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UK Politics (Democracy and Participation (Current systems of…

- - - - Direct
        
        Direct democracy is where the public vote directly on single issues
        
        Referendums
      - Representative
        
        You vote for a trustee/ delegate to vote on matters on your behalf
        
        Eg Parliament
    - - Rep
        
        Pros: Easier, less time consuming/ expensive, trustees usually have greater expertise/information.
        
        Cons: Not suitable for key issues, such as Brexit, or the scottish independence ref.
      - Direct
        
        Pros: Good for key voting issues that aren't really party political
        
        Cons: Very time consuming, not legally binding
  - - - Interest/Sectional - represent a particular section of society and are concerned to protect or advance the interests of their members. Membership limited to people in a particular occupation, career or economic position, members are motivated by material self-interest, E.G. National Union of Teachers (NUT), BMA.
      - Promotional/cause - based on shared attitudes or values rather than common interests of members. Membership open to all and motivated by moral or altruistic concerns. E.G. RSPB, Amnesty International. Greenpeace, Liberty, RSPCA.
- - - - Functions
        
        Governmental function - Elections are the principle way in which governments in the UK are formed. They therefore serve to transfer power from one government to the next. Governments are formed from leading members of the majority party in the House of Commons. For example in the 1997 election the Conservatives under John Major lost to Tony Blair.
        
        Representative function - Elections create a link between elected politicians and their constituents. This makes sure that constituent’s views are fully considered. Secondly they establish a general link between the government of the day, publicly accountable and ultimately removable. For example Lynne Featherstone represents Hornsey & Wood Green and holds regular surgeries to listen to the views of constituents.
        
        Legitimising function - Elections provide a mechanism where citizens give their consent to being governed. Elections therefore give the government the authority and the right to hold power and make laws. For example the conservative government has the power to make laws as it’s in government.
      - Features
  - - - Founded in 1908, Not in maj govt till Attlee
        
        Clement Attlee and Post War Consensus.
        
        During the postwar period, the British government, lead by clement attlee, as the first labour majority govt - who came into office in 1945 - began to shift their priorities away from war and international relations, to domestic affairs. The most notable changes being the introduction of the Welfare state, the nationalisation of major industries (commanding heights of the economy), and the ‘Post-War Consensus’.
        
        The welfare state and nationalisation of industries go rather hand in hand, for example: the nationalisation of hospitals played into the creation of the national health service. Other welfare state implementations included: the National Insurance Act (1946); Child benefits; unemployment benefits; sickness benefits; funeral benefits; and flat rate pensions. Attlee also introduced various housing acts during his premiership. After Attlee came Churchill, who built upon Attlee’s housing acts.
        
        This is what is referred to as the ‘Post war consensus’. The conservative and labour governments over the period of 1945 until the end of the 1970’s, when Thatcher came into power. The Post War Consensus refers to the decision made by the Conservative Party, over the course of four governments (1964-79) to, instead of reversing the Labour Party’s social reform, to build on it and better it. Butskellism - RAB Butler and Hugh Gaitskell (Chancellor OE for Tories and Leader of the Labour Party).
    - - the Whigs (original Lib Dems) and the Tories (original Conservatives). Between 1830 and 1900 these factions formalised into political parties. In 1906, the Labour party was formed.
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      - 1688-1689: Revolution.
        KIng James removed as monarch, replaced by Queen Mary. Came with these rules: King would rule with parliament; king requires consent of parli to raise tax; parli would be the result of free and regular elections; MPs would enjoy freedom of speech; king cannot pass laws without consent of parliament. The events surrounding the revolution lead to a two party system - whigs and tories. Supporters of the monarch were the tories. Supporters of the new parliament were called the whigs. This period is significant because it was the first step of taking power from govt and giving it to the people.
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      - Liberalism: What is it?
        
        Each political party has been influenced by an ideology: Labour by socialism; Tories by conservatism; and the Lib-Dems by liberalism.
        
        If we lived in anarchy, pros and cons:
        
        Pros: Absolute freedom, the right to determine how we live our lives without any forced outside influence.
        
        Cons: Safety could be seen as an issue, however people have morales, and there's no reason why people would suddenly stop doing their jobs - no cash incentive but if things don’t require paying for then why wouldn’t people do things for the sake of keeping society in motion.
        
        Core liberal beliefs:
        
        Foundational equality - everyone’s born equally, and therefore should be treated the same.
        
        Individualism - individuals own themselves, not god, a collective nor a monarch. (John Locke) Individuals will always disagree with one another and have a different vision of ‘the good life’ so making them conform to laws is oppressive (Isaiah Berlin)
        
        However, Liberals are not anarchists, they believe government ‘necessary’. Having a state with laws limits freedom, which is bad, but it does also protect individual rights and freedoms better than anarchy does. Liberty and License - Liberty is freedom without the detriment to others. (The harm principle). So Liberals believe government should be minimal: “a Night watchman state (Humboldt)” existing to guarantee rights and freedoms. The freedoms being to life liberty and private property.
        
