Politics Paper 1

• Direct democracy: the people vote directly on policy

  The individual expresses their own opinion E.g. referendums
• Representative democracy: the people vote for representatives to vote on their behalf

  The individual delegates their authority to the representative E.g. general election
• Different types of representation:

  • Causal- representing a cause/ idea like environmental change
  • Party- a group with similar views, usually have a manifesto
  • Constituency- a local representative who want what's best for the community
  • Occupational- representing a certain group, like groups that support trade unions
  • Social- implies that representatives should mirror the diversity of its people, like 50% men and women, range of ethnicities, and ages or class backgrounds
  • National- what the whole nation wants rather than just the local representative
• Direct Democracy has:

  • Equal weight to all votes
  • Removes need for trusted reps as the individual takes responsibility
  • Encourages participation as it is their duty as a citizen
  • Reduces the chances of the tyranny of the majority
  • However, is open to manipulation by word of mouth
  • Impractical on a large scale for decision making
  • Will of the majority is not mediated by parliament etc so minority viewpoints likely ignored
• Representative Democracy is:

  • Only practical on a large scale where a quick response is needed
  • Politicians are better informed than general public
  • Political parties cause pressure groups which promote debate and pluralism- increasing democracy
  • However, may lead to reduced participation as the public delegate their responsibility to representatives
  • Parties/PGs promote their own agendas and not the peoples
  • Minorities are still underrepresented
  • Politicians can easily avoid accountability due to length between general elections
  • Politicians can betray election promises
• Democratic deficit:

  Restrictions upon voters suggests there is a democratic deficit-

  • Felons who serve over 12 months cannot vote
  • ID is required to vote, which is not free- disenfranchising the vote further
  • Citizens are arrested for riots/ protests- which is reducing democracy and free speech
• Types of participation: conventional and unconventional

  • Voting (conventional)
  • Joining a party (conventional)
  • Trade unions (conventional)
  • Protesting
  • E-petitions
  • Pressure groups
  • E-voting
  • Campaigning
  • Strikes
• Evidence of a participation crisis:

  Decreasing voter turnout suggests a large participation crisis- suggesting loss of faith in the governmental system or a lack of resonating with gov. policy

  • Post ww2- over 80% voter turnout
  •  2001- 59.4% (all time low- public was happy with his policies)
  • 2015- 66%
  • 2017- 68.8%
  •  2019- 67.3%
• Widening the franchise: Votes at 16


  • 16 and 17 yr olds were allowed to vote in the scottish referendum
  • Lowering the voting age will promote political engagement from a younger age
  • It aligns with social responsibility- leaving school, joining the military, paying tax etc
  • Educates the younger generation of the importance of voting
  • They're at the age where they are directly impacted by political decisions- education, employment, healthcare etc
  • It is discriminatory to deny them the right
• Widening the franchise: Votes at 16

  • 16yr olds do not possess the maturity required to vote and may lack understanding
  • Voting age should be consistent with responsibilities- drinking age, signing contracts, serving on a jury etc
  • Concerns over the amount of political knowledge a 16yr old has and may not have received the education to support this
  • Can sway election dynamics- politicians more inclined to appeal to the younger generation
  • 16yr olds can be easily persuaded by parents and friends to vote for who they want them to
  • They may also be open to political propaganda and exploitation
• Acts to widen the franchise:

  • 1832 Reform act- increased the franchise to more men, redistributed seats, and tackled electoral corruption
  • 1918, 1928, and 1969 Representation of the people act- equally widened the franchise to women, and lowered the voting age to 18
• Sectional pressure groups- look after their own section of society, often closed membership E.g. Stonewall, Age UK
• Promotional pressure groups- campaign for a cause or issue, often open membership E.g. Extinction rebellion, PETA, Just stop oil
• Insider groups- have a special relationship with the government and have access to officials, thus use more legal methods E.g. Age UK- leaflets, adverts, posters
• Outsider groups- no close link with the government and resort to generating press attention E.g. PETA- vandalism, riots 
• Extinction Rebellion (Outsider, promotional) 

  • Aims- to reduce the impacts of climate change
  • Methods- social media outreach, marches, rallies, and fly posting
  • Success- raised £100,000 in 24hrs for their cause, raised awareness of the climate crisis to 81% in the uk and allowing the public to become more engaged in their cause
  • Failures- while attempting to disrupt Johnson’s convey on the way to PMQs they were forcefully dragged away by police and publicly failed at raising awareness for their issue
• RMT (Insider, promotional)

  • Aims- promotion of better pay and conditions for its members
  • Methods- negotiates contracts with major transport companies, lobbies the government for better legislative protections, organises strikes
  • Success-helped members bring legal cases forward (like a £55,000 payment to a member who lost a finger in an incident), secured bonus payments for workers during the 2012 olympics, created a credit union to aid members financially
  • Failures- not all its campaigns for higher wages and better conditions were met with high success
• Factors for success: PGs

  • Size
  • Funding
  • Public opinion
  • Government attitude
  • Strategic position (importance to society e.g. NHS unions)
  • Hyper pluralism (multiple groups for the same cause)
• Alternate forms of influence:

  • Think tanks- carry out research and develop policies to influence politicians E.g. The Institute of Economic Affairs focus on the economy and the free market
  • Lobbyists- persuade those in power to follow a course of action which is fundamental to democracy E.g. the PLMR contains ex civil servants and former special advisors to campaign for causes they believe in
• Alternate forms of influence:

  • Corporations and industry- large corporations will make their own PGs to campaign their own causes E.g. Google, Facebook, Starbucks were successful in resisting calls to pay more tax on profits
  • Trade unions- protect the interests of their members by negotiating working conditions E.g. unison 
• The development of rights:

