Democracy and participation

• Reasons direct democracy is desirable (3)

  • Purest form of democracy, people's voices are clearly heard
  • can avoid delay and deadlock
  • creates strong governments and decisions because it gives them legitimacy
• Reasons direct democracy isn't desirable (3)

  • Can lead to tyranny of majority where the winning majority chooses to ignore the interests of the minority and imposes something detrimental on them
  • The people may be too easily swayed by short term, emotional appeals by charismatic individuals
  • some issues may be too complex for the ordinary citizen to understand
• Different types of representation (6)

  • Social representation
  • representing national interest
  • constituency representation
  • party representation
  • casual representation
• what is social representation

  the characteristics of members of parliament should be in line with wider british society.
• Representing the national interest

  Expected to represent the national interest as a whole whether they're elected locally or regionally e.g an MP representing a constituency near a major airport may by under pressure to stop the expansion on environmental grounds BUT it may be in the national interest to expand the airport
• what is Constituency representation (3)

  • representing the constituency as a whole such as funding for local services
  • representing the interest of individual constituents. 'redress of greivences'
  • cab mean listening to the constituency view on a national issue - this can lead to a dilemma
• what is party representation

  The vast majority of MP's are associate with a party. May be conflict between party manifest or values and the constitueny/national interest
• What is casual representation

  Where bodies are not representing people so much as ideas that benefit everyone such as environmental protection, greater equality and animal rights etc
• Advantages of representative democracy (4)

  • representatives can develop expertise to deal with matters the public does not have the time or knowledge to deal with
  • Representatives can be held accountable for their actions at election time
  • Representatives have the time to deal with a variety of complex matters leaving the public free to do other things
  • in a large country it is the only practical way to translate public opinion into political opinion
• Disadvantage of representative democracy (4)

  • Representatives may not act in the best interest of their constituents
  • it can be difficult to hold a representative to account in between elections
  • allowing voters to disengage directly can lead to political apathy
  • Representative bodies can be unrepresentative and may ignore the concerns and needs of minorities e.g. liberal democrats pledge to scrap tuition fees but rose them when in coalition with the Tories
• How do pressure groups represent the public

  They have formal membership and will often represent a section of society by promoting policies that will benefit them, applies to groups such as National Farmers Union (NFU)

  Other groups are engaged in casual representation as they represent a set of beliefs that they believe will benefit the whole community e.g. Friends of the Earth or Liberty (HR campaigning)
• Evidence for a democratic deficit

  • FPTP e.g in 2015 the gov received less than 38% of the vote
  • HoL has influence but is unelected
  • parliamentary sovereignty in the Royal gives unlimited power to the government
  • the ECHR is not binding to parliament so rights remain under threat
• Arguments for and against that GB has free and fair elections

  for: nearly everyone over 18 can vote and devolved bodies have proportional systems

  against: FPTP is disproportionate and leads to wasted votes, prisoners can't vote, since 2001 voter turnout in elections has been, on average, declining as well as party membership. It experiences some rise in 2015 but on much lower levels than the 50's
• 75% of representatives wanted remain while we still left the EU
• Pluralist democracy

  where government make decisions based o the interplay of many different factors such as pressure groups, direct democracy between elections and support to minority groups
• similarities between direct and representative democracy

  • both are types designed to implement the will of the people and based around majority role
  • both be implemented at different levels of government e.g. regional, local and national
  • in both systems, people can be swayed by persuasive people in the media
• differences between direct and representative democracy

  • in direct democracy people express their opinions themselves while representative have other people doing it for them
  • in representative democracy there are parties
  • in representative democracy a government can be elected which can be held accountable
  • more protections for the minority in representative democracy as they ca elect someone to represent them
• the UK has a participation crisis: elections

  • voter turnout has been low, increase since 2001 it is still hovering around 68%, even lower in 'second order' elections. far less than 1945-97 which was around 76%
  • political apathy, lack of interest or a belief that their vote doesn't matter due to FPTP
  • low turnout means they are elected on a reduced share of the popular vote, calling their mandate into question
• the UK has a participation crisis: party membership

  • only 1.6% of people belong to a party compared to 3.8% in 1983 (differs from party to party)
  • the tory party has just under 150,000 by 2016, a drop from 400,000 in 1990's
  • less traditional political involvement could be due to a loss of faith in politicians due to scandals and broken promises
• the UK has a participation crisis: other forms of participation

  • since the public has lost faith in traditional avenues of democracy they turn to pressure groups and things like cyber-activism
  • larger pressure groups like the RSPB have 1 million members, more than the combined of the 3 main parties
  • these however, do not contribute in the same way as traditional methods because they are less effective e.g. government passing anti-protest legislation under the public order act in 2023 arguably to stop Just Stop Oil, showing a power imbalance.
• the UK doesn't hae a participation crisis: elections

