Democracy and Participation

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT? (Prisons, HoL)

Prisoners are not allowed to vote, HoL is unelected.

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT? (FPTP 2024)

FPTP does not truly represent voter’s opinions and doesn’t give a true mandate. Under AMS, Green party would have won 42 seats in 2024 instead of 4.

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT? (Liz Truss’ cabinet)

68% of Liz Truss’s cabinet attended fee-paying schools, compared to 7% of the general population.

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT? (Asymmetric devolution)

Asymmetrical devolution means power is unevenly distributed. 83% of local council budgets come from Westminster, with strings attached on how the money should be spent.

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT? (Scotland’s attempt)

In 2023, Parliament blocked Scotland’s Gender Recognition Act.

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT? (Elections Act)

The 2022 Elections Act required voters to take ID to polling stations. In 2023 local elections, an estimated 14000 people were turned away due to this. 28% of Londoners that were turned away in 2024 due to no ID did not return to vote.

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT? (2022, 2023 Acts)

2022 Policing Act and 2023 Public Order Act reduced citizens’ right to protest and increased the power of the police.

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT? (BoJo peerages)

BoJo gave a peerage against advice to Evgeny Lebedev who had strong links to Putin’s Russian government.

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT? (Statutory instruments)

Ministers can use statutory instruments to make changes to law without parliamentary approval. Over 500 were made in relation to Covid, and 600 in relation to Brexit under Theresa May.

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT? (Brown, Cameron, BoJo)

Gordon Brown used the Royal Prerogative to send extra troops to Afghanistan. Cameron initiated military action against Libya before there was a vote in Parliament to authorise it. BoJo tried to suspend Parliament in the Miller case.

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT? (FOI failure)

The Guardian was not allowed to publish details about Saudi arms deals, so the FOI is weak.

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT? (BoJo donation)

BoJo failed to explain the £15000 holiday he received from carphone warehouse tycoon David Ross.

PLURALISM (supervisor of elections)

The supervisor in British elections is nonpartisan- the Electoral Commission. Gerrymandering doesn’t exist as the nonpartisan Boundaries Commission draws up constituency boundaries.

PLURALISM (2023 byelections)

2023 by-elections in July demonstrated how Tory strongholds in the West Country (like Somerton and Frome) could be won by Lib Dems. Another Tory-leaning safe seat in the North, Selby, was won by Labour.

PLURALISM (2024 local elections)

In the 2024 local elections, Conservative and Labour have combined lost 861 councillors, while Green and Reform have combined gained 721 more council seats. Reform has gained control of 10 councils as a whole, and even Lib Dems have 3 councils, compared to Conservative and Labour’s 0.

PLURALISM (2024 council/mayor seats)

Where once Conservatives and Labour had a majority of local council/mayor seats, they now only hold 37%.

PLURALISM (2022 select committee)

The Priveleges Committee looked into BoJo’s lies about partygate, forcing his resignation as PM in 2022.

PLURALISM (Rwanda HoL)

The HoL put in 10 amendments to the Rwanda legislation in March 2024.

PLURALISM (hereditary peers)

Legislation has recently been passed to remove the remaining 92 hereditary peers from the HoL.

PLURALISM (Politicians quizzed)

Tony Blair was quizzed by police over the cash for honours scandal. Andy Coulson, David Cameron’s former spin doctor, was quizzed over phone hacking.

PLURALISM (Expenses scandal)

Several MPs were forced to resign over the expenses scandal, and David Chater, former Labour MP, was imprisoned.

PLURALISM (Suspension)

In 2023, Somerton and Frome MP David Warburton was suspended from Parliament and forced to resign over allegations of sexual misconduct.

PLURALISM (FOI Act)

Journalists have used the FOI Act to request information ranging from sensitive arms deals to secret government backing for the Saudi takeover of Newcastle United.

E-PETITIONS (period products)

The scrapping of VAT on period products happened due to an e-petition to scrap the tampon tax. This has also led to calls for ending VAT on period pants too.

