
-civil rights
-education and information

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6
Q

What are the challenges of election ?

A

Turnout varies particularly according to age group

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7
Q

What are the challenges of representation ?

A

Most elected representative belong to a politcal party and represent their party’s views most of the time

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8
Q

Explain legitimacy ?

A

Government and legislatures have legitimacy or legal authority as they have been fairly chosen by the people in elections

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9
Q

What are the challenges of legitimacy ?

A

The FPTP electoral system distorts party representation at Westminster, no recent UK government has won the support of over 50% of those who votes let alone a majority of the entire electorate

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10
Q

What the most common form of democracy in the UK?

A

Representative democracy with the use of regular elections for parliament, local councils

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11
Q

Which feature of democracy comes in representative democracy ?

A

Accountability comes in the form of regular elections when voters can endorse or reject candidates at the ballot box

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12
Q

What are the advantages of representative democracy ?

A

-elected representative have the knowledge and skill to make often difficult and complex decisions on behalf of voters
-by being responsible for nearly all areas of policy and decision making they are able to take a broader view of issues and balance effectively competing claims and issues. This is particularly significant when it comes to priorities for allocating spending, balancing budgets and setting taxes
-belonging to a political party enables voters to have a good idea of how representative will act once in power
-representative government is more efficient than laying numerous decisions and laws directly before the people for approval or rejection

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13
Q

What examples are there of direct democracy in the UK ?

A

-1973 Northern Ireland: vote on weather it should remain part of the UK
-1975 whole of UK: vote membership of EU
-1979/1997 Scotland and wales: proposed introduction of devolution
-1998 London: referendum on weather there should be a directly elected mayor of London and creation of a Greater London authority
-1998 norther Ireland: Good Friday agreement
-2016 whole of UK: EU referendum

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14
Q

What other forms of direct democracy is there ?

A

E-petitions

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15
Q

How many signatures does a petition has to have to receive a response of government ?

A

10,000

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16
Q

How many signatures for a petition to be debate in parliament ?

A

100,000

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17
Q

What examples are there of e-petition ?

A

-2019 around 6 million signatures were collected in a petition to revoke article 50 and have the UK remain in the EU
-2019 around 1.7 million signatures were collected in a petition in opposition to the planned prorogation of parliament in the midst of debates and statement of post Brexit deal

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18
Q

How many signitures were collected in a petition to stop Donald trump from making a visit to the UK?

A

1.86 million

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19
Q

How many signatures were gathered to stop plans to introduced road pricing, which would have charged motorist for actual road use ?

A

1.8 million

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20
Q

What are the advantages of direct democracy ?

A

-it promotes political participation
-it improves accountability, elected representatives cannot ignore the wishes of the people
-it improves political education
-it enhances legitimacy, decisions have the direct authority and mandate of the people
-its popular with voters and engages them e.g e-petitions
-considered to be a purer form of democracy since it allows and trusts the whole adult population to have a say on issues directly

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21
Q

What are the disadvantage of democracy ?

A

-there is a lack of political education, the public may not fully understand the question, elected representative would be in a better position to
-referendums are not binding on the government, parliament sovereignty prevails
-populist outcome can prevail, people may vote for a more short term reason rather than long term effect
-turnout is often low for referndum
-tyranny of the majority
-it is impractical in a large and diverse country greater use of referendums could be costly

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22
Q

What was the turnout of the AV referendum in 2011 ?

A

Low turnout 42%

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23
Q

Before the reform act 1832 what type of society was Britain ?

A

An oligarchy in which political power lay almost exclusively in the hands of a small group of voters

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24
Q

What percentage of the population could vote in 1832 ?

