Democracy and participation

Legitimacy

popular acceptance and recognition by the public of the authority of a governing regime, authority has political power through consent

direct democracy

every individual votes directly for laws e.g. referendums

representative democracy

vote for a representative who then votes on laws and bills

pluralist democracy

different levels of representation interact

Positives of representative democracy

higher political understanding, protects the interests of minorities, more practical, geographic representation

Negatives of representative democracy

party whip, corruption, not everyone in a constituency votes for their representative, representatives not fully aware of all issues

Positives of direct democracy

takes direct opinions from society, accountability as they were directly voted in, represents society as a whole, removes issues of representation, increase engagement with politics

Negatives of direct democracy

low voter turnout so low legitimacy, not practical, tyranny of the majority, voters less knowledgeable, voters open to manipulation

why do political parties play a central role in representation?

evolved out of ideological principles rather than events so people are united on a set of core beliefs, usually one party governs the UK

what 2 ways are pressure groups representative bodies?

formal membership + promoting policies that benefit their section of society, some engage in casual representation where they represent causes that they believe will benefit society as a whole

Free elections

universal suffrage, people can vote without fear, threats or intimidation, secret ballots

Fair elections

everyone has one vote and all votes are of equal value, safeguards in place to avoid electoral fraud and ballot rigging

what was the voter turnout for the 2024 election?

59.7%

Freedom of expression and information

right for people to express their opinions and criticise govt without persecution, free media, free access to public info

Rule of law and independent judiciary

govt is subject to same laws as citizens + ensured by judiciary

what are the 2 main issues limiting democracy?

Undemocratic systems and participation crisis

Characteristics of the UK undemocratic systems

underrepresentation of minorities, HoL, vulnerable rights, media power/business interests

characteristics of the UKs participation crisis

low voter turnout, party membership, new forms of political engagement

what are the 5 main types of political participation?

voting, digital activists, passive party/pressure group membership, active party/pressure group membership, standing for public office

what types of participation has increased and decreased?

digital activism and pressure group membership has increased, party membership and voting has decreased

Reasons of low political participation

loss of party loyalty, all parties seeming similar, loss of faith in politicians, two party system

examples of potential democratic reform

digital democracy, HoL reform, change of electoral system and republicanism

what is a pressure group?

an organisation with shared aims which seeks to influence policy through political means without seeking political office itself

4 types of pressure groups

sectional - represent a section of society e.g. BFA

cause - campaign for a cause e.g. campaign for nuclear disarmament

insider - meet with govt/access to govt decisions e.g. trade unions

outsider - do not have access to political decision making

why does a low voter turnout limit democracy?

limits the legitimacy of elected bodies

what reforms have been made that potentially increase democracy?

referendums, e-petitions, power of recall

what 7 factors count towards a success of a pressure group?

wealth, insider status, celebrity leadership, social media, methods, public mood, attitude of govt

Case study - Liberty

causal + insider

success - successfully campaigned for the release of 100 Iraqi nationals

failures - challenged the Investigatory powers act but High court ruled against them

Example of a pressure group with celebrity leadership

Marcus Rashford free school meals

Positives of pressure groups + democracy

give minorities greater opportunities to be represented, generate political participation, educate public, hold govt accountable, better reflection of public opinion in policy areas

ways pressure groups are bad for democracy

wealth + funding - can pay lobbyists for insider status, only accountable to its members, division of insider and outsider groups, elitist, internal democracy often unclear, criminal approaches

are lobbyists and think tanks open to the public?

no

what is a lobbyist?

paid by clients to try and influence the govt or MPs/Lords to act in their client’s interests, sell insider status

2 examples of lobbyists

Cicero group - financial services and infrastructure companies

Hanbury strategy - political communication for those with political issues

what is a think tank?

body of experts brought together to collectively focus, investigate and offer solutions to social, economic and political issues

2 examples of think tanks

Fabien society - labour

Demos - neutral

ways think tanks are good for democracy

allow for policy to be better developed and tested as members are usually experts in their field, provide a greater range of views and layer of scrutiny as policies are sent to think tanks to look at

what are lobbyists two main strategies?

create political maps - advice, blueprints for political campaigning and how to best put pressure on govt

events and meetings - opportunities for clients to meet with MPs and Lords

positives of lobbyists for democracy

allow for previously unseen perspectives and useful advice for scrutinising govt

ways lobbyists are bad for democracy

undermines confidence as many see the use of money in lobbying as undermining public interest and bribery, big companies should not have so much influence on policy

what are the 3 main ways to widen the franchise

voting for 16/17 year olds, prisoner voting and compulsory voting

what are individual rights?

freedom of expression

right to privacy

freedom of press

right to demonstrate in public places

what are collective rights?

right for religious groups/beliefs not to be questioned

right of the community to be protected from threats

rights of public figures to maintain privacy

right of community to their freedom of movement

example of when there has been a clash of individual and collective rights

Shamima Bagum v Home Secretary - right to fair trial clashed with right of community to be protected from threats

Magna carta

1215

citizens given human rights, recognition of rule of law

European convention of human rights

1950

members sign up, complaints of human rights violations can go to Strasburg court once all possibilities of appeal have been exhausted in home country

Human rights act

1998

incorporates ECHR into UK law

protects basic rights and freedoms, allows individuals to challenge rights violations in UK courts

Data protection act

1998

gives individuals the right to request access to all info held about them

Freedom of information act

2000

grants individuals the right to access info held by public authorities

allows people to scrutinise decision making processes of govt bodies helping them to hold govt account

Equality act

2010

made it illegal to discriminate people based on any protected characteristics e.g. age or gender, requires public authorities to actively promote equality

ways our rights are strongly protected

ECHR + HRA, strong common law tradition, judiciary has a reputation of upholding human rights, pressure groups

weaknesses of rights protection

parliamentary sovereignty so ECHR can be ignored, pressure on govt to address concerns such as terrorism that lead to conflict of rights, common law often vague so can be set asidee

example of Liberty successfully protecting human rights

2020 case under HRA made a council remove parts of Public spaces protection order which were used to criminalise homelessness

example of Liberty failing to protect human rights

failed attempts to ban facial recognition used by met police