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A-Level Politics - UK Politics > UK Politics - Democracy And Participation > Flashcards

UK Politics - Democracy And Participation Flashcards

1
Q

What is liberal democracy?

A

A real democracy should allow for genuine pluralism, tolerance for minorities and everyone is treated the same under the law

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2
Q

What is a direct democracy?

A

When all individuals express their opinions themselves and not through representatives acting on their behalf

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3
Q

What is a representative democracy?

A

People vote for who they want to but not for the policies that they put in place

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4
Q

What are other types of direct democracy?

A
  • referendums
  • electronic petitions
  • Consultative exercises
  • open primaries
  • election of leadership of political parties
  • recall of MP’s act
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5
Q

What are Referendums:

A

They enable the public to directly vote for a policy or issue directly e.g. the EU referendum 52% voted in favour of leaving the EU and 48% voted to stay

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6
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of referendums?

A
  • Adv - it provides the public with a direct choice to help settle issues and since the public can directly vote, the result can claim more legitimacy than by representatives
  • Disadv - they require a detailed understanding of issues, which the public may lack
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7
Q

What are electronic petitions?

A

If a petition on the government website reaches 100,000 signatures it will be considered for debate either in Westminster hall or the House of Commons meaning parliament have to engage in issues e.g. ceasefire in Gaza, rashford campaigning for free school meals

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8
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of electronic petitions?

A
  • adv - #endchildfoodpoverty gained over 1.1 million signatures
  • Disadv - they may be ignored by gov and raise false expectations and consume parliamentary time. There are issues on which parliament cannot legislate. E.g. an e-petition to revoke sir Tony Blair’s knighthood gained over 1 million signatures but was rejected because knighthoods are bestowed by the monarch or will not legislate (a petition demanding article 50 be revoked so that the UK would remain in the EU gained 6.1mn signatures in 2019)
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9
Q

What are consultative exercises?

A

They can be set up when governing bodies want to assess the likely reaction of their proposed policies e.g. the expansion of Heathrow and the HS2 rail link

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10
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of consultative exercises?

A
  • adv - these provide an important way of engaging with the public on issues directly affecting them
  • Disadv - public opinions is not always binding. Socially disadvantaged groups are less likely to engage
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11
Q

What are open primaries?

A

The public directly decide who the candidate should be. David Cameron encouraged open primaries to open up politics e.g. in 2015, thirteen conservative candidates were selected in this way however in 2019 there was only one

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12
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of open primaries?

A
  • adv - if the public have direct influence over candidates, more people will be encouraged to involve themselves in politics
  • Disadv - MP’s may end up abandoning their party if they change views e.g. in 2009 Sarah Wollaston was elected as a conservative MP but proved independent minded and left to join the Lib Dem’s
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13
Q

What are the advantages of a representative democracy?

A
  • decisions can be made by expertise with more knowledge than most of the population
  • the public can be educated on politics and current affairs/issues
  • the public can hold representatives accountable for decisions - haven’t got themselves to blame
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14
Q

What are the disadvantages of representative democracy?

A
  • MP’s can be disengaged from the public so may not act in their interests e.g. in 2016 EU referendum, 52% of the public voted leave whereas 74% of MP’s were in favour of remain
  • hard to get all of the public to agree - may cause backlash
  • representatives may choose to act in their own best interests or in the best interests of a few constituents rather than them all
  • parliament may not have descriptive representation e.g. 29% of Mp’s are privately educated, but only 7% of the UK is
  • a parliament may not have substantive representation e.g. David Cameron’s pushed through legislation to legalise gay marriage in the UK, despite not being gay
  • if few people partake in the election of representatives, the representatives will not accurately reflect those they represent in parliament
  • Westminster parliament is elected through FPTP
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15
Q

What is the election of leadership for political parties?

A

All the main political parties now allow their members to decide who the leader of their party will be - may determine prime minister e.g. liz trust outvoted rishi sunak in 2022 and received 57% of votes + sir kier starmer got 56% of votes

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16
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of election of leadership of political parties?

A
  • adv - makes the leadership accountable to the whole party
  • Disadv - gives too much influence to party activists, who are generally more radical than the electorate e.g. Labour Party members re-elected Jeremy corbyn in 2016 by 61.8% even though labour MP’s had previously passed a vote of no confidence in him by 172/40 votes
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17
Q

What is the recall of MP’s act 2015?

A

If an MP has been imprisoned, suspended from the house by the committee on standards or convicted of making false expenses claims, then a recall petition signed by a minimum of 10% of their constituents can trigger a by-election e.g. in 2019, Chris Davies was convicted of making fraudulent expenses claims. 19% of the registered electors of Brecon and Radnorshire signed a recall petition. Davies contested the by-election, which he lost

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18
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the recall of MP’s act 2015?