  • 2014 Scottish independence referendum and 2016 Brexit referendum had turnouts of 84% and 72% showing there is still engagement around political issues
  • an alternative viewpoint to political apathy is 'hapathy' the idea that people are generally content with their lives and don't feel the need to vote (cant really argue this for the current cost of living and decline since 2008)
• the UK doesn't have a participation crisis: party membership

  • there was a rise in labour party membership during the Corbyn years from 200,000 to 350,000 in under a year and under Miliband when he made it possible to join for 3 pounds
  • increase in smaller party membership like UKIP, up to the 2015 election they had 50,000 members
  • SNP membership rose to 125,000 in 2018 in a country of just over 5 million
  • this shows that people are willing to join parties if they are proposing radical change, or perhaps on single issue. The use of parties have changed.
• the UK doesn't have a participation crisis: other forms of political participation

  • Pressure group membership has been on the increase
  • many demonstrations on issues such as the environment and Brexit have been well attended e.g. protest in the Isreal-palestine conflict in 2023 garnered 800,000 people in London
  • Social media, has allowed people, especially young, to engage in politics without direct participation, also e-petitions e.g. revoke article 50 gained 5.5 million signatures in 2019
• further reforms to improve democracy

  • make it easier to vote, e.g. moving the day from Thursday to Saturday and removing use for a specific type of ID
  • introducing e-voting (has been criticised for increased risk of cyber-fraud)
• How has the issue of voted at 16 risen over time

  • Scotland: report in 2003 by the electoral commission found that it shouldn't happen, several individual labour, Lib Dem and SMP MP's kept the issue alive in parliament
  • in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, they had the vote and turned out significantly, a year later allowing them to vote in Scottish parliament elections
• Arguments for votes at 16

  • 16 year olds have the right to to do other things legally such as leave school, have a job and joined the armed forces, a vote would simply be an extension of those rights
  • if 16 year old could vote they would be come more involved in politics and perhaps become a habit
  • social media has led to increased political awareness and led to involvement like the Fridays for future climate strikes
  • giving them the vote would let them have a say over issues that affect them such as tuition fees, stop underrepresenting them
• Arguments against votes at 16

  • 16 year olds lack the experience and maturity to vote, still children that have to be in education or training
  • many know little about politics and would misuse the right to vote, better political education is needed
  • more likely to be swayed by fake news and persuasive figures (both are debatable)
  • their legal rights are also hindered, few are in full-time employment and cant be deployed to the front line until they're 18
  • voter turnout between 18-24 year olds is very low and there is little evidence that they even want the vote (turnout of 48% in 2019)
• what does a digital democracy achieve

  • allow less wealthy groups to spread influence
  • allow the spread of political ideas and for people to become more informed more easily
  • allows a 'digital town square' where people can directly talk to MPs (like on twitter)
• how are e-petitions used and some examples

  • if e-petition receives 10,000 signatures it will get a response from parliament, if it receives 100,000 ad is backed by an MP it will be considered for a debate in parliament
  • in 2011 a petition was signed to release all documents relating to the Hillsborough disaster
• digital democracy enhances democracy

  • increases participation by creating a space for people who don't have time or ability to articulate in more conventional ways such as party or pressure group membership
  • they make a better informed electorate
  • communicate directly between government and governed
  • enhance pluralism by stopping only elitist groups having access to the government
• digital democracy does not enhance democracy

  • they give the public access to more extremist groups which may be racist, can effect election results
  • Dis and Misinformation can be a big problem online, no real checks or balances on fact (Vote leave spent 2.7 million on targeted ads, spreading disinformation about Albania and Turkey joining the EU)
  • the government may be influenced by short term populist trends which don't adhere to the wider population (echo-chambers)
• Arguments for compulsory voting

  • voting is a social duty as well as a right, it encourages people to be engaged in politics
  • it would make parliament more representative of the population
  • it would still be legal to spoil ones ballot paper and not vote for any party
• arguments against compulsory voting

  • it is undemocratic to force people to vote
  • could lead to people who are uneducated on subjects blindly voting or making uneducated jumps
  • doesn't address the deeper reasons for why people decide not to vote
• arguments for prisoners getting the vote

  • voting is a fundamental human right, the ECHR ruled that a blanket ban over prisoners not voting violates the ECHR in 2005
  • losing the vote further alienates them from society by removing their civic duty
  • losing the vote is unlikely to be a deterrent to crime.
• arguments against prisoners getting the vote

  • prisoners are criminals, therefore forfit the right as well as their freedom
  • prisoners should have no say in the criminal justice system and social laws
  • due to the nature of constituencies and FPTP, prisoners would have a big impact on some constituencies