1.1 representative and direct democracy

Question 1

What are the functions of democracy?

Answer 1

Representation- a means for people to express their views to the gov of the day
Accountability- there must be a way gov of the day can explain and take responsibility for its actions
Participation
Power dispersal- helps to avoid one person becoming overly dominant
Legitimacy- selection process should have legal authority
Education

Question 2

What is a pluralist democracy?

Answer 2

Pluralism is the broad idea that there is competition between different groups who represent different concerns. Power is spread widely rather than in the hands of the elite. The government should be politically neutral and make decisions based on merits of competing arguments

Question 3

What is direct democracy?

Answer 3

Citizens make decisions by themselves without operating through anyone else. Decisions are made of a majority vote

Question 4

What does direct democracy require and why?

Answer 4

Because the process is continuous and ongoing, it requires high levels of engagement and education from the people

Question 5

What are some of the forms of direct democracy and what triggers them?

Answer 5

Referendums- called by representatives or those in charge
Initiatives- proposed and called by a % of the population
Petitions - high levels of support from citizens

Question 6

What are the arguments in favour of direct democracy

Answer 6

Purest form of democracy- no misrepresentation through representative
Education- people must be informed to make decisions
Works- Switzerland use is effectively regularly
Participation- turnout can be higher when people have more opportunities to be involved in issues that directly affect them
Engagement - public debates and discussion
Legitimate- support of the majority

Question 7

What are the arguments against a direct democracy?

Answer 7

not Practical- too many issues and people
Emotional responses- rather than practical considerations
Tyranny of the majority
Populist outcomes- people vote on short term measures that benefit them, rather than considering what’s in the national interest
Undermines elected representatives
low Turnout- only small groups make decisions affecting everyone and so this undermines legitimacy

Question 8

What is a representative democracy?

Answer 8

People elect someone to represent them in a legislative body

Question 9

What are the benefits of representative democracy?

Answer 9

Pressure groups are widespread
Representation is universal through constituency
Universal suffrage
New groups easily created
Electoral commission works hard to make sure parties follow rules on campaigning and spending
FPTP is simple and provides a clear winner for each seat
Variety of parties in the UK

Question 10

What are the disadvantages of representative democracy

Answer 10

FPTP means many MPs are not voted for by the majority of constituents
Regulations can contain loopholes that parties use
Elitist environment
Safe seats means lack of real choice
Hyper-pluralism, important issues can be drowned out by the number of campaigns
Franchise- 16/17s and prisoners as well as a disfranchised group through process of registration and homeless
relatively low Turnout, raising concerns on democratic legitimacy
Wasted votes and unrepresentative outcomes
Lack of choice as only two parties has a realistic chance of governing

Question 11

What are the positive aspects of democracy in the UK?

Answer 11

Parliamentary sovereignty
Pressure groups
Party systems
Devolution
Universal suffrage
Free and fair elections
Turnout

Question 12

What are the negative aspects of democracy in the UK, causing a democratic defecit?

Answer 12

Meaningful choice- lack of
Elitist pressure groups
Entrenched rights-lack of
Turnout
West Lothian Question and EVEL
Unelected elements
Weakness of electoral commission
Voting system

Question 13

Discuss free and fair elections (why a positive, how is it maintained)?

Answer 13

free from gov manipulation because they are regulated by the electoral commission, which is independent of any party.
There are also laws in place about campaigning in and around ballot stations on the day.
Campaign spending limits and restrictions on the amount of broadcasting time, according to the number of votes a party won at the last election. They are then given the same amount of time accordingly and are each broadcasted at the same time of day.
Ban on campaigning during the purdah

Question 14

Who are the electoral commission?

Answer 14

created in 2000 by the political parties, elections and referendums act, it’s responsible for overseeing democracy in the UK

Question 15

What is the electoral commissions responsibilities?

Answer 15

-registering political parties
-ensuring parties comply with legal requirements
-set criteria for running of elections
-reporting and reviewing democracy with suggestions on how it can be improved
-approving the wording of referendums to ensure they’re fair

Question 16

Why is turnout a positive in the UK’s democracy?

