Uk Politics - A level

• Definition of democracy

  Abraham Lincoln - ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’

  1. Of the people - the people governing must be ‘ordinary people’
  2. By the people - the people must have a say in choosing who rules over them
  3. For the people - those in charge must govern in the interests of the people
• What are the two most common forms of democracy?

  Direct democracy and representative democracy
• Representative democracy:

  The people -> the politician -> Parliament -> Decision

  The people elect representatives who take decisions on their behalf.

  The most common form of democracy - the uk is a representative democracy.
• Features of a representative democracy:

  • Election of representatives should be regular, competitive, secret and carried out without force with universal adult suffrage
  • Civil liberties must be protected
  • Elections must be contested by multiple political parties
  • Constitutional checks to prevent concentration of government power
  • An assembly which reflects the make up of society to pass laws
  • Pressure groups should have the opportunity/freedom to put forward their views
  • An independent judiciary
• Advantages of representative democracy:

  • Professional politicians make complex decisions
  • Minority views considered and upheld
  • Elected politicians are held to account by the people
  • Most practical form - it is quicker/more efficient than direct democracy
• Disadvantages of representative democracy:

  • Citizens are disengaged from politics
  • Tightly controlled parties result in politicians lacking independence
  • Politicians are skilled at swerving accountability and passing the buck (responsibility)
• Is the UK a representative democracy?

  In the UK…

  • Elections must be held every 5 years - using FPTP. They are held in secret and are legally binding
  • Established rights and freedoms which are enshrined in UK law by the Human Rights Act 1998
  • Numerous political parties that contest elections
  • UK constitution, although uncodified, sets boundaries for the democratic system
  • Decisions made by MPs who sit in parliament and are expected to represent the views of the electorate
  • Pressure groups seen as integral
  • Judiciary is separated from the executive and legislature
• Today direct democracy is usually used as an ’add on’ in representative democracies through the use of referendums when a decision is deemed too vital for MPs to make alone. (Ie. Brexit, Scottish independence)
• What is FPTP?

  First past the post - an electoral system
• The only country deemed a direct democracy is Switzerland.
• Advantages of a direct democracy:

  • Everyone in society participates
  • People directly make decisions in their interests
  • All citizens voices are equal
  • It is the purest form of democracy
• Disadvantages of a direct democracy:

  • Impractical to achieve securely as it requires all citizens to be involved in decision-making daily
  • Citizens become apathetic if asked to participate too often
  • People will vote in their own interest, not society’s
  • No minority voices can be heard, resulting in tyranny of the majority
• How could UK democracy be reformed?

  1. Introduction of compulsory voting -

  • ✅ - greater legitimacy
  • ❌ - could encourage non-serious voting, could be a violation of civil freedom

  2. Lowering of voting age (to 16) -

  • ✅ - would match other aspects of citizenship, reduce the marginalisation of needs/views for 16-17 y/o’s
  • ❌ - young voters have low turnout, 16 could be deemed too young

  3. eDemocracy -

  • ✅ - citizens able to vote w/out leaving home, is easy to access
  • ❌ - risk of hacking could undermine legitimacy, it threatens to turn democracy into push-button referendums
• Insider groups


  Have a special relationship with the government and their aims usually align.
• Outsider groups


  Are not closely associated with government and are largely excluded from political consultation/contact. They usually concentrate on mobilising public opinion to out pressure on government.
• Promotional/cause groups


  Membership tends to be open - seeking to gain a mass of support.

  Cause groups tend to have altruistic policies that benefit wider society.
• Sectional/interest groups


  Membership is often restricted to particular sections of society, (Ie. teachers, lawyers). They aim to look after the interests of that particular group.
• Corporations


  Large companies that seek to lobby the government to encourage them to legislate (or not) in certain areas

  • Ie - After a decision to revoke its licence in London, Uber took to heavy lobbying to convince the public and authorities that TFL had made the wrong decision
• Lobbyists


  Companies who get paid to gain access to the government for their clients. Lobbying companies often employ ex-politicians who know how to access decision makers.

  The ethics of this style of lobbying is questioned, as companies can afford to pay lobbying companies fees in order to influence government.
• The revolving door

  The issue of a ‘revolving door’ between Parliament and big business has recently come under criticism.

  The number of former ministers taking up jobs outside Parliament rose by nearly 60% in 2017.

  • In 2017, former chancellor George Osborne was criticised for becoming editor of the ’Evening Standard‘ and other roles such as a £650,000 a year advisory post at BlackRock.
• Think tanks


  Privately funded, non-profit organisations that conduct research with a view to changing political policies.

