Democracy and participation short essay plans

Evaluate the view that referendums cause more harm than good (30)

FOR:

- some issues are too 'political' and difficult for people to understand (Brexit)

- only focus on singular issues, promoting low turnout (2011 AV referendum)

AGAINST:

- allow public to have a say in things that will affect them (EG: Brexit)

- promotes change, and gets more people involved in democratic process (AV referendum)

Evaluate the view that only pressure group actions preserve British civil liberties (30)

FOR:

- Liberty, actively campaign against British Bill of Rights

- promote minority rights, due to two party system promoting tyranny of majority (EG: Stone wall rainbow laces campaign)

AGAINST:

- campaigning has actually limited rights (EG: 2023 public order act)

- SC, declaration of incompatibility (EG: Rwanda)

Evaluate the view that citizens can no longer feel confident that their rights in the UK are secure and established

FOR:

- government has passed legislation that has limited rights (EG: 2023, public order act) and have challenged principle of Habeas Corpus (detainment of Asylum seekers)

- judiciary lacks democratic legitimacy, means government can ignore their declarations of incompatibility (EG: Rwanda plan 2023/4), also have made 7 decisions in line with government since 2020

- government values collective rights more than individual (EG: Covid-19 lockdown)

AGAINST:

- formal rights/ equality strongly established (EG: HRA, FOI, EQA)

- judicial independence means judges are neutral and independent (EG: 2010 registration of sex-offenders)

Evaluate the view that there is a participation crisis in the UK (30)

FOR:

- turnout of elections, recent mayoral elections showed a decline in turnout (EG: 40.5%)

- party membership has been declining due to parties inability to deal with certain issues (EG: Labour lost 23,000 members due to their divided nature on Gaza) loss of MPs internally (EG: one switched from conservative to labour) would decrease participation due to loss of faith

- increased used of the media has been creating bad perception of politicians, arguably causing people to not want to vote (EG: Grenfell fire, Theresa may got really bad coverage due to only going and seeing, whereas Corbyn went and spoke to victims families etc)

AGAINST:

- turnout has been increasing in the past few general elections(2019, 67.3%)

- pressure groups promote the views of the minority, increasing participation (EG: over 1 million joined rainbow laces campaign in 2013 to promote equality in sports)

- people are participating in alternative ways, such as e-petitions (EG: 6 million signed e-petition to stay in EU, in 2019)

evaluate the view that greater use of direct democracy will solve the participation crisis (30)

FOR:

- referendums, give people more choice in political decisions

- E-petitions, allow people to directly propose their view point

- Recall of MP act 2015, proven discontent with representatives + more participation

AGAINST:

- referendum turn out is still low

- changing the place people can vote would solve it better (EG: increased use of online petitions, shows how popular voting online would be)

- voting system needs to be changed, FPTP does not represent everyones needs, more proportional system needs to be implemented to enhance democracy

Evaluate the view that the franchise should be extended to those between 16-18 (30)

FOR:

- many issues, such as education, environmental policies affect 16-18 year olds

- increase voter turnout, as it may foster lifelong habits

AGAINST:

- turnout for 18-24 votes is low, meaning 16-17 may be even lower (EG: 2019, 47%)

- not educated enough to make right decisions on complex political issues

Evaluate the view that UK democracy is in urgent need of reform (30)

FOR:

- HoL is unelected, meaning it lacks democratic legitimacy

- FPTP, only favours 2 party system meaning votes are not representative (EG: 2019, green party received over 1 million votes but only gained 1 seat) - rights remain unprotected, due to unelected Judiciary (EG: Since 2020, 7 decisions made by the SC have been inline with the government, one of which being the case of Shamima Bagium)

AGAINST:

- devolved regions allows decision making to take place closer to people

- free media, allows challenge to policies

- judiciary is independent and therefore upholds rule of law (declaration of incompatibility, EG: motioned one against the Rwanda bill in 2024)

Evaluate the extent to which pressure groups enhances democracy and participation in the UK (30)

FOR:

- attract membership and allow more participation

- provide representation for minority views, and help promote rights

- address controversial issues the government may be ignoring

AGAINST:

- pressure groups are not accountable and may twist facts

- only pressure groups that are ideological compatible with the government have an impact

- pressure groups may promote tyranny of the minority

Evaluate the view to which success of a pressure group depends on the size of its membership (30)

FOR:

- PG with large membership can claim to better represent their view of the public and put pressure on the gov

- large membership = more money and better campaign resources

AGAINST:

- pressure groups being ideologically compatible with the government is more important

- status of the PG is more important (EG: use of direct action through disruptive protests may limit success)