democracy

• what are the positive elements of democracy in the UK?

  free and fair elections,turnout, universal suffrage, pressure groups, parliamentary sovereignty, devolution
• what are the negative elements of democracy in the UK?

  unelected elements, turnout, West Lothian Q and EVEL, the voting-system, elitist pressure groups, lack of entrenched rights, weaknesses of electoral commission
• what do pressure groups need in order to succeed?


  wealth, membership, insider access, celebrity endorsement, organisation and expertise
• what did the Great Reform Act 1832 do?


  extended the franchise to property owners

  -an additional 300,000 people

  -only 5.6% of population could vote
• what happened to the franchise in 1867?

  it was extended to skilled workers
• how was the franchise extended in 1918?

  extended to all men over 21 and women over 30
• when did women achieve equal suffrage to men?

  1928 under the Representation of the People Act
• when was the voting age reduced to 18?

  1969 under the Representation of the People Act
• when was the first petition on giving women the right to vote presented to parliament?

  1866
• In 1897, what union was created?

  National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS/ the suffragists)
• when was the WSPU founded?

  1903
• what year was Black Friday?

  1910
• Hirst vs UK case study:


  -1979 beat his landlady to death

  -1980 convicted of manslaughter

  -1990s began a campaign for prisoners’ franchise

  -High Court dismissed in 2001

  -successful under ECHR in 2005
• which countries allow under 18s to vote?

  austria, brazil, ecuador, nicaragua
• what group supports extending franchise to 16 yr olds?


  Votes at 16
• whose 2017 manifesto contained a commitment to lowering the voting age?

  liberal democrats
• what was the lowest ever recorded turnout for a general election?

  2001: 59%
• what was the turnout in 2017?

  69%
• what was the turnout in the AV referendum in 2011?

  42%
• what are some examples of sectional interest groups?


  RMT and BMA
• what are some examples of casual interest groups?


  oxfam, RSPCA, RSPB
• when did AA provide expertise to gov. to increase penalty for using phone whilst driving?

  2016
• when did the Howard League for Penal Reform end the ban on prisoners receiving books from friends and family?

  2014
• what campaign was Joanna Lumley involved in?


  Ghurka Justice Campaign 2009

  —secured equal rights for British and Commonwealth soldiers
• what’s ‘chequebook membership’?


  people join a group for material benefits and are less likely to involve themselves with political campaigns
• why do interest groups experience failure?


  -their goals contradict gov. policy

  -gov. can resist pressure

  -countervailing forces

  -goals against public opinion
• which pro-smoking group has failed to prevent smoking restrictions due to losing out to the group ’ASH’?

  Forrest
• which group was against legal recognition of gay marriage?

  the Coalition for Marriage
• what are the functions of think-tanks?

  formulating and developing policy