Answer 16

After hitting a historic low of 59% in 2001, turnout has steadily increased, rising to 69% by 2017. There was a slight dip in 2019 to 67%, but it was still above 2/3rds

Question 17

Why is universal suffrage a positive in the UK?

Answer 17

Everyone over 18, who is not a prisoner and deemed mentally capable is allowed to vote on the basis of one person, one vote. Therefore all votes are equal regardless of background and lifestyle

Question 18

Why is the party system a benefit in the UK?

Answer 18

There are 10 parties in the HOC with many more operating at local level. The variety provides a wide range of options for voters with a greater degree of representation. Parties are also responsible for education and so the more there are, the higher the profile of political issues

Question 19

Why are pressure groups a benefit in the UK?

Answer 19

provide alternative avenue for representation, particularly on small or minority issues that don’t concern the whole of the UK. They are legally equal and free to compete, in theory allowing the government to make informed and balanced decisions

Question 20

Why is devolution a positive in the UK

Answer 20

Allows decisions to be made on a local basis. Representatives are closer to the community and know what they want so can better represent them rather than having a remote and disconnected central gov

Question 21

What are some of the unelected features of UK democracy and why is it negative?

Answer 21

unelected hereditary monarchy and unelected HOL undermine representative democracy. This means the public cannot hold them to account.
The appointment system is often accused of cronyism and even after reform 92 hereditary peers remain

Question 22

How can a peer be removed?

Answer 22

death, or following the House of Lords Reform Act 2014, resigning or being expelled for failing to attend an entire annual parliamentary session or committing a serious offence

Question 23

How are the powers of the Lords and monarch limited?

Answer 23

Through conventions, such as the Salisbury convention, which can be ignored by Lords if they so chose

Question 24

Why is turnout a negative in the UK’s democracy?

Answer 24

turnout is often low leading to questions of a participation crisis. Recent election turnouts are still much lower than historic averages of 75% or the 71% achieved in 97, while the slight drop in 2019 is also a concern. Below national elections, turnout drops significantly, raising questions on legitimacy

Question 25

What is the west Lothian question and why is it a negative in UK democracy?

Answer 25

‘why should Scottish MPs vote on issues that do not affect their constituents but do impact other people from outside their constituencies?’
MPs are making decisions about issues that affect people who cannot hold them accountable

Question 26

When did EVEL end and why?

Answer 26

English votes for English laws tried to address the imbalance of power that Scottish MPs had, but it ended in 2021 with fears it was creating two tiers of MPs

Question 27

Why is the voting system a negative in the UK’s democracy?

Answer 27

Wasted votes
Safe seats
Unrepresentative
Winner’s bonus
Discriminates against parties with widespread support
Minority constituencies

Question 28

Why is there a lack of meaningful choice in the UK’s democracy?

Answer 28

only two parties have a realistic chance of getting into power at Westminster, meaning many vote for one of the two. The two main parties often have similar policies, especially post-Thatcher. Even in devolved areas, the contest is based around two main parties, such as in Scotland the SNP competing Labour and more recently, the Conservatives

Question 29

Why are pressure groups sometimes elitist rather than pluralist?

Answer 29

they don’t compete on equal footing as some have more wealth, greater membership, public profile and an insider status. Therefore, a small number of groups tend to dominate the political debate at the expense of others

Question 30

Why is the weakness of the electoral commission a negative in the UK?

Answer 30

It’s often reactive rather than proactive and tends to pass judgement and sanctions after an event has happened, meaning the message has already had impact. There are loopholes in spending regulations and the use of social media which the commission has no power to regulate, other than imposing fines, which in context, are very small

Question 31

Why is a lack of entrenched rights an issue in UK politics?

Answer 31

Without a codified constitution, key rights can easily be overturned by the gov, without effective redress through the judicial system. This undermines the idea that citizen’s rights are protected from the government’s abuse

Question 32

What could be done to improve democracy?

Answer 32

Compulsory voting
Reform of the voting system
Reform of the HOL
Greater recall of MPs
Reform in the HOC
Reforming the devolved system
Reform the monarchy
Codifying the constitution
Digital Democracy

Question 33

How would compulsory voting in the UK improve democracy?

