Democracy and participation Flashcards
(16 cards)
Direct democracy
Individuals expressing their believes themselves by making their own political decisions
Representative democracy
Individuals selecting a person, and/or a political party, to act on their behalf to exercise political choices
Legitimacy
The rightful use of power in accordance with pre-set criteria or widely held agreements, such as a government’s right to rule following an election or a monarch’s succession based on the agreed rules.
Examples of Direct democracy
- Referendums
- petitions
- rallies and protests
Examples of referendums
-United Kingdom European Union referendum 2016:
Ppl voted on whether to remain a member of the EU or leave,
51.9%- leave
48.1%- stay
Turnout-72.2%
-Alternative Vote Referendum 2011:
Ppl voted whether to change FPTP voting system to AV
67.9%- no
Turnout- 42.0%-> low turnout could reflect electorate’s lack of political education
-2014 Scottish Independence
Ppl voted on whether Scotland should become an independent country
Turnout- 84.6%
55.3%- no
- 1997- Scottish devolution
Asked Scottish electorate
1. Should there be a Scottish Parliament
2. Should the Scottish Parliament have tax varying powers
1. ->74%
2. ->63%
-> led to introduction the Scotland Act 1998.
Turnout- 60.4%
Welsh devolution- should there be a Welsh Assembly
yes-> 50.3%
Turnout->50.1%
1979- should the provisions of the Scotland Act 1978 (intro of Scottish assembly with limited devolved powers) to be put into effect?
yes-> 51.6%
Turnout-63.8%
Should the provisions of the Wales Act 1978 (intro of a Welsh Assembly with limited adminstrative powers) be put into effect?
no-> 79.7%
Turnout-58.8%
(another devolution for scot+wales done bc both Acts were repealed since both in referendums 40% of entire electorate didn’t vote yes (remember the turnout is not 100%)
2004- Elected Regional Assembly
North East of England
Should there be an elected assembly for the North East region?
No-> 77.9%
Turnout 47.1%
(wasn’t done)
Example of online petitions
1.6 million ppl signed a petition to stop Trump from making a State Visit to the UK.
->MPs debated Trump’s visit to Parliament+changed it from a ‘state visit’ to a ‘working visit’ in 2018.
shows how public opinion can pressure govt into making political decisions
BUT petitions r not legally binding so govt could have chosen to ignore it
chose to ignore revoke article 50 petition which had over 6.1 million signatures
-> shows ultimately parliament has sovereignty
-> BUT eligibility of petitions could be questioned as not all signatories are from members of the electorate as from 13 UK residents+citizens can to vote
-> so could question whether they understand what they are voting for
-> 2016 referendum results more credible bc it was voted on bythe electorate and had a high turnout+ r legally binding
Rallies and protests (examples)
2010 thousands of students marched in London to protest tuition fee rises.
->HoC vote on 9 December 2010 resulted in the fee rise being approved
-> shows parliament have sovereignty
Adv of direct democracy
- Increases participation
->ppl more engaged
when they have a direct say in decision making
Ex- turnout of Good Friday agreement ref (1998) turnout 82%
(N.Ireland elecorate) - encourages political education
Campaigners+ groups of interest put effort into informing and persuading the public
Ex 2014 Scottish Independence referendum
Campaigns such as the Wee blue book and Women for Independence taught the public abt the implications of Scottish independence - Reflects the public views more accurately
2016 Brexit referendum-> 51.9% leave
72.2% turnout
Despite many MPs supporting Remain (187 of 330 conservative MPs voted remain) public voted leave showing public opinion was different from their elected representatives
Disadv of direct democracy
- impractical-> too time-consuming and expensive
Cabinet Office estimated the total cost of 2016 EU Referendum was £142.4m - lack of political education
2011 AV referendum
YouGov poll -> 32% had never heard of AV and a further 35% didn’t understand how it worked (2000 ppl surveyed) - Voter disengagement
low turnout-> 2004 referendum
Tyranny of majority
-> minority views overlooked bc result is based on the majority
Ex- 62% of Scottish Voter voted remain but since their electorate 89.8% smaller than England’s their views are overlooked
-> undermines scotland’s democratic legitimacy
Adv of representative democracy
- ensures political decisions are made based on expert knowledge
MPs have time and expertise to make advantageous political decision for uk