E-PETITIONS (Websites)

38 Degrees, Avaaz, and other websites means e-petitions are common now, and after 100000 signatures, Parliament has to debate it.

E-PETITIONS (2015-2020)

Between 2015 to 2020, the House of Commons library reported that 23 million people signed an e-petition on its website.

E-PETITIONS (2017-2019)

Of the 8145 e-petitions launched on Parliament’s petition website between 2017 to 2019, only 456 received a governmental response.

E-PETITIONS (Silly issues)

Silly issues are put up- White chocolate creme eggs, a ban on Fortnite, and a peerage for Danny Dyer were among the thousands of rejected petitions to Parliament in 2018.

RECALL PETITIONS (Act)

The Recall of MPs Act 2015 means if 10% of constituents sign a petition, they can force an MP that has been suspended from Parliament to face a by-election.

RECALL PETITIONS (SNP)

Margaret Ferrier SNP MP broke COVID guidance by travelling by train when she knew she had COVID, so she was recalled in 2023. 15% of the 810000 eligible constituents signed to remove her.

RECALL PETITIONS (Labour 2019)

Labour MP Fiona Onasanya lost her seat after a recall petition in March 2019.

RECALL PETITIONS (Tory 2019)

Disgraced Conservative MP Chris Davies stood in the Brecon and Radnorshire byelection in Augsut 2019 despite being recalled after falsifying his expense claims. He came very close to winning again.

RECALL PETITIONS (Delay)

Nadine Dorries said she would resign owing to a failure to receive a peerage, but clung on to her job for over 100 days after her announcement.

RECALL PETITIONS (North Antrim)

Despite his suspension from Parliament over failure to declare hospitality received from the Sri Lankan government, Ian Paisley Junior did not have to face a by-election in his North Antrim constituency because the petition didn’t have enough signatures.

RECALL PETITIONS (Number since the Act has passed)

6 recall petitions have been triggered since the Act was passed.

RECALL PETITIONS (Most recent byelection)

Labour MP Mike Amesbury stood down in his constituency of Runcorn and Helsby, leading to a recall petition triggering a byelection in which an overwhelming majority of people voted for the Reform candidate this May.

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (EU referendum turnout)

The EU referendum turnout was 72%. Only 52% voted for Brexit.

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (2024 election turnout)

59.7%, the lowest since 2001.

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (2024 London mayoral election turnout)

40.5%.

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (Trade union membership)

Only 50% of the public sector belong to a trade union.

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (Trade union membership 1970s to 2022)

In the 1970’s, there were 13.2 million trade union members. In 2022 there were only 6.25 million.

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (Teachers strikes)

Sixth form teachers striked 3 times in 2019.

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (Doctor 2023 strikes)

77% of junior doctors went on strike in 2023. 98% signed the ballot saying they would go on strike.

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (Trade union pay increase)

Trade union strikes in 2023 ended in a pay increase, where teacher pay was given a 6.5% increase.

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (Independence referendum turnout)

The Scottish independence referendum turnout was 84.6%.

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (Welsh Assembly referendum turnout)

The Welsh Assembly referendum turnout in 1998 was 50%. The YES vote was 50%.

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (Tory membership)

Tory membership in the 1950’s was 2.8 million. In 2024 it was below 150000.

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (Labour membership)

Labour membership was 1 million in 1950’s, but around 300000 in 2025.

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (Labour membership under Corbyn)

Under Corbyn, Labour party membership swelled to around 500000, albeit temporarily.

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (Political party)

Only 1% of the population are part of a political party today.

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (Class turnout 2019)

Higher income voters turnout in larger numbers. In 2019, 68% of A/B voters cast a ballot, compared to 53% of D/E voters.

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (USA average turnout vs 2024)

The USA’s turnout is generally around 50% or less. In 2024 this was 65.3%

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (New Zealand turnout 2017)

73%

PARTICIPATION CRISIS (BBC Twitter followers)

The BBC breaking news account on Twitter has nearly 52 million followers.

PRESSURE GROUPS (Fare Share)

Marcus Rashford, working with fare share, lobbied the govt to ensure they provided free school meals for children during term breaks and the pandemic. This led to 5 Tory backbenchers rebelling, and 1 resigning.

