Studied by 5 people
Example of media support from 1997
Blair's ability to court traditionally Conservative Party supporting newspapers, including The Sun
In the 1997 election is seen by many as an important factor in Labour's landslide victory in that election.
What was the turnout in the 2014 Scottish Referendum?
Scottish referendum 2014 received 84.6% turnout
What percentage of 16 to 17 year olds voted in the 2014 Scottish Referendum?
75% of 16 and 17 year olds voted at the Scottish referendum
What was the turnout during the Brexit referendum?
High turnout of 72.2% during Brexit
What percentage of Parliament supported Remain?
75% of Parliament supported Remain
What slogan was used by the Leave campaign constantly?
‘We send the EU £350 million a week, let’s fund our NHS instead’
What portion of the population actually voted to leave the EU?
Less than half of the population voted to Leave the EU
What happened in the vote on banning fracking and how did some Conservative MPs respond to the government's orders?
33 Conservative MPs rebelled against Truss’ government and abstained in a vote on banning fracking
Despite the government ordering them to oppose it
Give an example of a minor party being affected by FPTP
UKIP received 12.6% of the popular vote
Only won one seat in HOC
What percentage of people voted against changing the electoral system?
68% voted against changing the electoral system to AV
What percentages of each age category voted in the 2019 general election?
47% of 18-24 year olds
74% of 65+ year olds voted in the 2019 general election
What percentage of people voted in 2019?
2019 election saw a voting reduction to 67%
What percentage of the electorate had party membership in 1980 and now?
4% of the electorate had party membership in 1980 compared to 1% today
Give an example of how protests have had positive results
210,000 BLM protesters in the UK
Led to an investigation into UK slavery staues by Sadiq Khan in 2020
Give an example of when party membership actually increased?
Lib Dem party membership went from 65k to 117k from 2010 to 2020
Give an example of a pressure group that has close ties with government
National Farmer’s Union has close ties with the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs
What has the NFU achieved as an insider pressure group?
National Farmer’s Union convinced government to support a badger cull to control the spread of bovine TB
Who are Care4Calais?
Care4Calais campaigned for the rights of refugees in the UK
Give an example of how outsider pressure groups succeeded in impacting government decisions
Care4Calais empties the first scheduled flight to Rwanda on 14th June 2022
Give an example of a think tank succeeding on impacting government
Universal Credit Benefits System was proposed by the Centre of Social Justice
Set up by Ian Duncan Smith and was then implemented by the coalition government
Give an example of a pressure group failing to influence government
Just Stop Oil used disruptive public demonstration, alienated a lot of the public to their cause
What resulted in the success of the 2020 campaign to extend free school meals to children during the school holidays by footballer Marcus Rashford?
The campaign effectively used social media, traditional media and e-petitions to generate a social movement and demonstrate public support
Made the government u-turn and accept the group’s demands on June 2020
What think tank helped influence Truss’ economic policies of deregulation and tax breaks?
Truss and Kwarteng’s disastrous economic policies of deregulation and tax breaks for the rich in October 2022
Influenced by the very neoliberal Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)
Truss’ senior special adviser Ruth Porter was a former communications directors at the IEA
Give an example of an incident from the ‘cash for for questions’ scandal in the 1990s
The Guardian reported that Neil Hamilton MP accepted £2,000 through a lobbyist
For asking questions on behalf of Mohamed Al Fayed, the owner of Harrods
Give an example of lobbyists failing to influence government
Financial services firm Greensill Capital hired former Prime Minister David Cameron to lobby on their behalf in 2020
Sunak refused to change the rules to allow Greensill to access money through the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (a government loan scheme to help companies during the pandemic)
Give an example of how mass support can also be important to pressure group success
The RSPCA employs around 1600 people, supported by thousands of volunteers
Can afford to spend a lot on advertising
Give an example of an outsider pressure group failing to influence government
Anti-Iraq War protests in 2003, arranged by the Stop the War Coalition
2019 People’s Vote march for a second referendum on Brexit both had over 700,000 participants
But failed to change government policy
Give an example of an insider pressure group influencing government
LGBT+ Rights Pressure Group Stonewall was an insider pressure group when New Labour were in power
Used lobbying and playing a key role in policy formulation to achieve their aims
Had important successes including equalising the age of consent for gay and straight individuals to 16 years old as part of the Sexual Offences Act 2000
Which the Parliaments Acts 1911 and 1949 had to be invoked to overrule House of Lords opposition.