A
  • adv - Power of recall makes MP’s accountable to their constituents in matters of serious misconduct or illegal behaviour
  • disadv - the circumstances of which it can be activated are so extreme that critics argue its impact has been negligible
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19
Q

What are the advantages of a direct democracy?

A
  • votes count equally
  • openness between government and citizens
  • increased voter engagement
  • less chance of corruption
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20
Q

What are the disadvantages of a direct democracy?

A
  • referendums simplify decisions to ‘yes or no’ that are much more complicated e.g. UK’s departure from the EU raised issues with eu customer unions and border status with NI and both leave and remain campaigns were accused of oversimplifying the consequences of Brexit
  • challenges the burkean principle that representatives should act according to their conscience not the wishes of constituents e.g. Theresa may, who supported remain in 2016 however went on to lead a government committed to leaving EU
  • in the 2016 EU referendum, critics said the government failed to counter misleading claims, one being the
  • DD doesn’t balance conflicting interests or protect rights of minorities
  • encourages the public to vote of issues they aren’t knowledgeable on
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21
Q

What is participation crisis?

A
  • the idea that there is a serious lack of engagement by people in the UK with our political system
  • lower voter turnout, low trade union membership, low levels of people joining political parties
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22
Q

What arguments are there to suggest there is a participation crisis?

A
  • general election turnout is low
  • referendums and other election turnout is low
  • membership of political parties is declining
  • partisan dealignment
  • membership of pressure groups
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23
Q

What arguments suggest that there isn’t a participation crisis?

A
  • turnout rose in every general election from 2001 - 2017
  • turnout in recent referendums has been positive
  • membership parties is recovering
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24
Q

Features of a representative democracy (UK):

A
  • elected politicians are made accountable to the electorate in regular elections - meaning the voters retain sovereignty because they decide or not whether to renew the mandate of their representatives
  • based on a principle that elected politicians should represent the interests of all constituents - listening to concerns of the people in public meeting and surgeries
  • when making decisions, politicians should weigh up the feelings of the people and their wider understanding of an issue
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25
Q

Evidence for general election turnout being low:

A

In the 1950 general election, turnout was 83.9%, however in 1997, turnout was only 71.4% (which was a continuous drop from previous elections). Then from 2005 onwards, the average turnout in elections up until 2024 was 64.7% (8.8% less than 1997)

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26
Q

Evidence for referendums and other elections turnout being low:

A
  • The Police and Crime commissioner elections have been considerably low, shown in the 2024 Surrey election which achieved a 29.9% turnout.
  • ‘Metro Mayors’ elections have likewise been low, with only an average of 34% in 2019 and in 2012, in major cities such as Manchester, election turnouts for these mayoral elections were only 24%.
  • elections/referendums in devolved nations have also been low, shown in Welsh Assembly/parliament elections from 2001-2024, which gained an average turnout of 44.7% and the 1979 and 1997 Welsh assembly referendum that gained only a 59% and a 50.4% turnout
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27
Q

Evidence for the decline of membership of political parties:

A

In 1950 - 3mn people were members of parties, in 1980 - 1.7mn people were members of parties (4% of electorate), in 2008 - 476,000 people were members of parties (0.95%) and in 2010 = 397,000 people were members of parties (0.8%)

28
Q

Evidence that turnout rose in every general election from 2001-2017:

A

2001 - 59.4%, 2010 - 65.2%, 2015 - 66.1%, 2017 - 68.7%

29
Q

Evidence of Partisan dealignment being an issue:

A
  • In 1987 - 46% of people indentified themselves as a strong supporter of a party however in 2012 - this decreased to 31%
    In 1987 - 8% of people associated with no party, however in 2012 - 22% of people associated with no party
30
Q

Evidence of membership of pressure groups declining:

A

There were 13mn workers in a TU in 1979, 6.5mn workers in a TU in 2016, 6.44mn workers in a TU in 2021 and only 6.25mn workers in a TU in 2022, showing the clear decline in pressure group popularity

31
Q

Evidence to show that turnout in recent referendums/elections has been positive:

A
  • the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 recorded an 84.6% turnout
  • 7.6% increase in voting from the first to the second referendums on the UK’s membership of the ECC/EU
  • the 1997 ‘Good Friday Agreement’ referendum gained an 81.1% turnout
  • in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, it achieved a turnout of 63.5% which was an increase of 7.7z from the preceding election
32
Q

Evidence to show that membership of political parties is recovering:

A
33
Q

Why is Partisan dealignment not necessarily a bad thing?

A
34
Q

Evidence to show that pressure groups are not in decline:

A
35
Q

What is a democratic deficit?