THINK TANK (Resolution Foundation)

The Resolution Foundation provides expertise on minimum wage and income inequality to the govt.

PRESSURE GROUP (Avaaz 2014-15)

Avaaz helped organise the people’s climate marches of 2014 and 2015 to put pressure on the govt to make positive guarantees at the UN climate talks.

PRESSURE GROUP (Avaaz)

Avaaz has 70 million members and 600 million actions.

PRESSURE GROUP (Snowdrop Campaign)

The Snowdrop Campaign launched after the 1996 Dunblane massacre got over 150000 signatures, helping repeal the Firearm Amendment Act.

THINK TANK (Institute for Fiscal Studies)

The Institute for Fiscal studies revealed the fiscal black hole that the Truss mini budget created. The estimated £100 billion borrowing was vital information.

THINK TANK (IEA)

The Truss govt’s mini budget in 2022 included several tax cutting measures that the IEA had lobbied for.

PRESSURE GROUP (Momentum)

Momentum, a left wing outsider presure group, set up after Corbyn's 2015 election campaign encouraged young left wing voters, who hadn't felt a connection with Blair's politics, to reengage with the party. This resulted in unprecedented voter turnout in the 2017 snap election, almost causing a Labour win.

PRESSURE GROUP (Taxpayers’ Alliance)

The Taxpayer’s Alliance participate in monthly meetings to discuss fiscal strategy with Conservative politicians.

PRESSURE GROUPS (environmental groups)

Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil, Insulate Britain, and Plane Stupid have stopped trains moving, tied themselves to goalposts, blocked the M25, and stuck themselves to airport runways.

PRESSURE GROUPS (STOP5G)

Stop 5G is concerned about the potential health and environmental effects of 5G.

LOBBYIST (Frank Hester)

Frank Hester, who donated £10 million to the Conservatives, was able to get away with many racist remarks. As a computer programmer, he advised the Tory govt on AI and tech-related policies.

PRESSURE GROUP (CBI)

Tony Danker, leader of the CBI, was fired for allegations of sexual harassment, leading to the Tory govt pushing them even further away.

LOBBYIST (Richard Desmond)

In 2020, housing minister Robert Jenrick rushed through approval of a development project to satisfy Conservative donor Richard Desmond, a property developer.

PRESSURE GROUP (Liberty)

In 2019, Liberty put in an application to bring forth a case to prevent a no-deal Brexit, which the Court of Appeal rejected.

THINK TANK (Public Policy Research)

After advice from the Public Policy Research think tank, Angela Rayner stated in a select committee meeting that the government are looking into scrapping or relaxing voter ID requirements.

CORPORATIONS (Nissan)

Nissan threatened to leave the UK post-Brexit. This lessened after the govt offered sweeteners (£200million in taxpayer funds) to stay in Sunderland. After this, in 2023, Nissan announced £2 billion investment towards electric vehicle production.

CORPORATIONS (Dyson)

Dyson announced they are moving their HQ to Singapore, citing lower corporation tax rates- a tax that the Tory govt raised from 19% to 25%.

CORPORATIONS (Brompton Bicycles)

Brompton Bicycles, the UK based folding bike manufacturer, said it suffered a 10% increase in production cost due to Brexit related uncertainty. Yet BoJo’s response to concerns like these were reportedly to say “fuck business”.

CORPORATIONS (Broadcasters)

The presence of the BBC in broadcasting has limited the potential size of other broadcasters like Sky and GB News.

CORPORATIONS (Sainsbury’s)

In 2024, Lord Sainsbury, chairman of the Sainsbury’s supermarket chain, gave Labour £2.5million, which represents 26% of the party’s total campaign donations for the general election. This might make the govt more lax on supermarket regulation.

PRESSURE GROUP (Obesity Health Alliance)

The Obesity Health Alliance found that supermarkets flout existing rules on product placement. Its 2024 report found that 1/4 of all supermarket stores still put some foods high in fat, salt, or sugar, in prominent locations, despite regulations banning them from doing so.