Give an example of a pressure group failing to influence government
Country Alliances failed to reverse government policy on banning fox hunting in the High Court in 2004
An example of rights being ignored?
Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 being passed by the government despite significant protests under the slogan #KillTheBill
Major criticisms from human rights groups, including Liberty
Give an example of how gay rights are protected
Brown’s government introduced the 2010 Equality Act and the Coalition legalised same sex marriage in 2013
Despite it not being mentioned in the Conservative Party’s 2010 manifesto
Give an example of how HRA is being endangered
Recent proposals to replace the Human Rights Act by a ‘British Bill of Rights’
Making it easier to deport foreign criminals by elevating public safety over the right to family life
Increasing freedom of the press by elevating the right to freedom of expression over the right to privacy
Give an example of Rights being protected
The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 was declared incompatible with Articles 5 and 14 of the human rights act by permitting the detention of suspected international terrorists
Discriminated on the grounds of nationality or immigration status
The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 was amended by parliament as a result.
Give an example of how HRA unfairly protects the undeserving
Abu Qatada, a radical Muslim cleric who had advocated the use of violence to promote the Islamist cause and had spent some time in British jails
Wanted by the security services to be deported to Jordan, where he was wanted for trial
His legal advisers managed to delay this for 8 years on the grounds that he might be tried using evidence obtained through torture, a breach of the HRA
What was the reason behind the Electoral Commission's insistence on presenting two options in the ballot paper for the 2016 UK referendum on EU membership?
In 2016, the government had originally proposed to ask: "Should the UK remain a member of the EU?"
However, the Electoral Commission considered it to be insufficiently neutral
Insisted the ballot paper should present two options: "Should the UK remain a member of the EU or leave the EU?".
What did the Electoral Commission report about the arguments used by the leaders of both campaigns in 2016?
In 2016 Electoral Commission reported that the arguments used by the leaders of both campaigns included a degree of distortion
There should be a greater regulation of referendum campaigns to ensure people receive a fair presentation of the arguments
The likely future level and negative impact of EU immigration to the UK was overstated by the Leave campaign.
What was the purpose of the Conservatives' pledge to hold an EU Referendum during the 2015 election campaign?
2016 Brexit referendum, which aided Cameron’s Conservative Party
In the run up to the 2015 election, the rise of UKIP risked the Conservatives losing a lot of votes and therefore threatened the Tories electorally
Pledging to hold an EU Referendum in the 2015 election campaign enabled the Conservatives to maintain the support of many important voters and win the 2015 election.
What were the results of the AV referendum?
2011 Alternative Vote Referendum which was important to the Liberal Democrats
Had little support as shown by the 68% no vote on a 42.2% turnout.
What was the result of the 2005 Edinburgh Congestion Charge Referendum in terms of voter turnout and the percentage of votes against the proposal?
Local referendums have relatively high turnouts if voters see the issue as important to their lives and their finances
2005 Edinburgh Congestion Charge Referendum received a 74.4% no vote on a 61.7% turnout.
What were the results of the Welsh Devolution Revolution?
1997 Welsh Devolution Referendum which had a 50.3% ‘yes’ vote on 50.1% turnout
2011 Welsh Further Devolution referendum which had 35.6% turnout
What percentage of seats would the Liberal Democrats have won in 2019 if the electoral system was fully proportional?
In 2019, the Liberal Democrats won 11.5% of the vote but just 11/650 seats (1.7% of the seats)
If the system was fully proportional, they would’ve won 75 seats
What would have been the seat count for the Liberal Democrats in the 2019 UK Parliament Elections if the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system had been used instead of the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system, according to the Electoral Reform Society?
The Electoral Reform Society calculated that if STV had been used in the 2019 UK Parliament Elections
The Liberal Democrats (11.5% of the vote) would’ve received 59 seats instead of the 11 they received under FPTP.
What is the advantage that the SNP gains from the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system, and what is an example of their success in the 2015 election?
SNP benefit from FPTP as their vote is geographically concentrated
In 2015, they won 95% of Scottish seats with just 50% of the vote.
What percentage of the seats did the Conservative Party win in 2019 and what was their corresponding percentage of the vote?
In 2019, the Conservative Party won 56% of the seats and therefore a commanding majority with just 43.6% of the vote
What was the highest position achieved by the British National Party (BNP) in any constituency during the 2010 national vote?