A

2.7%

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25
What movements used more of violent action ?
Chartist and the suffragettes
26
By the end of the the process who could vote ?
Adult, except prisoner and peer gained the right to vote
27
What was the representation of the peoples act 1918 ? And what led to it ?
It was a product of the social and political changes caused by 1st world war All men over the age 21 could vote, women over 30 who met the property qualification could now vote
28
What was the representation of the peoples act 1928 ?
-women finally received the vote on equal terms to men -all men and women over 21 could now vote
29
What was the representation of the peoples act 1969 ?
The voting age was lowered to 18
30
What led to lower the voting age of 18-20 year olds
A response to social changes, the status of this age groups had been changing since the 2nd world war with growing numbers going on to university and also seeking to get married and buy or rent a house
31
What movement are the chartist ?
A movement associated with the debate over social class and the vote
32
Who were the key leaders of the charsit movement ?
William Lovett, Francis Place and Feargus O’ Connor
33
What did the chartist movement protest for ?
The six chartist points which comprised of democratic points
34
What were the main tactics of the chartist ?
The main tactics was the complication and submission to Parliament of three monster petitions 1839, 1842, 1848, that contained up to 6 million signature
35
36
Why is the legacy of the Chartist significant ?
Although the movement collapsed in 1848, over time all of its demand have been achieved but one annual elections, therefore while a failure in the short term the legacy of the chartist was significant and influenced the creation of other politcal movement such as the reform league which helped pressure the government to pass the second reform act 1867
37
Why were the chartist concerned with ending the aristocratic domination ?
Believed that the wealthy rule in their own selfish interest, for example there was no provision of help for the poor or unemployed beyond the horrors of the workhouses. Tenants often had few rights over their homes and could be easily evicted, housing conditions were insanitary and overcrowded
38
What did the women suffrage movement argue for ?
Wanted women to be treated on an equal basis to men in policies and in many other areas of life such as employment, education and marriage
39
Which two groups emerged ?
Suffragist Suffragettes
40
When was the suffragist National Union of Women Suffrage societies formed ?
1897
41
When was the suffragettes Women’s social and political union formed ?
1903
42
Who led the women’s social and politcal union ?
Emmeline Pankhurst
43
What tactics did the suffragist focused on ?
Focused on peaceful and constitutional methods than included meetings, handing out leaflets, petitions, marched and lobbying politicians
44
Who was leader of the suffragist ?
Millicent Fawcett
45
By 1914 how many members did the the suffragist have ?
100,000
46
What tactics did the suffragettes use ?
They were more militant and prepared to break the law, changing themselves to railings, heckling and disrupting public meetings and criminal damage/arson
47
What did the suggragetes do that led to an act of Parliament being passed ?
When imprisoned they would go on hunger strikes which led the government to pass the law Cat and Mouse act to enable force-feeding to avoid suffragettes death and the subsequent creation of martyrs for the cause
48
What example are there of death of suffragettes ?
Emily Davison who was trampled to death by the kings horse at the 1913 Epsom derby
49
Why did both movement of women suffrage suspended in 1914?
Due to outbreak of war
50
How are the suffragettes and suffragist significant ?
They witnesses success quicker than the chartist with most women being given the vote in 1918 and then the remainder in 1928
51
What other things led to women gaining suffrage ?
The invaluable contribution of women during the war, especially as munitions workers
52
How is this movement still limited ?
It took far longer for women to be elected as MPs in any large number, the first female PM thatcher was not elected until 1979 and it was only after 1997 that significant numbers of females MPs began to get elected Three decades into the 21sth century, women remain underrepresented at Westminster
53
In what year was the first MP of colour elected ?
1987
54
In which year was parliament most diverse with 10% of its MPs from a minority ethnic background ?
2019
55
What did the electoral commission report in 2019 ?
That 25% of black voters in Great Britain’s and 24% of Asian voters had not yet registered to vote
56
What do pressure groups such as the operation black voters focus on ?
Ensuring minority ethnics register and then turn out to vote, alongside promoting racial justice and equality more generally though out the UK
57
What are the arguments to give the vote to 16 and 17 year olds ?
-paying income tax and national insurance -obtaining tax credits and welfare benefits -consenting to sexual relationship and getting married -becoming a company director -joining the armed forces
