Unit 1 Democracy Example Answers Flashcards
Describe, in detail reserved matters of the Uk Parliament (6)
The UK Parliament is responsible for immigration policy. This means it can grant UK visas which determine who has the right to come into the UK to travel, for work or to live; and it also makes decisions regarding asylum seekers. E.g. the Illegal Migration Bill 2023 is in the process of being passed by the UK Parliament which will claims to make it easier to detain and remove illegal immigrants, including asylum seekers.
The UK Parliament is responsible for defence policy. This means it can make decisions regarding nationalsecurity and the armed forces - the British Army, Royal Navy & Royal Air Force. E.g. in 2021 the UK Parliament voted to increase the UK’s nuclear warhead stockpile.
Describe the roles of the prime minister(6)
• The PM has the power of appointment which means he/she appoints the Cabinet and can decide which govt. departments they will be responsible for running, and can sack any members who he/she no longer wants in the govt. This can make the PM powerful as they will usually appoint political allies who are more likely to be supportive of their policies. E.g. in 2022 Rishi Sunak appointed his close ally Dominic Raab as Justice Secretary who had been a vocal supporter of Sunak during the Conservative Party leadership contest.
• The PM represents the UK on the international stage by meeting with other countries’ heads of govt. and signing international treaties. This can make the PM powerful as they are able to make important decision with other world leaders and sign international treaties on behalf of the UK. E.g. in 2022 Rishi Sunak met with other world leaders to reach international agreements on climate change at COP-27.
• The PM is the cabinet chairperson which means they chairs weekly meetings of the Cabinet to discuss key govt. policies. E.g. in 2022 Rishi Sunak has held Cabinet discussions to make decision on how to deal with the cost of living crisis. This can make the PM powerful as they can decide what will be discussed and who can speak during meetings; and once decisions are made, members of the Cabinet are bound by collective responsibility which means they must publicly support decisions or resign.
describe the methods used by pressure groups / explain in detail why pressure groups are influential (6)
Pressure groups hold peaceful demonstrations which include marches and protest rallies, in which members often carry placards and banners to attract publicity and media attention. E.g. in 2019, a million people attended a demonstration organised by the People’s Vote Campaign calling for a second referendum on Brexit.
Pressure groups set-up petitions. These are a collection of signatures from people who feel strongly about an issue, which will be considered for debate in Parliament if it is signed by over 100,000 people. E.g. in 2019, the largest petition ever in the UK was signed by 6 million people calling on the govt. to stop Brexit.
Some pressure groups resort to taking direct action. This involves breaking the law, using either violent methods - such as physical assault, arson and damage to property - or non-violent such as road blockades. E.g. in 2019, Extinction Rebellion held several non-violent direct action demonstrations such as blocking the runway at Heathrow Airport.
Describe, in detail, the role and powers of the Prime Minister(6) or (8)
• The PM has the power of appointment which means he/she appoints the Cabinet and can decide which govt. departments they will be responsible for running, and can sack any members who he/she no longer wants in the govt. This can make the PM powerful as they will usually appoint political allies who are more likely to be supportive of their policies. E.g. in 2022 Rishi Sunak appointed his close ally Dominic Raab as Justice Secretary who had been a vocal supporter of Sunak during the Conservative Party leadership contest.
• The PM represents the UK on the international stage by meeting with other countries’ heads of govt. and signing international treaties. This can make the PM powerful as they are able to make important decision with other world leaders and sign international treaties on behalf of the UK. E.g. in 2022 Rishi Sunak met with other world leaders to reach international agreements on climate change at COP-27.
• The PM is the cabinet chairperson which means they chairs weekly meetings of the Cabinet to discuss key govt. policies. E.g. in 2022 Rishi Sunak has held Cabinet discussions to make decision on how to deal with the cost of living crisis. This can make the PM powerful as they can decide what will be discussed and who can speak during meetings; and once decisions are made, members of the Cabinet are bound by collective responsibility which means they must publicly support decisions or resign.
Rights and Responsibilities of UK Citizen
(describe/explain)(6)
Right to Vote
People the age of 18 and over can vote in UK
elections and referendums Responsibility- Accept the decision of a vote ,many people did not accept the 2016 EU referendum decision and protested against leaving the EU.(Example: People >18yrs were able to vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum)
Right to protest
We have the right to protest and make our
feelings known about things we disagree with
Responsibility: We must obey the law and must
not turn into a violent protest.
Example- In 2022, ‘Just Stop Oil’ members
protested by closing down motorways in England
as they disagree with Government’s decision to
allow companies to use the North Sea for oil
exploration contributing to green house gas
The role of media (describe) (6)
Public Watchdog
Investigate the policies and actions
of the gov.E.g. Daily Mirror published details on
Downing Street parties during lockdown (2020)
Inform the public
Inform the public on key political
votes and policies. This will alter
“floater voters’ opinions on political
parties
E.g. 84% of 18-24 yr olds get their
political news from social media.
Represent the public
Representing the views of the public to
the gov. (act as a megaphone) through
articles, opinion polls, TV panel shows
E.g. Daily Mail/Daily Express put
pressure on gov. about immigration
concerns
Describe, in detail, the ways political parties campaign(6)
Parties produce election leaflets. These provide voters with information about the party’s policies and their local candidate. E.g. in the 2019 GE, the conservatives distributed leaflets to every household in Britain promoting their main policy of “getting Brexit done”.
Parties canvass voters. This is when party members go to people’s doors to try to persuade them to vote for
their local candidate. E.g. NP activists in the Falkirk area went door-to-door canvassing in communities like Denny and Larbert to persuade voters to re-elect Johnny McNally, and promote the SNP’s main policy of holding another independence referendum.