In 2010 the extreme right wing British National Party (BNP) won 2% of the national vote
Didn’t finish higher than 3rd in any constituency.
What % of voters tactically voted in the 2019 election, as per YouGov data for Electoral Reform Society?
YouGov data commissioned by the Electoral Reform Society (a pressure group)
Indicated that 32% of voters voted tactically in the 2019 election
Give an example for how FPTP is fast
In 1997, for example, Tony Blair arrived at Downing Street as the new Prime Minister at 1pm on the day after the election
What events in the 80s and 90s allowed Thatcher and Blair to make major economic and constitutional changes?
In the 1980s, this enabled Thatcher to bring about widespread changes to the economy
In 1997 it gave Blair’s government the mandate to carry out extensive constitutional reforms
In the Welsh Assembly Labour has been in coalition with Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats at different times
Whilst in Scotland the SNP is currently a minority governments.
Both of these governments are elected using the AMS electoral system.
What is a potential drawback of FPTP in terms of the legitimacy of strong governments?
FPTP often leads to strong governments
Can be seen as a drawback as these governments don’t have majority support from the population that could grant legitimacy to this strength
What would have been the number of seats won by the Liberal Democrats in 2019 if the electoral system was fully proportional?
In 2019, the Liberal Democrats won 11.5% of the vote but just 11/650 seats (1.7% of the seats)
If the system was fully proportional, they would’ve won 75 seats
What would have been the seat count for the Liberal Democrats in the 2019 UK Parliament Elections if the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system had been used instead of the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system, according to the Electoral Reform Society?
The Electoral Reform Society calculated that if STV had been used in the 2019 UK Parliament Elections
The Liberal Democrats (11.5% of the vote) would’ve received 59 seats instead of the 11 they received under FPTP.
Who won 73% of the vote in the 2019 election in South Staffordshire?
South Staffordshire, for example, has elected a Conservative MP in every election since its creation in 1983
Gavin Williamson winning 73% of the vote in 2019
What was the percentage of constituency votes won by the Greens in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election and how many seats did they get with the top-up votes?
In the 2021 Scottish Parliament election for example, the Greens won just 1.29% of the constituency votes
But 8.12% of the top-up votes and got 8 seats
What political events in the 1980s and 1997 enabled significant changes to the economy and constitutional reforms in the UK?
In 1980s, this enabled Thatcher to bring about widespread changes to the economy
Whilst in 1997 it gave Blair’s government the mandate to carry out extensive constitutional reforms.
What is the impact of STV on Scottish Local Elections and what was the percentage of councils with no overall control after the 2022 elections?
STV doesn’t just lead to coalitions in Northern Ireland, it also does so in Scottish Local Elections
After the 2022 elections 94% of councils had no overall control.
What was a key reason why many voters didn't vote for the Labour Party in the 2019 election, which resulted in its worst election result since 1935, and how does Corbyn's unpopularity relate to it?
Corbyn in 2019 is a good example of this
With his personal unpopularity being a key reason why many voters didn’t vote for the Labour Party
Had its worst election result since 1935
Who is a key example of enabling a political party to gain media coverage and win a significant number of votes in various elections?
Farage is a key example of this
Enabled UKIP to get a great deal of media coverage and to ultimately win 3.9 million votes in the 2015 General election
And win the most votes of any party in both the 2014 and 2019 (Brexit Party then) European Parliament Elections.
What is the key reason for the Conservative Party's drop in popularity in the polls in 2022 and what is the potential outcome of this trend?
Partygate scandal is a key reason why the Conservative Party has massively dropped in popularity in the polls in 2022
Looks set to lose the next election.
Example of Debates helping elections
In the run up to the 2010 election, The Liberal Democrats enjoyed a boost in the polls following the first TV debate
Nick Clegg performed very well
What were some of the factors that contributed to the Labour Party's electoral failure in the 2019 election and the subsequent resignation of Jeremy Corbyn?
In the 2019 election, for example, the Labour Party's very left wing manifesto and huge spending commitments, as well as their commitment to a second referendum
Arguably important factors in their electoral failure and the subsequent resignation of Jeremy Corbyn
What was the role of Boris Johnson in shifting the Conservative Party towards a hard Brexit direction and how did this contribute to their success in the 2019 election?
In the 2019 election Boris Johnson was important in shifting the Conservative Party in a hard Brexit direction
Focusing the election on ‘Getting Brexit Done’
This was important to their success.
