Democracy and Participation Edexcel - From Quizlet

Direct Democracy

Individuals express their own views as themselves

represenative democracy

People elect Representatives to make decisions on their behalf

pluralist democracy

A type of democracy in which a government makes decisions as a result of the interplay of various ideas and contrasting arguments from competing groups and organisations

National referendums

A direct vote on a single issue, usually requiring a straight: "yes" or "no" question

.

Britain has had three Referendums, two on the membership of the European Economic Community (1975 and 2016) and another on changing the system of voting for the Westminister 2011

The 2015 Recall of Mp's Act

An act allowing the creation of a petition after a MP being sentenced to be imprisoned or suspended from the Commons for more than 21 days. If 10% of eligible voters in the constituency sign the petition a by-election is called.

5 Positive Democratic Features of the UK System

Free Media

Devolved Government

Independent Judiciary

Free and Fair elections

Wide range of political parties and pressure groups

Free Media

Media that challenges government policy and exposes the misdeeds of politicians

Independent judiciary

a judicial system that is independent from other parts, or branches, of the government that upholds the rule of law and protects a wide range of personal freedoms

Devolved government

A Name given to the bodies created under the policy of devolution e.g Scottish parliament, Welsh Assembly, Northern Ireland assembly, and for elected mayors for London and other English cities.

free and fair elections

Elections are free and open to all citizens of voting age each individual's vote counts the same.

Political Parties

Groups that help elect people and shape policies

Pressure groups

A group that tries to influence public policy in the interest of a particular cause.

Legitimacy

The legal right to exercise power, for example a governments right to rule following an election

Democratic Deficit

A perceived deficiency in the way a particular democratic body works especially in terms of accountability and control over policy making

Examples of democratic deficit in the UK

Under representation of minority viewpoints

House of Lords democratic legitimacy

Lack of protection for citizens rights

control of sections of the media by unaccountable business interests

Under representation of minority view points due to the voting system...

The house of commons is elected by First Past the Post system, which produces a mismatch between the votes cast for UK political parties and the seat that each party wins in parliament.

House of Lords lacks democratic legitimacy...

The UK's House of Lords is wholly unelected. They are appointed by the prime minister and as of 2000 by an independent house of lords appointment commission, this ensures there are at least a variety of different professions in the house but it still lacks democratic legitimacy.

Lack of protection for Citizens Rights ...

The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which was incorporated into UK Law in 1998 through 'The Human Rights Act' arguably provides inadequate guarantees for the rights of citizens in their relationship with the state.

Control of sections of media by wealthy, unaccountable business interests...

The powerful Murdoch group has owned a number of British newspapers simultaneously, including 'The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun'

Participation Crisis

A lack of engagement by a significant number of citizens to relate to the political process either by choosing not to vote or to join or become members of political parties or to offer themselves for public office.

Voter Turnout

The number of eligible voters who actually vote in an election.

Average Turn out of general elections in the UK from 1945 to 1997...

76%

Average Turn out of local elections in may 2016 in England was...

33.8%

Stroke on Trent By- Election Turn out in February 2017

38.2%

Crime Commissioner elections in 2012 on average had the lowest turn out of

15%

Crime Commissioner elections in 2016 on average had the low turn out of

27%

What percentage of the electorate belongs to one of the three main UK wide political parties

1.6%

The Conservatives had just under.... members by 2016

150,000

Labour had around... members in July 2016

515,000

The Lib Dems had around... members in 2016

76,000

During the 2015 general election a record... per cent of the vote went to parties other than the conservatives, labour and the liberal democrats

24.8%

The SNP had around ... members by July 2016

120,000

The Greens had just under... members by July 2016

55,000

UKIP had just under... members by July 2016

39,000

Examples of pressure groups UK

British Medical Association

Fathers 4 Justice

Amnesty International

Greenpeace

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Occupy movement

The E-petitions on the Downing Street website in 2007 against a proposal for road charging was signed by ... people

1.8 million

The E-Petition on the Downing Street website in 2019 to revoke articular 50 and remain in the EU was signed by... people

6 million

Time line of Expanding of the franchise

1867 Borough householders tradesman enfranchised

1884 Rural householders put on same footing as borough ones

1918 all men over 21 and women over 30 enfranchised

1928 terms for men and women equalized both sexes can vote at 21

1948 end of plural voting

1969 voting age reduced to 18

Interest Groups

Seek to promote the interests of an occupation or another group in society. (Trade Unions being a good example)

Cause groups

Organizations whose members care intensely about a single issue or a group of related issues. (GreenPeace being a good example)

Social Movements

are a type of group action. They are large, sometimes informal, groupings of individuals or organizations which focus on specific political or social issues. In other words, they carry out, resist, or undo a social change. (Camps for Climate Change Action between 2006-2010 being a good example)

Insider groups

Pressure groups such as the CBI which operate inside government networks.

Outsider Groups

Pressure groups that are not consulted automatically by government.

Factors at play when discussing pressure groups

Resources

Tactics and Leadership

Public Support

Government attitudes

Rights

Powers or privileges granted to people either by an agreement among themselves or by law

The European Convention on Human Rights (1950)

An international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe.

The Human Rights Act (1998)

Act of Parliament that incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law, making it enforceable in UK courts

The Equality Act (2010)

A law introduced to give all social groups protection against discrimination and unfair treatment

Case Study: The Abu Qutada deportation case in regards to the Human Rights Act

Abu Qutada was a radical muslim cleric living in london since the 1990's and had made speeches justifiying the use of violence to promote the islamist causes and had served time in British Jails. However he evaded deportation for 8 years based of the fact that evidence gained from torture would be used against him and that is a breach of the Human Rights Act.