58
What did the UN universal declaration of human rights issue in 1948 ?
-everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives -that the will of people shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage
59
By what other document has this approach been adopted by ?
European convention on human rights
60
What did the convicted prisoner John Hirst argue for in his campaign ?
The right to vote
61
Which pressure group supported this view ?
Prison reform trust
62
After the court dismissed Hirt’s case in 2001 why was it overturned in 2005 ?
Overturned by the ruling of the European courts of human rights, in the case hirst v UK, the court ruled that the UK’s blanket ban on prisoners voting was unlawful and in violation of article 3 of the first protocol of the ECHR
63
Which prime minister opposed to this idea ?
Prime minister David Cameron
64
What happened in 2017 ?
Justice secretary David Livingston proposed granting the vote to prisoners on a temporary licence, which would affect around 100 prisoners at any one time
65
Arguments for why prisoner in the UK have the right to vote ?
-voting is part of a civic responsibility and removing it makes rehabilitation harder -voting is a fundamental rights and should not be removed -removal of vote makes the prisoners a non-person and alienates them further from society -the ECtHR has ruled against a blanket ban, so the the UK government must honour its commitment abide by the courts ruling weather or not it disagrees with them
66
Argument against why prisoners in the UK should not have the right to vote ?
-those who commit serious crime against society should lose the right to have a say in how society is run, rights comes with responsibility -losing the vote serves another deterrent against law breaking -prisoners are concentrated in certain constituencies that have larger prisons, yet are not normally permanent members of those communities so should not play a part in selecting MPs for such areas -public opinion is strongly against such a change -it undermined parliamentary sovereignty -the ECtHR ruling and its interpretation of the ECHR goes far beyond the original intent of its framer
67
Traditional forms of political participation ?
-voting in a range of election including national, local, regional and referendums -membership of a political party, attending meetings and actively campaigning -standing as a candidate in elections -joining a pressure group -writing letter to MPs and councillors -going on a march -going on strike
68
Recent forms of political participation ?
-signing e-petitions -following, retweeting and liking political post on social media -organising and participation in protest -boycotting certain goods and businesses
69
Why has the political activity on social media been critiqued ?
-Some argue that clicking like on social platforms is a minimalist mode of political engagement requiring little effort or personal commitment -slacktivism -the often abusive and aggressive tone of much online political discourse and the advent of trolling also undermines this format of participation
70
Why has participation and political engagement been damaged ?
By scandals such as MPs expenses and the long, drawn out post Brexit debates and potential deals that dogged Westminster politics between 2017 and 2020
71
What was the voters turnout between 1945-1992 ?
Above 75%
72
Voter turnout in 1950
84%
73
To what percentage did voter turnout fell in 2019 ?
67.3%
74
What was the second highest voter turnout since 1997 ?
2017= 68.8%
75
Voter turnout for 2019 European elections ?
37% in 2014
76
Voter turnout for 2018 local for unitary elections ?
37% in 2017
77
Voter turnout for 2016 police and crime commissioners elections ?
27%
78
Voter turnout for 2014 Scottish independence referndum ?
85%
79
2011 alternative vote turnout ?
42%
80
What do these figures suggest ?
That turnout for many election is poor, but they don’t necessarily prove that turnout is falling consistently, turnout is noticeably higher where issues such as Scottish independence and Brexit excite passions on both sides of the political divide
81
How does voter turnout vary according to age ?
The older the voter they more likely they are to vote
82
What did the polling research from Ipsos Morí suggest in 2019 turnout?
47% among 18 to 24 years old 74% among the over 65s
83
When was the gap wider and how much ?
In 2017 turnout was 54% and 71%
84
What other areas does voter turnout affect with its variation ?
Constituencies
85
What was the voter turnout for the highly marginal seat of East Dumbartonshire being the highest turnout in the UK in 2019 ?
80%
86
Who lose their seat in the marginal seat
Jo Swinson leader of the Liberal Democrat’s
87
Which constituency had the lowest turnout in 2019 with a figures of 49%
Kingston upon Hull East
88
Voter turnout in 2017 and 2019 tended to be linked to what ?
Marginality of constituencies
89
A total of what constituencies had been voted by the same party at each of the last four general elections ?
70% 453 out of 650 constituencies

UK Goverment And Politics (18 decks)

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