Edexcel Politics UK Government Paper 1 topics

General election

once every 5 years
main election
voting for your local MP
indirect election of a prime minister

\#Majority vote

326 seats (650 members in total)

\#house of commons

elected 650 members
voted by electorate
elections every 5 yeras
party with the most MPs leader becomes PM

\#house of lords

unelected 800 members
roles in legislation
lacks power but has a good level of authority

\#executive

pm
cabinet
government
executive direct policy for the country

\#supreme court

12 members (under 70)
legislated i 2005 and came into existence in 2009
weak in nature

\#who initiates legislation?

government

\#electorate

the people who can vote in an election

\#where can the origins of the conservative party be traced back to?

the english civil war

\#How did Robert Peel change the conservative party?

rebranded tory party to conservative
accepted political change

\#How did Benjamin Disraeli change the conservative party?

patriotism
went past pleasing the wealthy elite
promised to improve the life of the working class

\#Margeret Thatcher

reforms to finance and taxation, PM for 18 years

\#why was one nation conservatism needed?

traditional conservatism lacked the necessary dynamic to inspire young men

\#de toxify

to remove harmful aspects of something

\#The labour part emerged from what in 1945

trade unions

\#the labour party's agenda was centred on

socialism - advocating for greater equality and the redistribution of wealth

\#What is clause IV?

Labour Party's 1918 constitution provided a clear commitment to the nationalisation of p key industries and the redistribution of wealth.

\#Who wrote the longest suicide note in history?

Michael foot

\#Key features of new labour

(Tony Blair's labour)
centrist (triangulation) and abandons clause IV

\#How has David Cameron changed the conservative party? (policies)

Set about 'detoxifying' the conservative brand
Wanted to adopt traditionally liberal positions on the environment and social welfare
''Balance the budget''

\#How has Theresa May changed the conservative party? (policies)

Raised personal tax allowance
re introduced grammar schools
ruling out a rise in VAT
winter fuel allowances

\#How has Boris Johnson changed the conservative party? (policies)

wanted to get out of the EU deal or no deal.
promised to increase police officers by 20,000
promised not to rise VAT and income tax
promised £44 billion to the NHS, 50,000 more nurses and 40 new hospitals

\#How has Ed Miliband changed the labour party? (policies)

''red ed'' distanced himself for the new labour tag (''new labour is not the future'')
relied heavily on the backing of trade unions
abandoned the formula that had served the party so well under blair
fully costed manifesto
pledges to reduce tuition fees
promised to invest £2.5 billion into the NHS

\#How has Jeremy Corbyn changed the labour party? (policies)

committed socialist
rebellious backbencher
policies looked familiar in the 70's and 80s
wanted a huge welfare state
abolish tuition fees
nationalisation of private business

\#How has Keir Starmer changed the labour party? (policies)

campaigned for economic justice, free movement in the EU and the strengthening of workers rights
but
he distance himself from trade unions and tapped into patriotism

\#How has Nick Clegg changed the Liberal Democrats party? (policies)

Pledges to increase tax - free allowance to 12,500 (2015)
Commits £2.5 billion to England's educational system
8 billion to the NHS
protecting nature and fighting climate change

\#Nick Clegg's successes

Coalition with the conservatives
AV referendum
Personal tax allowance

\#Nick Clegg's failures

Lost 2015 election
lost trust of the public
tuition fees weren't cut (they were tripled)
coalition moves him right

\#How has Vince Cable changed the Liberal Democrat party? (policies)

Referendum on the final brexit deal
reduce taxes for low-income people
wants an attack on tax - evasion
increase minimum wage

\#How has jo Swinson changed the liberal democrat party? (policies)

cancel brexit
pledges £7 billion a year to the NHS
free childcare
80% of electricity from renewable sources
legalising cannabis

\#vote shares for cons and lab

1951- 96.8%
2017 - 67.3%
\>growth in minor seats (87)

\#Minor Party

a small party that will not usually be big enough to form a government (e.g. SNP, Green party, UKIP)

\#Two party system

where two fairly equally matched parties compete for power at elections and others have little realistic chance of breaking their duopoly

\#multi-party system

where many parties compete for power and the government consists a series of coalitions formed by different combinations of parties.

\#Dominant party system

where a number of parties exist but only one hold government power

\#single party system

one party dominates and bans other parties and exercises total control over candidacy at elections, where election occur at all.