A

A perceived deficiency in the way a particular body works, especially in terms of accountability and control over policy making

36
Q

In what ways is the UK in need of reform?

A

Critics say that radical steps need to be taken to re-inspire enthusiasm for the democratic process. New ways need to be found to make politics relevant to the public which is vital in order to maintain legitimacy in voting

37
Q

What proposals are there for reforming the UK democratic system?

A
  • people’s referendums due to claims that politicians are insufficiently accountable to the public
  • electronic petitions as they allow the public to engage with parliament
  • power of recall as it allows MP’s to be held accountable by the public
  • further devolution as it can encourage greater democratic participation
  • House of Lords reform which is seen to be unaccountable due to claims for cronyism
  • digital democracy which can encourage greater voting participation
  • reform of the Westminster electoral system
  • compulsory voting which would make government more legitimate
38
Q

What arguments are there for people’s referendums?

A
  • they give voters more influence over their lives - e.g. in Switzerland, if 100,000 people sign a petition for a new law then it leads to a referendum
  • like they do in the Republic of Ireland, any constitutional change should be endorsed by the public in a referendum - e.g. the legislation of same sex marriage (2015)
  • they can boost participation e.g. the EU referendum 2016 achieved a 72.2% turnout and the 2014 Scottish independence referendum received an 84.6% turnout which is higher than most general elections
39
Q

What arguments are there against people’s referendums?

A
  • it can lead to democratic overload - e.g. from 2000-2022, Ireland has had 19 referendums with an average turnout of only 48.4% (compared to 67.3% in the 2019 uk general election) showing they haven’t energised democracy
  • could create conflict between immediate priorities of the public and long terms objectives of government e.g. in 2021, Swiss voters rejected gov proposals for new green taxes, which left its environmental policy in disarray
  • referendums are a majoritarian form of democracy with no safeguards for the rights of minorities e.g. 2021 a ban on face coverings in Switzerland through a referendum
  • referendums may be used in a divine and populist fashion that may undermine liberal democracy
40
Q

What are arguments for electronic petitions?

A

They keep the public engaged with their representatives - as a result, parliamentary debate is more focused on issues important to the public

41
Q

What are arguments against electronic petitions?

A
  • the accepted e-petitions have a low conversion rate, shown from 2015-2017, as there were 10,950 epetitions accepted by the gov website, yet only 4.5% of these gained the requisite signatures for a government response
  • it could bog down parliament further as they are debating on issues that our representatives have already decided on e.g. 2021 - e-petitions for HS2 to be stopped delayed it for a further 3 years whilst safety regulations were carried out
  • amongst MP’s they have been widely unpopular, as research with 64 MP’s found that only 23% agreed that e-petitions influenced government policy making
42
Q

What are the arguments for Power of recall?

A
  • broadening the criteria on which POR could be demanded to include issues around policy making would weaken influence of party whips and also make representatives more in touch with constituents
43
Q

What are the arguments against power of recall?

A
  • ‘Policy recall’ could be used for political advantage by opposition parties
  • providing voters with the opportunity to dismiss representatives who believe have not represented their interest would undermine the Burkean principle saying that representatives should act according to their conscience
  • if MP’s were recalled for decisions, parliament would be deprived of independent thinking MP’s
44
Q

What are the arguments for further devolution?

A

(Covered thoroughly in Constitution topic)

45
Q

What are the arguments against further devolution?

A

(covered thoroughly in constitution topic)

46
Q

What are the arguments for the House of Lords reform?

A

(covered thoroughly in topic on constitution)

47
Q

What are arguments against House of Lords reform?

A
  • elected lords could become a rival to the commons, potentially causing constitutional gridlock - unlikely to make representative government popular
  • there is already a low electoral turnout for elections to the House of Commons
  • HOC and HOL would be equal so nothing would get passed
48
Q

What are the arguments for digital democracy?

A

Will lead to greater political engagement and higher turnout

49
Q

What are the arguments against a digital democracy?

A
  • voting on a phone would mean voting is no longer carried out in secret - voter manipulation could increase
  • allegations of cyber interference by Russia shows it would be more open to fraud
  • the banning of trump from twitter in 2021 raises questions about whether media companies should determine who is allowed on social media
50
Q

What are the arguments for reform of the Westminster electoral system?

A
  • critics of FPTP claim that it discourages voting as it limits voter choice by over-rewarding labour and conservative meaning small parties get less representation
  • the replacement of FPTP with a proportional form of election would create fairer connection between the votes a party receives and its representation
  • if ‘wasted votes’ and ‘safe seats’ were eliminated it would encourage greater voting incentives
51
Q

What are arguments against reform of the Westminster electoral system?

