Democracy and Participation

Question 1

2 Examples of Representative Democracy in the UK?

Answer 1

General Elections, Local Elections.

Question 2

Examples of Direct Democracy in Practice in the UK?

Answer 2

Recall votes, Referendums, Initiatives, E-Petitions.

Question 3

What were three key aspects of the 2019 Conservative Manifesto?

Answer 3

The Conservatives promised to carry out Brexit with an “oven ready” Brexit deal. Employ 50’000 new nurses to deal with the strain on the NHS. No income Tax, VAT or National insurance rises.

Question 4

What were three key aspects of the 2019 Labour Manifesto?

Answer 4

Labour aimed to increase the Health Budget by 4.3%.
Hold a second referendum on Brexit. And mass nationalisation of industry such as Water, National grid, Royal Mail, Railways and broadband.

Question 5

What was the turnout in the last 5 elections?

Answer 5

2019 - 67.3%, 2017 - 68.8%, 2015 - 66.4%, 2010 - 65.1%, 2005 - 61.4%.

Question 6

Give 2 examples of E-Petitions and what they stand for?

Answer 6

Currently there is a petition running which aims to end child food poverty - 1.1 million signatures.
There is also a petition to call for an immediate general election with 900’000 signatures.

Question 7

What were the results of the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum?

Answer 7

Yes - 44.7% of the vote.
No - 55.3% of the vote.
Turnout - 84.6% of the electorate.

Question 8

What were the results of the 1998 Good Friday Referendum?

Answer 8

Yes - 71.12% of the vote.
No - 28.9% of the vote.
Turnout - 81.1% of the electorate.

Question 9

What were the results of the 2004 North East England Devolution referendum?

Answer 9

Yes - 22.07% of the vote.
No - 77.9% of the vote.
Turnout - 47.7% of the electorate.

Question 10

What were the results of the 2011 AV referendum?

Answer 10

Yes - 32.1% of the vote.
No - 67.9% of the vote.
Turnout - 42.2% of the electorate.

Question 11

Brexit Referendum Profile?

Answer 11

• 52% voted in favor of leaving the EU
• All major political parties campaigned to remain in EU.
• Turnout was 72%.
• Public presented with the claim that the UK would save £350 million each week by leaving the EU.
• 2017 Election resulted in a hung parliament.
• Both Labour and Conservative MP’s leave over Brexit policies and form the independent group aka Tiggers.
• Brexit finally enacted January 2020.

Question 12

2014 Scottish Independence referendum profile?

Answer 12

• 55% of people voted no.
• Turnout was a staggering 84.6%.
• 16 and 17 year olds allowed to vote for first time.
• One major issue surrounding the referendum was whether Independent Scotland would continue using the pound or develop it’s own currency.
• In 2021 the SNP won the Scottish Parliamentary election promising to hold another independence referendum.

Question 13

2011 AV referendum profile?

Answer 13

• Agreed in the coalition agreement between the Lib Dems and Conservative party.
• 68% of people voted against the change.
• The no campaign focused heavily on the complexities of an AV system.
• Very low turnout of just 42%.

Question 14

Referendums on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

Answer 14

• Turnouts were variable, Scotland - 60%, Wales 50.2%, Northern Ireland - 71%.
• In Wales the outcome was very close - 50.3% voting in favour.
• Following the enacting of devolution the Conservative party recognized the reality of a devolved state.

Question 15

Give 2 recent examples of recall votes in the UK?

Answer 15

Wellingborough 2023 - 13.2% vote to recall Peter Bone after he was suspended for 6 weeks from parliament for bullying and sexual harassment. Labour won the By-election with 46% of the vote whilst the Conservatives got 24.6%.

Rutherglen and Hamilton West 2023 - 14.7% vote to recall Margaret Ferrier after she was suspended for 30 days for breaching COVID restrictions. Labour won the By-election with 58.6% of the vote whilst the SNP got 27.6%.

Question 16

Give 2 examples of notable by elections?

Answer 16

2023 Mid Bedfordshire by-election: After the resignation of Nadime Dorries after she announced that she would be standing down with immediate effect. Labour won with 34% of the vote whilst the Conservatives got 31% of the vote.

2024 Rochdale by-election: The election took place in the aftermath of the Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd, Labour withdrew their support for their candidate but had no time to replace. The Workers Party won 39.7% of the vote whilst David Tully an independent won 21.3%.

Question 17

What did the 1832 Great Reform Act do in regards to enlarging the Franchise?

Answer 17

• It removed 56 Rotten Boroughs as well as reducing another 31 to just one MP such as Beverley.
• It in turn created 67 New constituencies in order to reduce corruption in the system.
• The franchise in constituencies was expanded to include small landowners, tenants and shopkeepers.
• Created a uniform voting franchise in boroughs giving the vote to all householders who paid a yearly rent of £10 or more and some lodgers.
• Also explicitly excluded women as there had been some occasions where women had voted beforehand.

Question 18

What did the Representation of the People Act 1918 do?

Answer 18

• After the war the government realised that most returning soldiers had no right to vote.
• It abolished almost all property qualifications for men.
• It allowed Women over 30 to vote provided that they met certain property requirements.
• The electorate tripled from 7.7 million to 21.4 million.
• Women now accounted for 43% of the electorate.
• Men could vote at 21.

Question 19

What did the Representation of the People Act 1928 do?

Answer 19

• It reformed the 1918 Act by making it so that Women aged 21 could also vote creating equality between men and women.
• 52.7% of the electorate were now Women.

Question 20

What did the 1969 Representation of the People Act do?

Answer 20

It lowered the voting age down from 21 to 18 for both men and women.

Question 21

What are the arguments in favour of lowering the voting age?

Answer 21

-The issue of people aged 16 being able to marry, have sex and join the armed forces despite this they are still unable to vote until 18.
- 16-17 Year old’s were able to vote in the 2016 Scottish Independence referendum as well as the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey so there is inconsistency.
- It would encourage young people to get involved in politics and educate themselves.
- many policies effect them such as education and minimum wage and therefore, should have a say.

Question 22

What are the arguments against lowering the voting age?

Answer 22

• 18 to 24 year old’s have the lowest turnout of any group in elections so how many 16-17 year old’s would actually vote.
• They lack the life experience and the awareness to make difficult decisions.
• They are in full time education or training and therefore, do not have the same responsibilities as adults.

Question 23

What are some organisations calling for a lowering of the voting age?

Answer 23

• The Electoral Reform Commission argue that because 16-17 year olds can vote in Scotland and Wales it should apply to England too.
• The SNP, Green Party and the Labour Party have all supported this with Labour suggesting that they may carry this out.

Question 24

What is the Delegate Model?

Answer 24

Representatives are given direct instructions from those they represent. This system is not present within the UK although it can be argued that some MPs acted in this manner regarding Brexit as where constituents had voted strongly for Leave MPs who were previously in favor of remaining voted on what their constituents believed in.

Question 25

What is the Trustee model?

Answer 25

It is also known as the Burkean model, he argued that MPs were duty bound to use their expertise and judgement when making decisions, nothing to do with whether it is popular or not. MPs are elected for five years and are held accountable at the next election.