\#What was the Scottish National Party's main policies?

independence for Scotland
anti - austerity
other facts:
Nicola Sturgeon MSP for Scottish parliament
56 seats out of 59
had a majority 2011 and started independence campaign
2014 election 16 & 17 year olds could vote
growth of 100,000

\#What was the UK independence Party's policies?

founded by the London school of economics in the 90's
(wins 3 seats in 1999)
12 MEPs in 2004 16% share of the vote
also looking to take voters from parties who have failed them
independence is driven by immigration

\#What was the Green Party's policies?

left leaning party (socialism)
environment driven policy

\#Democracy

a system where power is held by the 'people'
demos - the people
kratos - power
people power/rule by the people

\#Mandate

the authority to carry out a policy

\#Legitimacy

the system should have the legal authority and represent the will of most people
Voters get consent and legitimacy to the winning party and to the political system as a whole

\#Representative Democracy

a form of democracy in which citizens elect officials to govern on their behalf

\#Direct Democracy

A form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives

\#Accountability

(n.) responsibility to someone or for some activity
taking someone out of power if the electorate is unhappy with them.

\#Participation

a way for people to take part in the political process
it is the main 'formal' method of participation for most citizens

\#Representation

a way for people to put their views forward

\#Representation in parliament

Women
50% of population
2015- 191/650
2017- 208/650

Ethnic Minority
13%
2015- 41/650
2017- 52/650

Privately Educated
7%
2015 - 32%
2017 - 29%
2019- 27%

\#power dispersal

power should be spread amongst different political parties to avoid domination

\#Education

those making the system should have the right tools to make them

\#Strengths of direct democracy

genuine people power
no need for elected politicians
encourages participation and educates people
accountability to the people
power is not concentrated to a few

\#Limitations of direct democracy

Population size
people may not get involved (time or interest)
wealthy groups distort debate
public unwilling to make unpopular but necessary decisions
tyranny of majority - oppress minority

\#Referendum

a vote on a specific issue
they are used:
big constitutional reform
decide a tight decision in parliament
to give people a choice on a decision
normally used when the decision will suit them

\#Turnout

the percentage of eligible individuals who actually vote

\#Highest voting turnout

1950 election - 83.9%

\#Lowest voting turnout

2001 election - 59.4%

\#BREXIT voting turnout

72.2%

\#Scottish referendum turnout

84.6%

\#the average turnout in post-war britain

over 70%

\#Electorate

all the people in a country or area who are entitled to vote in an election.

\#tyranny of the majority

the suppression of minority opinions by those voted into power by the majority

\#Tyranny of the minority occurs when \______.

Small numbers of citizens trample on the rights of the larger population. e.g. Murdoc

\#What determines party success

leadership
unity
the media

\#Constitution

A written plan of government

uncodified means that it is not in a single document

\#Devolution

Power Dispersal

\#Tony Blair's Devolution (1997)

-Scottish parliament with legislative powers (free tuiton) (bans smoking)

-Welsh assembly with administration powers (choose how to enforce policies)

-Northern Ireland
unionists- want to be part of the UK
republicans - want to be independent
1st minister is from one party and 2nd minister from other party. If one leaves, the other has to quit

\#House of Lords reform 2001

2 stages that Tony Blair wanted passed
-remove all hereditary peers (all but 92)
-make it fully elected (unsuccessful)
why?
Unelected members make them unaccountable
Historically hereditary peers
Life peers are nominated by PM

\#Constitutional reform act (2005) [2009]

Before the CRA, 1 lord chancellor sits in all chambers (fusion of powers)

The court system is now separate from
the executive (prime minister) and
legislative (parliament) which created the supreme court (12 judges)
(supreme court cannot strike down laws)
but they now challenge the government more

\#What are pressure groups?

groups who try to influence government and parliament in their decision making. They either represent a particular cause or group

\#Two different types of pressure groups

-Insider groups
( a privileged group who has access to government decision making. The British Medical association will have specialist information)

-Outsider groups
( groups outside of the privileged government decision making circles. One group being Fathers4Justice)

\#random points for pressure groups-

political circumstances determine insider status for the influence they wield with different prime ministers (ideologically alligned with gov)

social media provides new opportunities for pressure groups to engage with the public

\#What are thinktanks?

group that has been formed with a specific purpose of formulating and developing policy ideas.

campaign through making reports

\#What are Lobbyists?

groups normally of ex-politicians, who try to influence policy formulation in politics.

\#Suffrage

the right to vote

\#Rights in Context

Magna Carta (1215) - introduction of rights (established a fair trial)

Petition of Rights (1628) - similar to the rule of rule of law, crown is not above the law

Reform Act (1832, 1867, 1884) - change who can vote

The Ballot Act (1832, 1867, 1884) voting in secret to protect citizens' right to vote any they wished

Representation of the people (1918, 1928, 1969)

\#By- election

held to choose a new representative
if a constituency seat in the house of commons, devolved assembly or English local authority become vacant

\#Electoral systems

majoritarian: 50%+ 1 (supplementary vote) (produces two party system)

Plurality: having more votes than anyone but not a majority (single plurality \= First Past the Post)

Mixed System: elements of plurality or majoritarian

proportional representation: allocated seats roughly reflects the percentage of votes (AMS, STV) (Multi party system is produced)

