UK Democracy & Participation Flashcards
(24 cards)
What is a Pressure Group ?
A group who tries to influence an area of government in an effort to get change
What is an Access Point ?
A person who has direct influence in government which is of access to the public (MP)
What are the types of Pressure Groups ?
Insider & Outsider Groups
Insider Pressure Groups ?
Groups that have direct access to to parliament
Eg. Doctors or Teachers
Outsider Pressure Groups ?
General public groups that have little access points to parliament so often get ignored by the government
What are examples of Pressure Group access points ?
- Ministers
- Parliament
- Devolved Assemblies
- Courts
- EU
Are Pressure Groups good for Democracy ?
YES
Pluralist - Allow public to have views heard
NO
Elitist - Allow those with money to be heard first
NO
Stop Gov - Hampering elected government
Examples of Pressure Groups ?
SNOWDROP - Aimed to ban handguns after Dunblane school shooting in Scotland (1996)
IRATE - Ilkley residents against Big Tesco
What is a Lobbyist ?
Someone paid by clients to seek influence over government or parliament on their behalf
What is Lobbying ?
Process of gaining influence over politics due to personal interest
Methods of Lobbying ?
- Paying MPs to ask questions
- Hiring people with Government links
- Taking ministers out for food
Positives of Lobbying ?
- Can change conversation in commons for the better
- Generates 2B to economy
- Build relations with politicians
Negatives of Lobbying ?
- Largely for profit
- Allows wealthy to have a large influence
- Expensive
- Business opportunity
Examples of Lobbying ?
- Fixed Odds Betting Terminals - Tracy Crouch lowered cap on individual stakes from £100
- BskyB - Jeremy Hunt’s advisor and a french lobbyist were exchanging emails hoping Hunt would make an £8B bid
- Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon - Mark Shorrock lobbied David Cameron to use build money to fund his project
What is a Think Tank ?
Public policy research organisations that seek to influence government policy
Example of Think Tanks ?
Social Market Foundation - Supplied government with information on economy during Covid
(GDP fell by 1/10)
Positive of Think Tanks ?
- Critical of government no matter the consequences
- Bring new info
- Experts in the field
Negatives of Think Tanks ?
- Very elitist (corruption)
- Donors always seek something in return
- Government have no obligation to listen to influence
What are the 2 types of democracy ?
Direct - Individuals have the right to partake in person by voting their own opinion
Representative - People in an area elect a representative to convey their their opinions in parliament
Positives / Negatives of Direct Democracy ?
+ Everyone becomes involved
+ Keeps power with public
+ All areas equally weighted
- Impractical due to large population
- People not educated
Positives / Negatives of Representative Democracy ?
+ MPs can protect interests of minorities
+ Public hold MPs to account
+ Public are unreliable so rep takes over
- Some MPs not trusted
- Not everyone votes for their MP
- MPs are elitist as 29% go priv skl but only 7% of all UK do
What are some key milestones in widening the franchise ?
Membership of parties from WW2 to now ?
- Since WW2 membership dropped by 65%
- Members often only chequebook not active
(40-50% donate)
