UK Democracy

Question 1

Define representative democracy

Answer 1

The system in place where the people elect a representative into the government to stand and make decisions on their behalf. Here, the representatives must win regular elections to remain in power and must therefore vote accordingly according to the will of their electors or face losing re-election. This form of democracy creates a democratic link between the people and the government, but does not allow the people to have a direct influence in politics, and limits their power as they can only vote to re-elect during elections.

Question 2

Define direct democracy

Answer 2

The system in place where the people have a direct decision in government actions and issues, placing the power in the hands of the people. This is the original form of democracy which was first created in ancient Athens, where people gathered in assemblies to vote upon important issues and policy. In modern day politics, direct democracy is used to supplement rather than replace representative democracy, and can be seen used through referenda. The EU referendum in 2016 is an example of direct democracy which shows self-governance, which means the people makes the decisions rather than the politicians in government.

Question 3

Define liberal democracy

Answer 3

A democratic system which is based around the recognition of individual rights, and incorporates both direct and indirect democracy through elected representatives and referenda. At the heart of the government mandate is free and fair elections and the guarantee of the freedom of speech and right to redress of grievances. In the UK, we can see these features represented through the right to vote extending to universal suffrage, the human rights act which incorporates … and Freedom of Info

Question 4

Define pluralist democracy

Answer 4

See’s participation through organised groups i.e. pressure groups, act as the change for society, many groups all campaigning for their cause, needs widespread dispersal of power, numerous revenues for people to access political system, no-one group having the majority of power, contrasts with elitism (centralised power in the hands of few), government under pluralist seen as a neutral force

Question 5

Strengths of direct democracy

Answer 5

1) Monumental decisions left in hands of public
2) Allows people to express views - EU showed issue with immigration
3) Encourages political participation

Question 6

Weaknesses of direct democracy

Answer 6

1) Complex and important issues reduced to simple questions - Jason Brenman said “there is no reason to think that even a tenth of the population has a grasp on the social science needed to understand Brexit”.
2) Deliberate bias: Scottish referendum took place just after the Commonwealth games held in Glasgow
3) Voter turnout and ignorance - 2011 referendum on AV voting had 41%

Question 7

Strengths of representative democracy

Answer 7

1) Allows national decision making level - decisions made efficiently on a day to day basis, unlike referenda
2) Educated specialists make decisions
3) Creates MP-constituency link

Question 8

Weaknesses of representative democracy

Answer 8

1) Parliament not representative of pop. - 25% women, black and ethnic minorities 4% in commons – 14% in population
2) Failure of FPTP and turnout leads to undemocratic result
3) Requires government to be held accountable

Question 9

Outline key features of a referendum

Answer 9

1) Held when there is a significant decision based around one particular issue – e.g. Brexit
2) It is an act of direct democracy
3) Technically advisory due to parliamentary sovereignty

Question 10

How do referenda differ from elections?

Answer 10

1) Act of direct democracy compared to representative
2) Based on one particular issue with a conclusive result
3) Elections are regular

Question 11

How do elections promote democracy?

Answer 11

1) Act as significant check on government
2) Provide government with legitimate mandate
3) Encourage political participation

Question 12

Outline 2 ways in which people can participate in politics (not elections/ref)

Answer 12

1) E-petitions - 1.8 signed Trump petition

2) Pressure Groups - 1.5 million marched in the “stop the war coalition” for Iraq

Question 13

What is meant by legitimacy?

Answer 13

1) Legitimate government is one elected by the people - given a democratic mandate
2) Implies government will govern according to principles of the rule of law

Question 14

How is democratic legitimacy achieved?

Answer 14

1) Elections - general elections - Conservatives won by 12 seats in 2015 to form government
2) Referendums - Brexit

Question 15

Outline the UK’s Parliamentary democracy

Answer 15

1) Parliamentary sovereignty - Parliament holds all power

2) Fusion of power - government secures authority through winning majority in parliament

Question 16

Why is low turnout bad for participation

Answer 16

Low turnout at elections undermines legitimacy and representation

Question 17

Low turnout paragraph

Answer 17

• In 1992, there was a 77.7% turnout; but by 2001 this had gone down to 59.4%. By 2005 had only just risen to 61.3%. In 2015 it rose again to 66.1%
• Of the 66.1% only 36.9% voted for the Conservative party, this means that the majority party actually only won 24.4% of all the potential voters.
• Jeremy Corbyn 80.3% turnout in 2017
• Turnout was also 72.2% in the recent EU referendum
• FPTP system is cause of participation crisis, whereby 74% of votes are wasted

Question 18

Party membership decline paragraph

Answer 18

• Only about 1.7% of the entire country is part of a party
• Labour had over a million members during the 1950’s, recent surveys stated that this has dropped down to 190,000 in 2010. However, it has recently risen and now consists of around 500,000. The Conservative Party had almost 3 million members in the 1950s, but this had dropped to around 130,000-150,000 by 2010 and now consists of 143,000, as stated by the Electoral Commission
• This may be due to political apathy – simply are not interested – in 2015, the Hansard Audit of political participation described “deeply disillusioned citizens that will be hard to motivate”

Question 19

Other forms of engagement paragraph

Answer 19

• Smaller parties have risen in membership - The SNP’s membership has grown from around 22,000 prior to the 2014 independence referendum, to over 115,000 by 2016. The Green Party (61,000) and UKIP (47,000) have also grown considerably.
• Pressure groups also have huge memberships – nearly 4.5 million, or one in every ten, are now part of a conservation or environmental group
• Royal Society of Protection of Birds (RSPB) has alone over a million members – 4% of the population marched for “Stop the War” against the Iraq war
• Also addresses concerns that parties have disenfranchised the people and created the idea of an elitist form of politics with disparages people from engaging with party politics.

Question 20

Participation through internet/E-petitions

Answer 20

• Many people follow politics blog sites such as Conservative Home or Liberal-Democrat Voice as a way to keep up to date with political news.
• E-petition.gov received over 6 million views in its first year
• E-petitions have proved to be a popular form of political participation, with over 1.8 million people signing a recent petition to stop Donald Trump’s state visit; and over 4 million signing a petition calling for a 2nd EU referendum.