2.1 Democracy and political participation

Question 1

should the franchise be extended for prisoners?

Answer 1

yes:
- the right to vote is a human right
- there is no proof it acts as a deterrent
- removes civic responsibility and makes rehabilitation harder

no:
- those who commit a crime lose the right to say how society is run
- giving criminals the right to vote undermines principals of justice
- the threat of losing the right to vote acts as a deterrent

Question 2

shold the franchise be extended to 16 year olds?

Answer 2

yes:
- they already have numerous rights that make voting a natural additional one
- it would increase participation and political education
- the can already vote in devolved regions

no:
- they’s just not bothered lol
- turnout from 18-25 year olds is the lowest group already

Question 3

is there a participation crisis?

Answer 3

yes:
- there has been a general decline of electoral participation
- politics has lost its ‘shine’
- decline in party membership
- weakening of political group power

no:
- there has been a growth in pressure group membership
- the nature of participation has changed
- there has been a high turnout for referendums
- social media campaigns
- there are more parties

Question 4

what are the factors determining pressure group success/failure?

Answer 4

success:
- insider status
- wealth
- large membership
- effective organisation
- expertise
- celebrity endorsement

failure:
- the groups alienates the public
- the goal of the group goes against popular opinion
- contradicting pressure groups
- the government can resist pressure from the group/contradicts government policy

Question 5

do pressure groups undermine democracy?

Answer 5

yes:
- they are unelected causing a tyranny of the minority and may have too much influence on the government
- there are too many of them

no:
- raises awareness for topics neglected by the government
- the nature of participation has changed and pressure groups are taking over, getting more young people involved

Question 6

overview of pressure groups?

Answer 6

• insider status with parliament is powerful for pressure groups
• sectional groups work to look after their own section in society
• outsider groups often struggle to have the same influence

Question 7

overview of lobbyists and corporations

Answer 7

• major companies have a huge influence on the economy meaning they often influence political decisions
• that is the nature of a capitalist society but there is sometimes a concern they influence the government to the detriment of others

Question 8

overview of think-tanks?

Answer 8

• they offer independent review of policies
• they successfully further democracy as they have no direct power only influence
• an argument could be made that we already have the civil service but there’s no harm in having more influence

Question 9

are parties losing their ideological divide?

Answer 9

• does not seem to be the case
• labour is definitely ambiguous and undefined
• but Starmer does have policies that distinguish him from the Tories (red/green socialist)
• it is especially seen, however, through the conservatives where there is a growing right wing faction
• and the party is being moved to the right by Sunak himself

Question 10

is there a decline of two party dominance?

Answer 10

overall: England is a two party system and the celtic fringe is a multi-party system

paragraph one:
- the rise of smaller parties
- the role of coalitions
- BUT smaller parties just act as pressure groups
- coalitions do not show a rise of smaller parties

paragraph two:
- rather the nature of FPTP means votes don’t translate
- two party dominance is seen in the outcome of general elections

paragraph three:
- the celtic fringe
- plaid cymru in wales
- the SNP in Ireland
- British parties do not stand in NI

Question 11

strengths and weaknesses of AMS?

Answer 11

strengths
- able to form a strong government
- provides a more proportional outcome than FPTP
- better minority representation

weaknesses
- still produces one party dominance
- favours larger parties
- choice is somewhat restricted

used in the Scottish parliament, Welsh Senedd and London assemblies

Question 12

strengths and weaknesses of AV?

Answer 12

strengths
- prevents wasted votes
- allows for the winner to have a strong government mandate due to the allocation of second preference votes to the two major parties

weaknesses
- the vote is more complicated than FPTP
- there are still wasted votes if electors cast their second preference vote for a party that is not in the top two as it does not have an effect on the results

used for the Mayor of London and other directly elected mayors

Question 13

strengths and weaknesses of STV?

Answer 13

strengths
- STV encourages a system of power sharing
- it has much broader choice, even multiple candidates from the same party can stand in the same constituency
- delivers a proportionate outcome

negatives
- STV is very likely to result in a coalition government which may be unstable
- it has a very lengthy and complex counting process

used in Northern Ireland

Question 14

does FPTP need reform?

Answer 14

leads to heavily disproportionate outcomes
- winners bonus (2)
- wasted votes (2)
- the need a plurality not a majority (2)

smaller parties are rising in popularity but can’t be represented effectively as concentrated votes are needed
- rise in small parties (1)
- concentrated votes (2)

BUT there is still a role for small parties
- in coalitions (3)
- as pressure groups

there is no popular demand for reform and it ensures a working majority
- majority (1)
- reform (1)

Question 15

what are the social factors that impact voting behaviour?

Answer 15

1. gender
2. age
3. class
4. ethnicity
5. geography

Question 16

what are factors that have affected individual voting in election studies?

Answer 16

1. party leader
2. other circumstances
3. party policy
4. performance in office

Question 17

what to know for print media?

Answer 17

elections:
- crisis, what crisis?
- sun switching support to labour
- telegraph exposing MPs expenses scandal

generally:
- the telegraphs subscribers
- role in the Falklands war
- party of sleaze
- dodgy dossier and bliar
- membership of the EU
- pressuring Johnson MPs to resign over COVID and sleaze

Question 18

what to know for television?

Answer 18

• television debates in 2010, 2015 and 2017 general elections
• the role of political satire
• BBC viewership
• the impact of the 24 hour news cycle

Question 19

what to know for opinion polls?

Answer 19

• when they were founded and by who
• when they were effective, 1944-2010
• decline in effectiveness seen in 2015 election and 2016 referendum

Question 20

how has the role of the media changed?

Answer 20

it used to:
- report accurately on political events
- act as a check and scrutinise the government of the day, investigating controversies
- educate the public on major issues
- provide a forum for public debate

now it:
- has become overly partisan, they mock and ridicule not inform debate
- they have created a national mood of cynicism
- focus too much on individuals