democracy and participation

Question 1

history of suffrage

by th early 1800 how many people in the UK had franchise

Answer 1

400,000

Question 2

HIstory of suffrage

what did the 1832 great reform do?

Answer 2

1. many ‘rotten’ boroughs abolished
2. more middle class people with property the right to vote
3. gave more urban cities like manchester an MP

Question 3

HIstory of suffrage

what did the 1918 representation of the people act do?

Answer 3

1. women who were over 30 and married, land owners or graduates could vote
2. all men over 21 could vote

Question 4

HIstory of suffrage

why did the 1918 rep of the people act come about?

Answer 4

created by the wartime coalition government so wanted to give back to working class soldiers who fought for their country

Question 5

HIstory of suffrage

what did the 1928 representation of the people act do?

Answer 5

Passed under a conservative government and gave all women suffrage

Question 6

HIstory of suffrage

What did the 1969 representation of the people act do?

Answer 6

passed under a labour government changed the voting age from 21 to 18 as attitudes towards young adults change

Question 7

Direct Democracy

What is direct democracy

Answer 7

Citizens vote themselves on policies and law rather than through others

Question 8

Direct Democracy

What is a referendum

Answer 8

citizens can directly vote on issues and the government can form policy on the result

Question 9

Direct Democracy

What was the turnout for the United Kingdom European Union referendum in 2016

Answer 9

33 million voters across the UK
51.89% voted to leave

Question 10

Direct Democracy

What was the turnout for the alternate vote system referendum in 2011

Answer 10

over 19 million citizens voted against adopting the alternative voting system so FPTP remained

Question 11

Direct Democracy

How many signatures does a petition need to qualify for debate in the HOC

Answer 11

100,000

Question 12

Direct Democracy

What committee needs to sponsor a petition for it to be debated in the HOC

Answer 12

The backbench business committee

Question 13

Direct Democracy

Give an example and an outcome of a petition

Answer 13

1.6 million people signed a petition to stop donald trump visiting the UK on a ‘state visit’
Parliament debated this and changed his ‘state visit’ to a ‘working visit’ in 2018

Question 14

Direct Democracy

What are 4 advantages of direct democracy in the UK

Answer 14

1. wishes of the people are clear
2. members of the public become more politically educated on what they are voting for
3. purest form of democracy and does not involve any interpretation
4. all votes are counted equally - if people think their vote matters more likely to politically participate

Question 15

Direct Democracy

What are 3 disadvantages of direct democracy in the UK

Answer 15

1. Impractical - expensive and time consuming
2. Wording of the question at hand may be manipulated
3. Voters are not political experts

Question 16

Direct Democracy

Give an exampleof how direct democracy in the UK can be impractical

Answer 16

The cabinet office estimated that the 2016 eu referendum costs £142.2 million all together

Question 17

Direct Democracy

Give an example of how direct democracy in the UK can be manipulated

Answer 17

The wording of the 2016 EU referndum was changed from yes/no to remain/leave as people may favour the ‘yes’ option

Question 18

Define direct democracy

Answer 18

people decide and vote on policy directly

Question 19

Define representative democracy

Answer 19

people vote for elected representatives and they make decisions on people’s behalf

Question 20

Define democracy

Answer 20

a system of government where the people have ultimate power

Question 21

Give an example of an online petition

Answer 21

In 2019 - around 6 million signed a petition to revoke article 50 and have the UK remain in the EU

Question 22

representative democracy

Give 3 advantages of a representative democracy in the UK

Answer 22

1. elected representatives have political knowledge
2. belonging to a party enables voters to understand what their actions will be once in power
3. being able to take a broader view of issues and balance the views of their constituency efectively

Question 23

Representative democracy

What are 3 disadvantages of representative democracy

Answer 23

1. MP may act out of self-interest
2. low voter-turnout means that people are not being represented
3. MP’s inaccurately represent the people e.g. in their education

Question 24

Representative democracy

Give an example of low voter turnout

Answer 24

Turnout for EU parliament elections in the UK was 35.6% in 2014 - so more radical and marginal parties won seats

Question 25

# Representative democracy Give an example of inaccurate representation with MP's

Answer 25

29% of MPs are privately education whereas only 5.9% of the UK is

Question 26

# Representative democracy Give an example of a representative democracy

Answer 26

1962 Orpington by-election

Question 27

Define mandate

Answer 27

When someone has political decision-making power

Question 28

# Should prisoners in the UK have the right to vote? Give 3 reasons why prisoners in the UK should have the right to vote

Answer 28

1. Voting is a fundemental right that cannot be removed 2. removal of their votes alienates them further from society 3. The ECHR has ruled against a blanket ban in the UK and must abide to this

Question 29

# Should prisoners in the UK have the right to vote? Give 3 reasons why prisoners in the UK should not have the right to vote

Answer 29

1. loosing the vote serves as another deterrent against law-breaking 2. prisoners are concentrated in constituencies that have large numbers of prisons in them which they would normally not belong to so therefore should not have a vote on that constituencies MP 3. The ECHR goes far beyond the interpretation of it's framers - judicial overeach

Question 30

# Is there a participation crisis in the UK? Give the 3 reasons that can be used to argue that the UK has participation crisis

Answer 30

1. voter turnout in elections 2. membership of political parties 3. growing volatility among voters (swing)

Question 31

# Is there a participation crisis in the UK? Give 4 reasons to show there is a participation crisis in the UK

Answer 31

1. turnout has been low in many recent elections 2. membership of political parties has declined sharply in the past half century 3. partisan deallignment makes voters feel no affiliation to a particular political party 4. political apathy in 18-24 year olds

Question 32

# Is there a participation crisis in the UK? Give 4 reasons there is not a participation crisis in the UK?

Answer 32

1. Growth in membership in some parties such as green and SNP 2. some votes especially referendums have seen high turnouts 3. citizens still participate but just in different ways such as social media 4. internet based movements can be effective such as #metoo sparking public debate

Question 33

# Examples for participation crisis debates Give an example of how party membership participation has declined | for

Answer 33

in 1950s the conservatives had over 2.8 million members and in 2023 only 180,000

Question 34

# Examples for participation crisis debate Give an example of how partisan deallignment makes voters feel no affiliation to parties | for

Answer 34

2015 - UKIP won 12.6% of votes showing how strong movement between parties occured rather than loyalty to conservatives or labour (in 1979 80% of voters either labour or conservative)

Question 35

# Examples for a participation crisis debate Give an example of voter apathy in 18-24 year olds | for

Answer 35

2019 GE - 47% of 18-24 yr olds voted compared to 74% of over 65s

Question 36

# Examples for participation crisis debate Give an example of how party membership has inclined | against

Answer 36

Green party - 2013 had 13,800 members and 2015 it had 50,000 voters

Question 37

# Examples for participation crisis debate Give an example of high voter turnout | against

Answer 37

2016 EU referendum 72% voter turnout

Question 38

Give an example of how government competancy can affect the vote

Answer 38

1979 election - conservative sucess was partly down to james callaghan incompetency

Question 39

# Voting factors Give an example of how age affects voting

Answer 39

in 2017 labour had 47% more support from 18-19nyear olds than conservatives

Question 40

# voting factors Give an example of how ethnicity has affected voter behvaior

Answer 40

in 2017 65% of ethnic minorities supported labour

Question 41

What are 3 key features of a democracy

Answer 41

1. political participation 2. polictical choice 3. government accountability

Question 42

Give a stat to show how political participation has been on the increase since 2001

Answer 42

2001- 58% now stands at about 68% 1945-1997 average was 76%