  • Common law is established by judges in the UK who declare what rights are granted to the public
  • The Magna Carta 1215- England's first statute which limited the power of the sovereign
• The Development of Rights:

  • The HRA 1998- made the European convention of Human Rights enforceable in UK courts
  • Meaning courts had a means of protecting citizen rights and were respected and protected by law
  • Freedom of Information Act 2000- meant citizens could view information directly about them, also ensured openness and transparency within the UK government
  • The Daily Telegraph could expose MP expenditure
  • Equality Act 2010- ensured protection of race, disability, age, gender, marriage, religion, and sexual orientation
• How PGs contribute to the protection of rights in the UK:

  Liberty

  • Aims- challenge injustice, defend freedom, and campaign to ensure everyone in the UK is treated fairly
  • Success- campaigned for the release of over 100 iraqi nationals, campaigned for the reform of the mental health system and released 2000 inmates
  • Failures- lost high court challenge against surveillance laws
• How PGs contribute to the protection of rights in the UK:

  Stonewall

  • Aims- equal rights for queer people
  • Success- campaigned to get rid of section 28, campaigned for gay marriage, campaigned for the protection of queer people against workplace discrimination
  • Failures- queer people are still largely discriminated against
• How PGs contribute to the protection of rights in the UK:

  Howard League for Penal Reform

  • Aims- a charity that aims to help/ aid prisoners 
  • Success- won the children's act case meaning incarcerated children were protected and treated as children, worked with over 22000 children to explore the issues of crime and raise awareness
  • Failures- still struggle to combat overcrowding and poor living conditions in some prisons
• Individual rights vs collective rights:

  • In 2008 Christian B&B owners refused to allow civil partners to share a room as they weren't ‘married’-The civil partners won after appealing to the courts
• Electoral systems:

  • Northern Irish assembly: STV- Every 5 years
  • Scottish parliament: AMS- Every 5 years
  • Welsh assembly: AMS- Every 5 years
  • England :
  • Westminster: FPTP- Every 5 years
  • London assembly: AMS- Every 4 years
  • London mayor: SV- Every 4 years
  • Local elections: FPTP- Every 5 years
• FPTP:

  • Leads to a strong majority government
  • Simple for voters
  • Strong MP-constituency link
  • Stops extremists from running
  • However, there is a lack of choice
  • A majority is not required to win
  • Unequal vote value
  • Leads to 2 party dominance
  • Benefits the winning party- more seats than votes
• AMS:

  • More proportional than FPTP
  • Greater voter choice
  • Increases representation
  • Government has broad popularity
  • However, it is more complicated/ harder to understand
  • Unlikely to produce a single party government
  • May create an unstable government
• STV:

  • More proportional than FPTP
  • Greater voter choice
  • Increases representation
  • However, it is more complicated/harder to understand
  • Unlikely to produce a single party government
  • Weak MP-constituency link
• SV:

  • Simple for voters
  • Majority result wins
  • Greater voter choice
  • However, it leads to 2 party dominance
  • Can lead to wasted votes
  • Can lead to a false majority- does not reflect popular vote
• First pass the post (FPTP):

  Electoral system where the candidate with the highest votes is elected- a plurality system
• Additional member system (AMS):

  A hybrid election system- the voter votes for a representative on a FPTP system, and then a second vote for a second or 'additional' representative
• Single transferable vote (STV):

  Voters rank their voting preferences, and for a candidate to gain a seat they must reach a 'quota'- candidates with fewest votes are eliminated and their votes transferred to other candidates
• Supplementary vote (SV):

  Majoritarian system where the voter makes two choices- candidate must obtain over 50%, if not achieved the top two candidates remain and second vote is redistributed
• Election results: FPTP

  2017:

  • Con. 318/49% of seats, but 42.4% of popular vote
  • Lab. 262/40% of seats, and 40% of popular vote
  • Lib. 12/1.8% of seats but 7.4% of popular vote

  2019:

  • Con. 365/57% of seats, but 43.6% of popular vote
  • Lab. 203/31% of seats, and 32.2% of popular vote
  • Lib. 11/1.7% of seats but 11.5% of popular vote
• Referendums are used to give the public a voice on a nationwide issue:

  • Prevents civil unrest
  • Holds the government to account
  • Increases democracy
  • A response to public pressure
  • Resolves inter-party splits
  • However, they can cause issues for the government:
  • Trigger another election
  • Increase loss of faith in the government
  • Trigger PM resignation
  • May not solve the issue- divides UK (Brexit)
• Referendums since 1997:

  Replacement of FPTP with AV system 2011- 42% turnout

  • Yes 32.1% and No 67.9%

  Scottish independence 2014- 84.6% turnout

  • 55% rejected leaving the UK
  • Tyranny of the majority (45% ignored)
  • Still a long standing issue for Scotland
  • Divided Scotland

  Brexit 2016- 72.2% turnout

  • 51.9% voted leave
  • Tyranny of the majority (48.1% ignored)
  • David Cameron resigned
  • Brexit deal was prolonged
  • Split parliament and caused divided government
• Arguments for and against referendums:

  • If it is a large nationwide issue then the public should have a say
  • Solves constitutional issues with no set precedent 
  • Gives regional assemblies more power and they are more likely to be listened to
  • However, a MPs job is to represent the people and therefore is no reason for them to vote
  • Undermines MP and Parliamentary power
  • Used as bargaining tools in the political climate
• Function and features of political parties:

  • Representation- allows parties represent large sections of the electorate’s interests and opinions
  • However, there is a lack of balance between party support and seats
  • Participation- encourages increased turnout and engagement in politics through the MP-constituent link
  • This means voter become loyal, however party membership is on the decline