political participation in the uk

• what are arguments for prisoners having the right to vote?

  • removal of the vote makes the prisoner a non-person
  • voting is part of civic responsibility and removing that makes rehabilitation harder
  • no evidence that taking the vote away acts as a deterrent from crime
  • the ECHR has ruled against a blanket ban
• what are arguments against prisoners having the vote?

  • losing the vote serves as a punishment and deterrent against law breaking
  • undermines parliamentary sovereignty
  • public opinion is strongly against such a change
  • those who commit crimes against the society should lose the right to have a say in how it is run
• what is ‘slacktivism‘

  coined to describe superficial levels of political activism and participation
• what are arguments for the vote for 16 year olds?

  • some 16 year olds are more politically informed than they used to be
  • some 16 year olds pay tax
  • 16/17 year olds are old enough to pay tax, drive, have sex and join the military but cannot vote
• what are arguments against 16 year olds having the vote?

  • the younger a person is the less their ability to make informed decisions
  • lack of life experience
  • even with political education views can be tainted by teachers
• what are factors affecting voter turnout?

  • age
  • gender
  • religion
  • constituency
  • race
• how can we increase participation?

  • votes at 16
  • online voting
  • compulsory voting
  • electoral reform to make everyone’s votes count
  • adopting a proportional representation system
• what are the aims of the Howard league?

  to give prisoners the vote
• what age group has the highest turnout?

  65+
• What is partisan dealignment?

  The decreasing of loyalty to a specific political party
• Has partisan dealignment increased or decreased in the UK? 

  increased
• Give 2 reasons agreeing with the statement “There is a participation crisis in the UK”.

  Lower voter turnout, party membership has been steadily declining 
• Give 2 reasons disagreeing with the statement “There is a participation crisis in the UK”.

  Methods of participation has shifted to more modern forms such as social media, pressure groups membership has been greatly increasing
• what is voting behaviour?

  looking into how and why people tend to vote a certain way
• what party are young people more likely to vote for?

  labour
• in the brexit referendum how did certain ages vote?

  Younger people tended to vote Remain, while older people tended to vote Leave.
• what is class dealignment?

  people do not adhere to the normal voting behaviour of their social class anymore
• why is class dealignment happening?

  • traditional working class has declined -> few workers are employed in heavy industry
• give a further reason as to why class dealignment is happening?

  • middle classes have expanded as the role of government has increased - > more employed in modestly paid jobs
• give a further reason as to why class dealignment is happening?

  • working class voters from Scotland moved to SNP
• give a further reason as to why class dealignment is happening

  
  

  • voters who vote along class lines who were labour have been taken by UKIP
• in 2019, which party were voters who had a degree more likely to vote for?

  labour
• in the 2016 EU referendum, how did education affect votes?

  just 31% of those with low educational attainment voted 'remain' whilst 69% of those with high educational attainment voted 'remain'
• why is gender a factor affecting how people vote?

  men and women have different priorities - women are more likely to vote for parties that defend and promote strong public services
• how does ethnicity affect voting behaviour?

  ethnic minorities are significantly more likely to vote for labour
• how does geography affect voting behaviour?

  • rural -> Conservative
  • urban -> Labour