What is one significant difference between Starmer's Labour Party and New Labour in terms of their stance on nationalisation?
Starmer’s Labour Party supports the nationalisation of both rail and energy, which is a significant difference from New Labour
What are Starmer’s views on the NHS?
Starmer has pledged to reform the NHS and cut waiting times by making greater use of private providers
Being ruthless with ‘bureaucratic nonsense’
What is the economic aim and principle of Old Labour regarding the ownership of key industries?
Nationalisation is also a key economic aim and principle of Old Labour
Believed that key industries should be run by the state in the interest of the whole population
Rather than being driven by private profit.
What is Starmer's plan to address crime and increase police presence in local communities?
Starmer has pledged to recruit 13,000 extra neighbourhood police and PCSOs, showing a strong approach to tackling crime
What was Blair's famous statement about Labour's approach to crime and how did he plan to address it?
Blair famously said that Labour must be 'tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime'
Setting out his policy of punishing criminal behaviour
Whilst continuing to tackle poor social conditions
What is the current Labour Party's stance on renewing the Trident nuclear deterrent and how much has it committed to spending on defense?
The current Labour Party also supports renewing the Trident nuclear deterrent
Has committed to spending at least 2% of GDP on defence
What has the Labour Party pledged in terms of foreign aid spending and UN peacekeeping operations funding?
Labour Party hasn’t pledged to restore the target of spending 0.7% of GDP on foreign aid, they have pledged to increase funding for UN peacekeeping operations to £100 million
What was the reason for Corbyn not supporting taking the UK out of NATO or getting rid of Trident, despite his personal beliefs?
Corbyn didn’t support taking the UK out of NATO or getting rid of Trident
Even though he may have personally supported these policies, as this would’ve been very unpopular with the electorate
What were the changes made to the top rate of income tax and corporation tax during Thatcher's time in power?
The top rate of income tax was reduced from 83% when Thatcher came to power to 40% in her last budget
Corporation tax reduced from 52% to 34%
What was Thatcher’s attitudes towards spending like?
Thatcher’s first few years, spending was cut by £1 billion
Included cuts in housing, energy, education, employment, industrial subsidies, transport and foreign aid
What are Thatcher’s views on privatisation?
Thatcher supported privatisation and the removing the state from the market and introduced a series of massive privatisations starting in 1981 with British Telecom
What is the new corporation tax rate set to take effect in April 2023 under Rishi Sunak's government?
Rishi Sunak’s government has reversed Truss’ planned tax cuts and pledged to increase some taxes in order to try and bring down inflation
Corporation tax, for example, will rise from 19% to 25% in April 2023
What is the UK government's pledge regarding recruitment of police officers and reduction of crime rates?
Sunak’s government has taken a similarly strong approach to tackling crime
Pledging to recruit 20,000 additional police officers and reduce “homicide, serious violence and neighbourhood crime” by 20%.
What is the approach of Sunak towards striking workers and protests, and what actions has his government taken in response to these issues?
Sunak has taken a very tough approach to striking workers and protests
Refusing to heed the demands of striking NHS nurses and teachers and offering very weak pay offers that are very unlikely to be accepted
His government has also planned to introduce anti-strike legislation and laws to limit protests in the UK.
What was the outcome of the pay deal agreement between the RMT and the UK government after months of industrial action?
After months of industrial action, the RMT (the UK’s biggest rail union)
Government came to an agreement for a pay deal in which salaries were increased by between 9% and 15% for workers.
What is the current Conservative Party's stance on foreign policy and which countries have they shown support for?
Current Conservative Party also takes a strong approach to foreign policy
Much like Starmer and Johnson, Sunak has strongly supported Ukraine in the war against Russia
Whilst Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also detailed the tough stance the UK needs to take on China’s lack of adherence to the “rules and norms of the international community”
Give an example of how rights are in danger in the UK
Conservative Party has also supported sending some as asylum seekers to Rwanda and has introduced the Illegal Immigration Bill
Pledges to make the asylum claim of anyone who has arrived illegally on a small boat ‘inadmissible’, despite this contravening the Human Rights Act
What are some of the ways in which Starmer has sought to distance himself from the economic policies of the Corbyn era?
Starmer has sought to move the party away from the high taxation, high spending policies of the Corbyn era
Instead, he has supported a more cautious, centrist approach to the economy and is rebuilding links with the business community
Starmer has also moved away from Corbyn’s ‘six big nationalisations’
Supported the use of Private Finance Initiatives in the National Health Service (NHS)
What are the two major parties’ views on privatization and nationalization?