\#First Past the Post

a plurality electoral system used for UK general elections: produces a 2 party system
to win concentrated support in each constituency \=
1 seat each to an MP: whoever has the majority of seats becomes the government

\#Advantages of FPTP

one leader
stable government
direct accountability
strong government can implement changes

\#Disadvantages of FPTP

Too much concentrated power
decreases participation (2 party system)
discriminates smaller parties
favours parties with a concentrated support

\#STV (single transferable vote)

used in Northern Ireland,(Good Friday agreement) (troubles sorted) 6 seats in every consitituency, voters rank their picks in order, (different candidates from the same party) (party can put 6 candidates but usually don't as winning them all is not likely)

\#Step by step

1.voters rank candidates
2. calculate quota (votes cast in constituency/no of seats +1)
3. count 1st preference votes
4.Those who pass the quota get their surplus votes redistributed
5. candidate with the least votes gets their votes redistributes
6. repeat 4-5 until all 6 seats are gone

\#advantages of STV

* Proportional result
* Voter choice
* Greater representation
* No waste of votes

\#disadvantages of STV

\-Leads to many coalitions, 1st minister, deputy (unstable, DUP rejects sein fenn)

-constituency links are unclear

\-Takes a lot of time to process the votes

\-Can help candidates with extremist views rise easily -with multiple candidates, lines of accountability not clear

-Complex so difficult for everyone to understand

\#AMS (Additional Member System)

used in wales and scotland
the voter selects representatives on a simple plurality (first past the post) system then a second vote is on party list for an additional representative

\#How does AMS differ?

\-two ballots

\-frist vote- for constituency representative using FPTP -

\
second vote - party list for multi member regional constituency 56 seats- 8 regions of 7 seats multi member constituents

\
\-scottish parliament has 73/129 members elected in single member constituencies through FPTP and 56 members filled by list (regional)

\#step by step process of AMS

1. vote in 2 ballots
2. count FPTP (constituency vote) (local) \[73\]
3. Ballot for constituency thrown away
4. Count regional vote 5.D'hondt method used to calculate weighted vote (use number of seats won in regions to weigh your vote/ vote means more if you have not won)

(green party 2021 - 8 seats)
5. 1 seat allocated in region
7\.repeat for 6 more rounds

\#advantages of AMS

\-maintains a strong link between the constituency and representative

\-wider choice than straight FPTP. the two votes gives voters choice to decide how to vote such as 'split ticket'

\-produces a working gov, a single party is still dominating

\-local + regional representative

\#disadvantages of AMS

Creates two different types of member, some with constituency responsibilities and some without,

a closed list system is used and smaller parties achieve less representative than under a fully proportional system. Also more complicated

\-against what tony blair wanted

\-lower turnout (swings around 60% mark) 2021 - 63.2%

1991 - 58.8%

lower than general election

\#SV (Supplementary vote)

is a majoritarian system
The voter selects representatives in order of preference marking their first and second choice

\#How does SV work?

\-one ballot
\-elects a single winner
\-1st and 2nd preference is put forward on a single ballot
\-need over 50% to win the election
\-if the top is less than 50%, top 2 candidates get more votes from redistributed votes from the remaining parties (irrelevant ones lol)

London mayors

\#Advantages of SV

-ensure broad support for the winner
-simple and straight
-independents can win

\#Disadvantages of SV

-It is not proportional as one individual is being elected to office
-The winner doesn't need to get absolute majority of the votes cast
-Voters who are politically aware are in a better position to influence the outcome

\#Voting Behaviour

The way/trend that different people tend to vote

\#Primacy (long term) theories of voting behaviour

people vote on the long term factors of their life (social class)

sociological model of voting behaviours (don't really use this anymore because of social mobility)
+
party identification model - always identify wtih the same party for the long term (don't really use this anymore due to cross party policy/ no more loyalty)

\#Recency (short term) theories of voting behaviour

issue voting - short term events which influence how you vote

spatial (issue voting) model of voting behaviour-
who has the best policies towards that issue (swing voters)

valence model of voting behaviour-
how much trust do you have in the canditate to deal with the biggest issue (wouldn't trust labour (J.C) with brexit but would trust conservative

\#social class-

a way of categorising people based on their status in society, usually by occupation or income

\#how important is social class as a predictable measure of voting?

conservatives controls prosperous region whereas labour dominates ethnically-diverse big cities with large working class populations

but
partisan disalignment, spatial (issue) voting and valence voting as well as the competence of the party leader has changed this

\#sociological factors on voting behaviour

gender- women more likely to vote labour (but this tradition has been broken in recent years)

age- young voters- labour
older voters - conservatives

ethnicity- ...what do you think

region- red wall (industrian towns) were broken and voted conservatives

\#what role does the media play during elections?

there are 2 broad perspectives on the influence of the media:
-shapes views (lots of power) (Murdoch)
-changing to the popular topic at the time