85 percent of MPs have a degree, compared with less than 50 percent nationally-> more educated so more suited to make political decisions
-increases accountability
Bc it establishes mechanisms which ensure elected officials can be held accojntabke for political decisions
Ex- PMQs
E.g. Johnson faced intense scrutiny due to alleged violation of lockdown rules. MP West directly asked bojo if a party took place in Downing Street on Nov 13th
Ensures govt cannot avoid responsibility+ promotes transparency in govt
Increased representation of electorate
Ex- Constituency MP for Richmond Park Goldsmith
opposed Heathrow’s proposed third runway representing his constituents’ concerns abt noise, pollution, and health. When govt approved the expansion Goldsmith honoured his pre-election pledge by resigning from Parliament to force a by-election which was essentially turned into a direct vote by the local electorate on a Heathrow third runway which showed over 90% of the local mandate opposed the third runway due to significant percentage of votes for Goldsmith and Onley (another MP who campaigned against the runway)
-> resulted in no third runway being built
-> shows MPs can represent local concerns within a national political system
Disadv of representative democracy
Low participation
Ex-In the 2015 general election, UKIP received 12.6% of the vote but only 1 seat
-> shows disproportionate representation within results if Gen election due to fptp voting system which favours larger parties with geographically concentrated support
Features of representative democracy
citizens (instead of being directly involved in the government), the elect officials that represent them on their behalf
-this type of democracy isn’t based on majority vote which decreases tyranny of the majority
Example of representative democracy
General elections
1979 (Thatcher defeats Callaghan)
- Conservatives: ~53.4% of seats (339/635), ~43.9% vote
-Labour: ~42.4% of seats (269/635), ~36.9% vote
Turnout: 76.0%
Outcome: Conservative majority, Thatcher becomes PM
1983 (Thatcher landslide)
-Conservatives: 397/650 seats (~61.1%), ~42.4% vote
-Labour: 209/650 (~32.2%), ~27.6% vote
Turnout: ~72.7%
Outcome: Huge Conservative majority
1987 (Thatcher’s third win)
-Conservatives: 376/650 (~57.8%), ~42.3% vote
-Labour: 229/650 (~35.2%), ~30.8% vote
-Turnout: 75.3%
Outcome: Conservative majority
1992 (Major holds on)
- Conservatives: 336/651 (~51.6%), ~41.9% vote
- Labour: 271/651 (~41.6%), ~34.4% vote
- Turnout: 77.7%
Outcome: Conservative majority, Major remains PM
1997 (Blair defeats Major)
- Labour: 418/659 (~63.4%), 43.2% vote
- Conservatives: 165/659 (~25.0%), 30.7% vote
- Turnout: 71.3%
Outcome: Labour landslide, Blair becomes PM
2001 (Blair re‑elected)
-Labour: 413/659 (~62.6%), 40.7% vote
-Conservatives: 166/659 (~25.2%), 31.7% vote
- Turnout: 59.4%
Outcome: Labour majority, Blair stays PM
2005 (Blair’s third term)
- Labour: 355/646 (~55.0%), 35.2% vote
- Conservatives: 198/646 (~30.6%), 32.4% vote
- Turnout: 61.4%
Outcome: Labour majority, Blair remains in office
2010 (Cameron forms coalition)
- Conservatives: 306/650 (~47.1%), 36.1% vote
- Labour: 258/650 (~39.7%), 29.0% vote
- Turnout: 65.1%
Outcome: Hung parliament → Conservative–Lib Dem coalition
2015 (Cameron wins majority)
- Conservatives: 331/650 (~50.9%), 36.8% vote
- Labour: 232/650 (~35.7%), 30.4% vote
- Turnout: 66.4%
Outcome: Conservative majority
2017 (May loses majority)
- Conservatives: 318/650 (~48.9%), 42.3% vote
- Labour: 262/650 (~40.3%), 40.0% vote
- Turnout: 68.8%
Outcome: Hung Parliament → Conservative minority backed by DUP
2019 (Johnson wins big)
- Conservatives: 365/650 (~56.2%), 43.6% vote
- Labour: 203/650 (~31.2%), 32.2% vote
- Turnout: 67.3%
Outcome: Conservative majority
2024 (Starmer’s landslide)
- Labour: 411/650 (~63.2%), 33.7% vote
- Conservatives: 121/650 (~18.6%), 23.7% vote
- Turnout: 59.8% (lowest since 2001)
Outcome: Labour landslide, Starmer becomes PM
Example 2 of representative democracy
Question Time
MPs question members of the government about issues which they are responsible for
Prime Minister’s Question Time (PMQs): Takes place once a week, where the Leader of the Opposition and then MP’s question the Prime Minister on significant issues, often on behalf of the voters they represent.
Example 3 of representative democracy
Laws
The way MPs vote on laws in Parliament represents views of their constituents
MPs Ken Clarke and Anna Soubry voted in favour of giving Parliament a vote on any Brexit deal which is reached, representing their constituents+going against the Conservative Party.