Answer 33

Through a system of fines, it would encourage more to vote. By adding a ‘none of the above’ option to ballot papers, people would not be forced to vote for a candidate against their wishes. This will increase legitimacy and people may be more engaged. The money from fines can go into greater education programmes

Question 34

Why is compulsory voting not a good idea?

Answer 34

It’s believed that with the right to vote, comes the right to not vote (gov by consent) and there is a risk people may just select a candidate at random or use donkey voting. Forced voting could lead to resentment and apathy

Question 35

How would changing the voting system improve democracy?

Answer 35

By changing it to a more proportionate system like STV, it would distribute votes more fairly, end the problem of safe seats and reduce the number of wasted votes. There may be greater engagement if everyone believed their vote mattered

Question 36

Why would changing the voting system not improve democracy?

Answer 36

They can be far more confusing and complicated systems and can lead to extremist parties gaining representation and can lose the link between constituent and MP. Evidence from where they are used elsewhere suggest they don’t increase turnout

Question 37

How would reforms to the HOL increase democracy?

Answer 37

Remove hereditary peers to increase legitimacy or make the chamber fully/partially elected to improve democracy and give them greater authority

Question 38

Why would reforming the HOL not improve democracy?

Answer 38

an elected upper chamber would simply reflect the HOC and could lead to gridlock. It would see a reduction in the number of experts and increase the number of professional politicians, leading to a loss of advice to gov legislation

Question 39

Why would greater recall of MPs improve legitimacy?

Answer 39

the current recall system remains limited and its success depends on an MP committing some sort of crime, rather than allowing voters to remove them if they have misrepresented them. A more rigorous system would make MPs more responsive of calls from constituents.

Question 40

Why is greater recall of MPs a bad idea?

Answer 40

it may hinder MPs in other aspects of their role such as attending parliament and voting with a three line whip. It would also undermine Burkean representation- an idea that MPs should be able to use their own judgement to vote and not just follow their constituents wishes. They may simply become just a spokesperson

Question 41

How would a reform of the HOC improve democracy?

Answer 41

Reform to make PMQs less adversarial, to make members of select committees elected by the whole house, to bestow more power to the speaker and to introduce modern technology to improve online questioning and public scrutiny stages

Question 42

Why would reform to the HOC not improve democracy?

Answer 42

These issues don’t face broad calls for reform and many would have to be tackled at a fundamental level such as adversarial politics.

Question 43

What is an example of greater devolution that could take place?

Answer 43

through regional assemblies or through an English parliament or assembly. Westminster would become a federal government

Question 44

Why reform the monarchy?

Answer 44

an unelected monarchy is undemocratic and introducing a head of state, by having an elected monarchy or presidency would make the UK more democratic

Question 45

Why is reforming the monarchy a waste of time?

Answer 45

Little popularity for this reform and the costs for a presidency would be far more than for a monarchy. An elected head of state would have more authority and so may undermine the principle of parliamentary sovereignty

Question 46

Why create a codified constitution to improve democracy?

Answer 46

Currently, rights are too easily overturned by gov and a codified constitution would help to entrench rights and might lead to greater public education

Question 47

Why is a codified constitution not a good idea?

Answer 47

Much more power would be transferred to an unelected judiciary and it might make desirable reforms more difficult.

Question 48

Why is digital democracy a good idea?

Answer 48

Would make it easier for people to vote, allow people to ask questions directly and would allow the public to give their thoughts on bills before its passed

Question 49

Why is digital democracy a bad idea?

Answer 49

Would be difficult to monitor and ensure free votes, would undermine the role of MPs and would undermine the legislative role of parliament and risk a tyranny of the minority

Question 50

How does the diversity of the HOL hinder democracy?

Answer 50

Only one hereditary peer is a women: the Countess of Mar and there are currently only 5 female bishops (this was enhanced by the 2015 Lords Spiritual Act, which fast tracks female bishops)
Only two peers appeared to all 156 days in session in the 2022 session