  Arguably, good think tanks are as rigorous as academic research and as accessible as journalism.
• Well-known UK think tanks:

  • The Centre for Policy Studies
  • The Adam Smith Institute
  • The Centre for Social Justice
• Suffrage


  The right to vote in free elections, also referred to as the ‘franchise’.
• Pressure group access points:

  (Where they try to exert influence)

  • government
  • Parliament
  • political parties
  • courts
  • devolved assemblies and local councils
  • the media and public opinion
  • the EU
• Direct democracy:


  💚 Ends reliance on political class who may have own interests - dispersal of power

  💚 Creation of more educated citizen body

  💚 Direct and continuous participation - citizens will have vested interest in society and see law as legitimate

  ❌ Not practical in large, complex modern societies - citizens may not have time to be informed

  ❌ Citizens who are not informed will lead to illegitimate policy and decisions

  ❌ May create division in society - i.e over multiple issues rather than just party
• Representative Democracy:


  💚 Political class will be able to be dedicated, informed, experts

  💚 Simplifies the political process in order that everyone can easily participate - division of labour enables this further than demands of direct democracies’ continuous participation

  💚 Built on compromise - political stability

  ❌ Gulf between government and the people may contribute to political apathy and disillusionment

  ❌ Existence of political class allows people to ‘switch off’ and hand over responsibility

  ❌ Representative democracy in crisis - low turnout - still needs to use DD at times
• What are suffrage rights in the UK?

  • UK local and general elections: must be 18
  • Scottish and Welsh Parliament elections: must be 16
• How did this current situation come about?

  • Representation of the People’s Act (1928) = equal suffrage across class and gender
  • Representation of the People’s Act (1969) lowered the voting age from 21 to 18
  • Scottish Elections (Reduction of Voting Age) Act (2015), the Senedd followed suit in 2020
• Who argues that we should lower the voting age?

  • Labour in 2019 manifesto
  • Consistently included in Lib Dem manifestos (but not in the Coalition agreement)
  • The Electoral Reform Society
• Who argues that we should enfranchise prisoners?

  • The ECHR in 2005
  • The Howard League for Penal Reform has made the case for following the ECHR ruling
• Pressure groups:

  • 38 Degrees has over 2 million members - organises online petitions - Cameron dropped plans to privatise UK forests after half a million signed
  • Stop the war 2003
  • Howard League for Penal Reform and Books for Prisoners - use of judicial review
  • Insider groups can help govt shape policy: CBI (critical of brexit) and BMA
• Pressure groups:

  • the Food Foundation’s campaign for free school meals during covid shutdown was endorsed by Marcus Rashford, the government was forced to u-turn on it’s plans
  • 2010 Student Demonstrations against increased tuition fees - saw prosecutions for disorderly conduct
  • XR and Just Stop Oil: disruptive tactics
  • Republic recently
• Think tanks:

  • The 2019 Conservative Party manifesto was written by Robert Colvile who is director of the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) and Munira Mirza, who is former director of Policy Exchange
  • Rishi Sunak used to work and write for Policy Exchange
  • Policy Exchange is the group that called for a new law against Extinction Rebellion, which became, in former home secretary Priti Patel’s hands, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (source in notes)
  • The IEA spent almost £700k on lobbying in 2022 and had access to 75 parliamentarians from across all parties
• Corporations:

  • Nissan threatened to leave the UK after Brexit and were placated by May’s government to stay in Sunderland

  Groups that are members of All party groups in Parliament with MPs:

  • BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin and Boeing Defence contribute to the MPs' group on the armed forces
  • Greene King, Heineken and Carlsberg contribute to the group on beer.
  • Volvo contributes to group on road safety
  • Motorola contributes to information technology group
  • Merck, Pfizer and AstraZeneca contribute to health all-party group
• The Human Rights Act 1998: Brings ECHR into UK law, Courts can issue declarations of incompatibility against parliamentary legislation in accordance with rights, however courts cannot quash an Act of Parliament on the basis of incompatibility
• The Freedom of Information Act 2000: in 1997 New Labour Manifesto, Gave citizens right of access to information held by public bodies
• The Equality Act 2010: makes discrimination illegal
• Collective Vs Individual rights: eg Right to safety Vs right to privacy in case of ID cards or the vaccine passport debate
• Current debates in Conservative party about replacing HRA: Raab’s British Bill of Rights and Braverman has argued to leave ECHR
• Party functions:

  • Representation: Political parties should exist to articulate the interests of the public
  • Policy formulation: Parties create a coherent set of policies that can be communicated to voters before an election, to ensure effective voter choice Manifestos, preparation for government
  • Information: Parties should inform the electorate on key issues and their stance on them
  • Encourage participation
  • Accountability: Opposition parties in Parliament should hold governing party to account