Political Disengagement? Flashcards
(14 cards)
What did Colin hay write?
Why we hate politics
Despite the efforts in the 2015 campaign to get people to vote what was the voter turnout?
62% voter turnout
What does hay argue is the main reason the British public do not vote?
Because they lack trust in politicians and other politicians even fail to trust each other
What would historians who believe in social capital put lack of trust in politicians down as?
A result of Low social capital
What do the anti Tory protests where over 300 people marched show?
People are not necessarily disengaged and do care about politics and want to change things but do not believe in the system to vote
What does hay say about party alignment?
Because parties have aligned their values and now tend to offer similar and converging policies and are less ideologically constrained they are less engaging and emotive meaning voters switch off cannot choose
What is the issue with politics about representation?
People believe that the white stuffy male stereotype politician excludes them from voting and that nobody represents them
What does Matthew Hilton argue in the politics of expertise?
People have not disengaged but simply switched from political parties to single issue movements and NGOs
Why have people really lost trust in politics since the 80s?
Made the individual look after themselves, don’t look to government. Turn away from government. - Thatcherism.
What is Neoliberalism?
A political philosophy - Reduction of the citizen and rise of the consumer, belief that state is inefficient, entrust stuff to the market and don’t want people on the state, want them to have more freedom.
What was the poll tax and when was introduced?
A tax to fund local government instituted in 1989 by Maggie Thatcher
Why were people angry about the poll tax?
Many thought it shifted tax burden from the rich to the poor as it was based on number of people living in the house not the house’s estimated price
How did people protest against the poll tax?
Mass protests, Anti Poll Tax Unions and Anti Poll tax Federation, there was mass non-payment even though people could be prosecuted. As a result the cost of collecting it rose steeply while returns from it fell, there were also poll tax riots where almost 200,000 protesters turned up in 1999, eventually tax was replaced with council tax.
Why is the poll tax important?
It is a perfect example of how people power can be affective and shows that people do care about politics and are engaged.
