Politics Paper 2

• Democracy is the rule of 'the people', but who counts as 'the people'?
• 'The people' are not united, but divided by class, ethnicity, religion etc.
• In theory, democracy means that everyone has an equal say in decision making - one person = one vote.
• The UK has an unwritten constitution, meaning that it isn’t written down anywhere.
• In a democracy, there must be some form of representation to ensure that everyone has an equal say.
• A constitutional monarchy means that the monarch (king or queen) is head of state, but their powers are limited by law.
• Representation can take many forms - direct or indirect, proportional or majoritarian.
• Parliamentary sovereignty refers to the idea that Parliament can make any laws it likes without being bound by previous legislation or other institutions such as the courts.
• Direct representation means voters elect their own MP/councillor/MEP directly.
• However, this isn't always true because some groups have more power than others (e.g. richer people can afford to lobby politicians).
• Direct democracy involves citizens voting on issues directly through referendums or initiatives.
• A constitutional monarchy is where the head of state (monarch) is also the head of government.
• Parliamentary sovereignty refers to the idea that Parliament can make or unmake any law whatsoever.
• Representative democracy involves electing representatives to make decisions on behalf of their constituents.
• The British Constitution is based on conventions rather than laws.
• Representation can take many forms – direct or indirect, proportional or disproportionate.
• Direct representation involves electing representatives directly through elections.
• Parliamentary sovereignty refers to the idea that Parliament can make any laws they want without being bound by previous decisions made by other parliaments.
• Indirect representation occurs when voters do not have a direct say over their representative.
• Conventions are rules which have been followed so long that they become accepted as part of the constitution.
• Direct representation involves electing representatives who then represent your views at parliament.
• The British Constitution is based on conventions rather than statutes.
• Indirect representation involves voting for someone else to make decisions on your behalf.
• There have been several attempts to reform the House of Lords over time, including abolishing it altogether.
• Proportional representation ensures that all parties have seats in proportion to how many votes they received.
• Devolution refers to the transfer of power from central government to regional governments within the same country.
• The Scottish National Party won a majority at the 2015 general election, leading to calls for another referendum on independence.
• Indirect representation occurs when people vote for someone else who then represents them at another level of government.
• Proportional representation ensures that parties get seats in parliament based on how many votes they receive.
• Majoritarian systems mean that the party with most votes gets all the seats in parliament.
• Indirect representation occurs when voters don't choose who represents them directly, instead they vote for parties whose manifestos reflect their views.
• Proportional representation ensures that all votes count equally towards the outcome.
• Indirect representation occurs when voters choose representatives who then represent them in parliament.
• Majoritarian systems tend to give one party an overall majority of seats even if they only win a minority of votes.
• Majoritarian systems tend to favour one party over another, leading to under-representation of minority opinions.
• Proportional representation ensures that parties with similar levels of support get roughly equal numbers of seats in parliament.
• Conventions are rules followed by those in positions of authority but not enforced by law.
• The UK has an unwritten constitution which consists of conventions, statutes, and case law.
• Statute law includes Acts of Parliament passed by both Houses of Parliament.
• The UK has an uncodified constitution which means there are no written rules about how the country is governed.