Democracy and Participation case studies

• E-petitions allow citizens to express their views on any political or social issue. Any petition that attracts over 100,000 signatures is automatically debated in Parliament
• Under the Recall of MPs Act (2015), constituents can recall their local MP if they have been convicted of crime and handed a prison sentence, if they have been suspended from the House of Commons for 10 days or more, or if they have been convicted of making false expenses claims. A by-election is triggered if 10% of eligible voters sign a petition
• The Human Rights Act (1998) sets out fundamental rights that belong to all in the U.K., including the freedoms of speech and assembly
• Since 2019, 20 MPs have been suspended from the House of Commons, been suspended by their party, or have chosen to resign their seats, following allegations of misconduct
• General election turnout has been between 59% and 69% since 2001 – the 2014 Scottish independence referendum had a turnout of 85%, whereas the 2016 Brexit referendum had a turnout of 72%
• Referendums can over-simplify extremely complex issues – because there was no consensus over the terms on which the U.K. could leave the E.U., Brexit was a much more complex issue than Remain or Leave
• Remaining in the European Economic Community – 1975

  o    Result – Yes (67%); No (33%)

  o    Turnout – 65%
• Replacing First-Past-the-Post with the Alternative Vote electoral system – 2011

  o    Result – No (68%); Yes (32%)

  o    Turnout – 42%
• Leaving the European Union – 2016

  o    Result – Yes (52%); No (48%)

  o    Turnout – 72%
• Northern Ireland remaining in the United Kingdom – 1973

  o    Result – Yes (99%); No (1%)

  o    Turnout – 59%
• Creation of a Scottish Assembly – 1979

  o    Result – Yes (52%); No (48%)

  o    Turnout – 64%
• The 1973 Northern Ireland referendum was boycotted by nationalists, who feared that it would inflame tensions
• Although in 1979, a majority voted to create a Scottish Assembly, Parliament had decided that 40% of the registered electorate would need to vote in favour in order for the reform to be implemented
• Creation of a Welsh Assembly – 1979

  o    Result – No (80%); Yes (20%)

  o    Turnout – 59%
• Creation of a Scottish Parliament – 1997

  o    Result – Yes (74%); No (26%)

  o    Turnout – 60%
• Creation of a Welsh Assembly – 1997

  o    Result – Yes (50.3%); No (49.7%)

  o    Turnout – 50%
• Creation of a North East Assembly – 2004

  o    Result – No (78%); Yes (22%)

  o    Turnout – 47%
• Scottish independence – 2014

  o    Result – No (55%); Yes (45%)

  o    Turnout – 85%
• When 16- and 17-year-olds could vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, 89% of them registered to do so
• Studies indicate that high youth turnout has continued in the 2016 and 2021 Scottish Parliament elections
• This is much higher than turnout among 18-24-year-olds in general elections: only 47% of this age category voted in the 2019 general election
• It is unclear whether 16- and 17-year-olds actually want to be able to vote: a poll in 2013 found that 79% of students thought that the voting age should stay at 18
• Among those already old enough to vote, only 34% support lowering the voting age.
• Research suggests that 16-and 17-year-old voters in Scotland and Wales accessed information from a wider variety of sources than any other age group while considering how to vote
• Most 16- and 17-year-olds don’t pay taxes – opponents of lowering the voting age argue that this means they have less to gain or lose from their vote than adults who do pay taxes
• In Australia, where voting has been compulsory since 1924, turnout is consistently over 90%
• Electronic voting in Estonia has been found to be vulnerable to hacking and fraud
• The Howard League, a pressure group that campaigns for prison reform, believe that extending the right to vote to all prisoners would improve the U.K.’s democracy and society
• Former Prime Minister David Cameron said: “frankly, when people commit a crime and go to prison, they should lose their rights, including the right to vote"
• There was cross-party consensus against extending the right to vote to all prisoners when the issue was debated in Parliament in 2013
• Examples of causal pressure groups include Surfers Against Sewage, Just Stop Oil, and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
• Examples of sectional pressure groups include the Muslim Council of Britain, the National Farmers’ Union, and the British Medical Association
• Examples of insider groups are ASH, the National Farmers’ Union, and the Institute of Directors
• Examples of outsider groups include Extinction Rebellion, Black Lives Matter, and Just Stop Oil
• Stonewall, the LGBTQI+ campaign group, became an insider group in the mid-2000s, but then returned to being outsiders when its stance on trans rights began to clash with the Conservative government’s policy
• The Betting and Gaming Council has provided hospitality for MPs at the Cheltenham Festival
• ASH is frequently consulted by the government and Parliament regarding anti-smoking measures. The group has helped to draft policies on plain packaging, health warnings, and banning disposable vapes
• Surfers Against Sewage and the Campaign to Protect Rural England have raised awareness of sewage dumping by water companies. Although Parliament has not yet legislated to prevent the practice, water companies announced in 2023 that they would spend £272bn on cleaning the U.K.’s rivers, lakes, and coastline
• A Labour MP, Jim McMahon, proposed the Water Quality (Sewage Discharge) Bill in 2022. Like most bills not proposed by the governing party, however, it failed to make it past the second reading
• Senior doctors represented by the British Medical Association managed to negotiate a pay increase with the government after taking strike action in 2023