Parties use the media. They can promote their policies and image to a much larger number of people by trying to get support of the national newspapers, producing Party Election Broadcasts on TV, and posting video and articles on social media. E.g. in the 2019 GE, the Conservatives made dozens Facebook posts criticising Labour’s leader, Jeremy Corbyn.
Explain, in detail, why some election campaigns are more successful (6)
A party’s election campaign is more likely to be successful if they have popular policies. If a party’s manifesto
is well received by the public then this can increase the number of votes a party receives. E.g. in the 2019 GE,
Conservatives’ main policy to
“get Brexit done” was popular with most voters across the UK.
A party’s election campaign is more likely to be successful if they have a popular leader. If the party’s leader is
viewed as being the best leader to become Prime Minister then the party will tend to get more votes. E.g. in
the 2019 GE, Boris Johnson was a more popular leader than Jeremy Corbyn.
A party’s election campaign is more likely to be successful if they have more members and money. If a party
has large number of members then they will have more activist to go to deliver leaflets and canvas voters; and
if they have more money they will be able to print more leaflets and spend more on their social media
campaign. E.g. in the 2019 GE, the Conservatives spent over £1 million on its Facebook campaign alone.
A party’s election campaign is more likely to be successful if they positive media coverage. The media is capable
of influencing the views of voters therefore if a party has a lot of media support then their election campaign
will be more effective. E.g. in the 2019 GE, the Conservatives were supported by most of the national
newspapers, including The Sun, Britain’s most read newspaper.
Advantages of Fptp (6-8)
FPTP is a very simple and straightforward system. Votes are cast by marking a X next to their preferred
candidate, and the candidate with most votes is elected MP for the constituency and wins a ‘seat’ in the
Commons. This makes it easy for all voters to understand, regardless of their political awareness or age. The
simplicity of FPTP may therefore encourage more people to vote and lead to less spoilt ballots compared to
more complex electoral systems such as AMS and STV.
FPTP makes it more difficult for smaller parties with extreme views to win seats. This is because FPTP is ‘winner-takes all’ which means that votes for losing candidates in a constituency count for nothing, which tends to disadvantage smaller parties. Some of these parties have radical right-wing or left-wing policies. E.g. in the 2010GE, NP won over 500,000 votes but no seats, whereas if a proportional electoral system had been used they would have won 12 - they have never been able to win a seat and in recent years have gone into decline.
FPTP is usually results in a one-party majority govt. instead of producing ‘hung parliaments’. Some people argue
that this is a more stable and effective form of govt. compared to coalition or minority govt. E.g. 18 ot the 21
post-war UK GEs produced a one-party majority govt. including in the 2019 GE when the Conservatives won an
80-seat majority despite only winning 44% votes which allowed the govt. to get their Brexit deal passed.
Disadvantages of Fptp
Under FPTP the % of seats is not proportional to the % of votes. This is because FPTP is winner takes all Which
means that votes for losing candidates in a constituency count for nothing, resulting in millions of ‘wasted
votes. This tends to help the larger parties and disadvantage smaller parties like the Lib Dems and Greens who
struggle to concentrate enough votes to come first in many seats therefore most of their votes are wasted. E.g.
in the 2019 GE, Lib Dems won 11.5% of votes but only won 11 seats (1.7%).
FPTP limits voter choice as in many constituencies it is either a foregone conclusion which party will win or at
best a ‘two-horse race’. This can lead to many people deciding not to vote or instead deciding to vote ‘tactically to prevent a party they don’t like from winning instead of voting for their preferred choice if they think it will be a wasted vote. If people are voting tactically then the result is not truly retlective of voters’ preferences. E.g.in the 2019 GE, many Conservative voters in the North-East Fife constituency decided to vote Lib Dem instead to help deteat the SP MP.
FPTP usually results in one party governing with a majority ot seats despite winning a minority of votes. Some
people argue that it is unfair that the policies of this party can easily become law even though most people did
not vote for them. E.g. in 2019 GE, Conservatives won an 80-seat majority despite only winning 44% votes.
Reasons people DO participate in politics(6)
They know how important it is. The UK Parliament is very powerful and has a lot of responsibility for making the UK a good place to live. Many people get involved in politics to make sure the UK parliament does a good job. For example, benefits and welfare decisions for the whole of the UK are made in the UK parliament, as well as many policies impacting climate change or social reform.
They know they can make a difference / influence politics. People in the UK have joined parties, pressure groups, stood in elections and voted because they can see the difference all these things have to the people of Scotland and the UK as a whole. For example, some election can be very close and every vote counts. In Larkhall and Hamilton East in 2017 only 360 votes separated 1st and 3rd place.
They want to protect their rights. Many countries around the world are dictatorships and some of them were democracies that changed as the people in power took away their rights so people participate to help gain and then protect their rights. For example, in recent years young people gained the right to vote and gay people are allowed to get married.
Reasons people don’t participate in politics (6)
They feel excluded from politics. Many young people, women, ethnic minorities, disabled people and LGBTQ people feel that they are underrepresented by the people in power. This can make them think “Why bother? Politics isn’t for me”. For example, there has only ever been 2 female Prime Ministers and one PM from a BAME and none from the LGBTQ community.
They don’t think their participation will matter. Individuals on their own might not feel that their voice is loud enough and so feel that a single protest or a single vote won’t make a difference. For example, a few people have been protesting and voting against the nuclear weapons at Faslane in Scotland for decades but they are still there.
They don’t know how. Not every student in Scotland studies Modern Studies, and it’s not even taught in the rest of the UK and so many might not learn about all of their rights as well as how democracy works. For example, most people are not members of a political party and only about half of those who can vote, do vote in elections.