CORPORATIONS (Greensill Capital)

Former PM David Cameron was paid £10million by Greensill Capital, a firm that dealt with supply chain finance, to intensively lobby ministers to award the company the chance to lend taxpayer backed loans to companies hit by COVID. —> now subject of a Serious Fraud Office inquiry. However, Greensill didn’t get its way.

CORPORATIONS (Health and Social Care Act 2012)

The Health and Social Care act 2012 allows private healthcare companies to perform operations on the NHS, and those same companies had a big influence on writing that legislation. Labour plans to use these same companies in addressing NHS waiting lists.

CORPORATIONS (Lobbying Act 2014)

The Lobbying Act 2014 doesn’t prevent corporations from seeking to influence ministers directly. Large firms won COVID PPE contracts receiving large sums of money for equipment that was unusable. Tory peer Michelle Mone and her husband have had their assets frozen for being at the heart of the COVID PPE scandal.

CORPORATIONS (Randox Labs)

MPs are banned from paid advocacy. Hence, Owen Patterson was forced to resign in November 2021 after he received cash from Randox labs to promote use of their technologies in 2 govt departments.

CORPORATIONS (Online Safety Act 2023)

The Online Safety Act 2023 is a new set of rules that protects children and adults online and is a response to public concerns about what young people are exposed to on sites like Tiktok and X.

CORPORATIONS (Thames Water)

Thames Water regulation is weak, but Labour and Lib Dems have promised to clamp down on water companies that harm the environment and pollute rivers with automatic and severe fines.

CORPORATIONS (Heathrow)

Rachel Reeves’ report on Heathrow expansion and a third runway, which suggested that it would massively contribute to economic growth, was commissioned by Heathrow.

THE FRANCHISE (lowering age to 18)

The UK was the first country in the world to lower the voting age to 18.

THE FRANCHISE (1969)

The 1969 Representation of the People Act reflected the age of transition for childhood to adulthood, showing 18 year olds could vote.

THE FRANCHISE (smoking ban)

Smoking has been banned for people born after 2009, suggesting 16-17 yr olds can still smoke- so they can vote too.

THE FRANCHISE (Turnout in 2024 young vs old)

Only 37% of 18-24 yr olds voted in 2024 compared to 73% of 65+ yr olds.

THE FRANCHISE (D/E voters)

D/E voters are less likely to vote, yet we don’t take away their right.

THE FRANCHISE (Scottish referendum)

16-17 year olds were allowed to vote for the first time in the Scottish referendum.

THE FRANCHISE (2017 youthquake)

In 2017, the ‘youthquake’ meant young voters do vote when they resonate with politics- youth turnout was 64%.

THE FRANCHISE (pensions)

The triple lock on pensions is only maintained because old people can vote.

THE FRANCHISE (Welsh elections)

The Welsh Senedd allowed 16-17 yr olds to vote in the Welsh Parliamentary elections.

THE FRANCHISE (‘Votes at 16’)

A private members bill (‘votes at 16’ campaign failed) that wanted the extension of voting age was not successful.

THE FRANCHISE (2011 prisoners)

In 2011, only 22 MPs voted in favour of prisoners getting the right to vote. Because of this prisoners can’t vote on the dreadful prison conditions.

THE FRANCHISE (2017 prisoners)

In 2017, some prisoners on day release were given the right to vote.

THE FRANCHISE (Howard League and Liberty)

Some prisoners convicted of petty theft can vote- campaigns by The Howard League and Liberty have gone too far.

THE FRANCHISE (ECHR)

The ECHR in 2004 ruled that the UK’s blanket ban on prisoner’s voting broke Article 3 of the ECHR.

THE FRANCHISE (Scotland prisoners)

Scotland allows prisoners serving sentences shorter than 12 months a vote.

THE FRANCHISE (EU prisoner restrictions)

11 EU countries have no restrictions on prisoner voting.

THE FRANCHISE (1918, 1928)

In 1918 and 1928 the right to vote was extended to women, and university students’ 2 votes were taken away.