Whilst the Conservative Party completely supports privatisation and doesn’t support any renationalisation of industries
Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has pledged to create a nationalised Great British Energy Company and to nationalise rail.
Which party backs the renewal of trident?
The Labour Party has backed the renewal of Trident
Does decline in support for the two main parties mean much?
Core vote of the two main parties decreasing from over 80% in 1979 to just 66% in 2015, which was to a large extent not reflected in seats.
Give an example of how support of two major parties is declining
In 2017, Labour and the Conservatives won 82.4% of the vote, whilst in 2019 they won 75.7% of the vote
How many seats did SNP win in 2015 and 2019?
In 2015, the SNP won 56 seats with just 4.7% of the vote
In 2019 they won 48 seats with just 3.9% of the vote
What was the percentage of votes won by the Liberal Democrats in the 2022 local elections and how many councillors did they gain? Additionally, which party had the biggest net gain and which key Tory areas did the Liberal Democrats take control of?
In the 2022 local elections, the Lib Dems won around 19% of the vote and gained over 220 councillors
Which was the biggest net gain of any party
Including taking control of key Tory areas such as Wokingham, West Oxfordshire and Somerset
What was the key promise made by the Liberal Democrats in the 2010 coalition government and were they able to keep it?
In the 2010 coalition government, for example, the Conservative Party’s austerity policies dominated
The Lib Dems were not able to keep their key promise of not raising university tuition fees
How is DUP able to have a significant impact over policy?
The DUP was able to have a significant impact over Brexit policy
Due to the power the party held due to a Confidence and Supply Arrangement with the Conservative Party following the 2017 election
Playing a key part in the move towards a hard Brexit
What significant policy changes has the Scottish National Party been able to make since coming into power in Scotland in 2007?
The Scottish National Party, for example, has been in power in Scotland since 2007
Has been able to make significant policy changes
Such as abolishing prescription charges and tuition fees.
What did the Lib Dems achieve during their time as part of the coalition government?
The Lib Dems drove policies through
Such as increasing the personal allowance
Introducing the 2015 Recall of MPs Act
Did Nigel Farage have an effect on the Conservative Party?
Despite not being in the Conservative Party, Nigel Farage arguably had the biggest impact on the Conservative Party of anyone since Thatcher
Not only did he shift Conservative Party policy in a very eurosceptic direction
He played an important role in the resignations of both David Cameron and Theresa May.
How much did Conservatives receive in donations in 2021?
In 2021, the Conservative Party received £20,500,000 from donations
Around 65% of their overall funding
How much did Labour Party receive in donations in 2021?
In 2021, the Labour Party received £9,933,000 from donations
Around 22% of their overall funding
How does Starmer’s leadership effect donations to the labour party?
Starmer is being more favourable to business
In early 2023, for example, Lord Sainsbury donated £2m to the Labour Party
Having stopped donating to the party under Corbyn.
Give an example of Party Funding being linked to Corruption
When Boris Johnson was in power, over £2 million of donations to the Conservative Party were linked to Russia
Raising major security concerns.
This included Evgeny Lebedev who was made a peer by Boris Johnson
What is the effect of the Conservative party accepting donations related to Russia?
Conservative Party has not implemented any of the 21 recommendations of the Russia Report
Discovered widespread attempts by Russia to try and influence voters in the Brexit referendum.
What is the Labour party funding comprised of?
In 2021, the Labour Party received around 15.5% of their total income from state funding that is available to opposition parties
13% of their total income from trade unions
35% of their total income from membership fees
What is the difference in funding between the Labour and Conservative parties compared to minor parties in 2021?
Labour and the Conservatives receive a great deal more funding than minor parties
In 2021 Labour received £45,564,000, the Conservative Party received £31,744,000
Whilst the next highest amount of party funding was just £5,733,339 for the Liberal Democrats.
Which political party received the most money in 2021 and what factors contributed to their financial success?
The Labour Party received the most money of any party in 2021 with over £45 million
However this reflects the fact they also have the largest membership of any party with over 400,000 members
Recieved contributions from trade unions such as GMB and UNITE which represent lots of voters themselves.
What is the proposed solution to ensure state funding for political campaigns remains democratic and free from manipulation?
State funding could be overseen by the Electoral Commission and done through matching small donations from members of the public to ensure state funding remains democratic and isn’t manipulated
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