UK Politics- Democracy & Participation: Democracy

Direct Democracy

Individuals vote directly on policy, legislation and officials

Representative Democracy

The public elect representatives who decide on policy and legislation on the public's behalf

Features of Direct Democracy

Unmediated, continuous/regular, the public can propose policies & laws

Features of Representative Democracy

Mediated, infrequent/brief, public votes for individuals, not laws

Examples of referendums

Referendums (Brexit 2016, Scottish Independance 2014, AV 2011)

How many UK wide referendums have there been?

Three

Types of representations

Burkean, Party, Constituency, National Interest

Recall of MPs Act 2015

Allows MPs to be recalled if they are sentenced to under 12 months in prison and 10% of their constituency votes for it

The 6 Features of UK Democracy

Freedom of expression, free & fair elections, freedom of association, peaceful transfer of power, rule of law, independent judiciary

What is digital democracy & examples?

Use of technology to engage the public and encourage wider participation in politics (E-petitions, social media, voting technology)

Example of successful E-petition and how many signatures did it receive?

Meningitis B vaccine (Over 820,000 signs)

Who decides if petitions are debated?

The Backbench Business Committee

What is democratic deficit & examples?

When the government does not fulfill the principles of democracy (Participation crisis, FPTP doesn't work, unelected HoL, not everyone is enfranchised e.g 16-17s, prisioners)

2015 Belfast South Constituency General Election result

Alasdair McDonnell wins with a plurality, not majority (24% of the vote)

What was the turnout for the Brexit ref?

72%

What was the turnout for the Scottish referendum?

85%

Example of Recall of MPs act

2018 Fiona Onasanya lost her seat- convicted for perverting the course of justice over a speeding ticker (high profile example)

Turnout of the 2019 general election

67%

Conservative party membership 2022

172,000

Conservative party membership 1950s

2.8 million

What % of the UK population had political party membership in the 1980s vs now?

4% vs 1%

How many petitions were signed and heard in 2020?

26,00

Examples of elite nominations to the House of Lords?

Michael Spenser party treasurer who donated over £5million to the party + Boris Johnson's own brother Jo Johnson

Example of technocratic/expertise-based nominations to the House of Lords?

Baron Bird, Katherine Willis (biologist)

What are possible alternatives to party membership as a form of political engagement?

Joining interest groups or engaging with social media

What was turnout in 2001 vs turnout in 2019?

59% in 2001 vs 67% in 2019-- shows increase since 2001

In the 1980s what % of the population had membership to political parties vs now?

4% vs 1% now shows decline

How did Labour prove the importance of social media during the 2019 general election?

They received 1million Facebook likes and Corbyn used twitter as an important mode of campaigning

How did the failed recall of Ian Paisley show the geographical limitations associated with the Recall of MPs Act?

There were only three polling places for people to sign the petition due to the rural constituency-- some have criticised the limited placed available to vote

How many times have there been successful recall?

5x since 2015 (in one of these cases the MP resigned before they could be recalled)

What are the main forms of direct democracy?

Recall, referendums, citizens assemblies and petitions

In 2013, how many environmental groups were there? How many members did they total?

2013-- 139 environmental groups with 4.5million members total

From 2013-2019, did political party membership increase?

It has increased particularly for Labour who saw a surge in support from young people due to Corbyn

What % of 18-24yr olds did not turnout in 2019?

43%

How are workers less likely to turnout in elections?

Elections are typically incompatible with inflexible working hours, causing particularly ethnic manual workers to not turn out

How many members did the Conservatives have in 1953? How many members did they have in 2019?

1953: 2.8million members

2019: 180,000 members

How many members did Labour have in 1953? How many members did they have in 2019?

1953: Over 1 million members

2022: 430,000 members

How many people were in trade unions in 1979? How many people are in trade unions now?

1979: 13million

2016: Only 2.6million trade union members

Between 2015-2019, how many signatures were gathered on different e-petitions?

23million-- shows engagement with direct democracy

From 2017-2019, which two subjects received parliamentary enquiries after successful petitions?

Fireworks and online abuse of elderly people

From 2020-2021, out of the 300 bills passed, how many were private members bills?

7 out of 300 bills overall

2023 Lib Dem private members bill

Wendy Chamberlain: Carers Leave Act 2023

grants employees in England, Scotland, and Wales the right to one week of unpaid leave per year

In 2012 YouGov survey, what % of adults surveyed did not want prisoners to have the right to vote?

63%