A
  • In the 2011 additional vote referendums, 67.9% voted in favour of not replacing FPTP with AV
  • parliaments in Scotland and wales are elected by a type of proportional representation. However their voter turnout suggests this doesn’t provide an effective remedy e.g. in 2021, the Scottish parliament election had a 63.1% turnout and from 2001-2021 the welsh parliament had a 44.8% average turnout. The Surrey police and crime commissioner election gained only a 29.9% turnout
52
Q

What pushes are being made currently for voting to be lowered to age 16?

A
  • votes at 16 coalition 2003
  • in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, 16-17 year olds were allowed to vote and 75% of them did so
  • labour and Lib Dem’s endorse voting at 16
  • ‘votes at 16’ has established major presence online and encourages schools and college debates. They also seek the endorsement of MP’s and the House of Lords
53
Q

Why is it unlikely for the voting age to be lowered to 16?

A
54
Q

What are the arguments for lowering the voting age to 16?

A
  • at 16 people have more responsibility such as paying tax, national insurance, joining armed services so it is irrational that they are regarded as not mature enough to vote
  • the introduction of citizenship lessons into the school curriculum means young people are better informed about current affairs
  • it boosts participation e.g. Scotland 2014 : 75% of 16-17 year olds voted in the 2014 independence referendum
  • young people want to engage e.g. Scotland - 97% of 16-17 year olds who voted said they would vote again in future referendums
  • young people are affected by future decisions
55
Q

What are the arguments against voting at 16?

A
  • in the 2015 general election, 43% of 18-24 yo’s voted, 54% of 25-30 yo’s voted, compared to 66% across all voters
  • Scottish independence referendum - 75% of 16-17 yo’s voted compared to 85% total
  • lack of education
  • according to the UN convention of rights, children should be treated without imposed adult responsibilities
  • labours support for lowering the voting age represents an act of political partnership rather than idealism
  • voter turnout among 18-24 year olds is lower than in other age groups e.g. the Isle of Man enfranchised 16-17yo’s in 2006 and in every election since, voting in this age group has decreased - 2011: 54.1%, 2016: 46.2%, 2021: 46%
56
Q

What are the reasons for prisoners being able to vote?

A

-In 2004, the European court of human rights declared that the ban of prisoner voting was contrary to article 3 of the first protocol of the European convention of human rights - provides the right to elections that are free
- pressure groups such as liberty and Howard league for penal Reform support prisoner voting

57
Q

What are the reasons against prisoners being able to vote?

A
  • when the issue was debated in HOC 2011, only 22 MP’s voted for it, 234 voted against
  • people who have been convinced of serious crimes have broken their contract in society and should be deprived of the rights of citizenship
58
Q

What were the key acts of parliamentary reform to open up the franchise?

A
  • 1832 great reform act
  • 1918 Representation of the peoples act
  • 1928 representation of the peoples act
  • 1969 representation of the peoples act
59
Q

What was the importance of the great reform act 1832?

A

It gave the vote to middle class men and redistributed parliamentary seats to industrial towns. However it left working class men disappointed and excluded women in parliamentary elections

60
Q

What was the importance of the representation of the peoples act 1918?

A
  • It widened suffrage by abolishing property qualifications for men and by enfranchising women over 30 if they met property qualifications.
  • instituted the present system of holding 1 day elections & brought in the annual electoral register
  • size of electorate tripled to 21.4mn
  • age 30 requirement for women voters
61
Q

What was the importance of the 1928 representation of the peoples act?

A
  • it granted equal voting rights to men and women aged 21
  • women became a majority of the electorate with 52.7% in the 1928 general election
62
Q

What was the importance of the 1969 representation of the peoples act?

A

It extended suffrage to 18 years old, the first democratic nation to lower it age of franchise to include this age group

63
Q

What suggests that Health and Ethnicity affect voting in general elections?

A

According to a 2021 survey, about 11% of white British people were not registered to vote but for EU migrants and those of Indian and African backgrounds, the figures are 39%, 14% and 25%

64
Q

What evidence is there to suggest that people don’t engage in politics because they feel their vote makes no difference?

A
  • A survey of 4,135 adults in 2024 by the office for National statistics found that 63% had little or no confidence in their ability to influence government
  • some also think that policies and candidates put forward have no impact on their lives
65
Q

What are logistical/bureautic factors that influence a lack of participation in elections?

A
  • voter ID
  • accessibility - in 2022, 92% of eligible people with a physical disability were registered compared to 85% with no disability however when it comes to voting, it is 5% lower for people with disabilities
  • election timings and frequency - non-voting has increased to 40% in 2017-2024 given the UK has held 3 general elections

A-Level Politics - UK Politics (6 decks)

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