        With liberals, consent comes from the bottom, the people, not from above.
        
        1776 - USA breaks away from British Empire, founding a liberal democracy.
        
        1789 - French Revolution - Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite.
        
        A definition of Liberalism:
        
        Liberalism starts from the assumption the most important political goal is to maximise liberty for the individual. Liberals believe that individuals matter more than the collective and that the only form of govt that is just is one that benefits individuals by equally guaranteeing all individuals a set of inalienable rights and freedoms.
    - - Disraeli and ONC
        
        One Nation Conservatism
        
        One nationism is a development from traditional conservatism. The name came from a book by Benjamin Disraeli (British PM of 1868 and 1874-80) called Sybil, in which he makes note of a growing divide between the rich and the poor. The philosophy behind ‘one nation’ conservatism sought to bridge the increasing gap through a paternalistic social policy*. The idea was that the ‘natural leaders’ of society (ie the rich) would accept an obligation to act benevolently to the disadvantaged, in return for their right to be the ruling class. One Nation conservative leaders sought to win popular support through social reform, in order to strengthen patriotism and national unity. The ONC
        
        One Nation Conservatism spiked after WW2, as the post war consensus saw the conservatives broadly accepting the social reformations introduced by Clement Attlee.
        
        ONC adopts a ‘middle way’ economic approach, mixing govt regulation with market forces in the economy. This is called a mixed economy.
        
        *Paternalism is action limiting a person's or group's liberty or autonomy which is intended to promote their own good.
  - - - Single
        
        Advantages of single party –
        
        The ruling party takes responsibility- With no coalition voters can blame the party in power and there is no timewasting debate about who made the mistake. For example in 1997 everyone knew the Tories were responsible for the economy.
        
        Strong united governments- Governments can carry out their mandate and do not have to spend time arguing with other parties in coalitions. For example in 2005 Labour introduced new Anti-terrorism laws prominently.
        
        Voters know what party forms the government- After an election people know exactly what party will make up the government and no private deals are made between parties. For example under PR in Germany the ruling parties took a month of private discussions before a stable government was formed.
        
        Coalitions are weak- Coalitions aren't capable of providing strong leadership and are very unstable in times of emergency. For example the weak government of Germany in the 1930's led to the rise of Hitler.
      - Multi
        
        Advantages of multiparty systems –
        
        Stronger governments are not always good- Governments with a large majority in the House of Commons can become too powerful, whilst coalitions can provide stable governments such as post Nazi governments in Germany. In addition Labour introduced controversial anti-terrorism laws restricting basic civil liberties of freedom of speech.
        
        FPTP produces sharp conflict between parties- Coalition governments are about parties working together in the spirit of compromise for the good of the country, whilst FPTP conflict is bad for the country. For example taxation levels are liable to fluctuate with constant change of government - making it difficult to plan ahead.
        
        Coalitions have more electoral support- The changes made by a coalition government will be agreed ones and are formed from stable administrations that can last a few years. For example a single party government usually has less electoral support.
        
        Coalitions are more broadly based- The extremist tendencies of some governments follow a strong majority, whilst coalition governments make for a more consensual middle of the road government. For example Labour was only backed by 35.2% of the electorate.
- - - - First Past The Post - Plurality. Used in General Elections to the House Of Commons; Voters elect chosen candidates by ticking one candidate on the ballot paper. Winning candidates from each constituency take up their seats in the HOC and the party with an absolute majority forms the government. The leader of the governing party becomes PM and selects his/her cabinet.
        
        Advantages of FPTP –
        
        Strong government- Administrations with a clear overall majority can provide effective leadership for the nation- especially at times of national crisis. For example Tony Blair saw a sufficient enough threat in Iraq to invade- this decisive action made him accountable.
        
        Stable government- First Past the Post usually provides strong, stable governments with a clear overall majority and mandate to govern the country. For example the former Labour government used its strength in parliament to respond decisively to the banks by nationalising Northern Rock.
        
        Strong MP constituency link- FPTP uses single member constituencies which means that one MP clearly represents a single defined area, therefore all citizens know what to do and who to approach should they have a problem or need help. For example Oona King was held accountable after she voted in favour of the Iraq war despite the majority of her constituent’s disagreement.
        
        Clear Winner- There is no need for private deals to be done or coalitions to be formed by politicians and we know who is to form government immediately after the election. For example under PR in Germany it took a month for the leading parties to form a coalition, thus the country lacked effective leadership.
        
        Disadvantages of FPTP –
        
        Disproportionate results - The share of seats won is not proportionate to the share of votes won. For example in 1951 Labour won 48.8% of votes, Conservatives won 48% of the votes but Conservatives won 26 more seats. In 1974 Labour won 37.2% of votes, Conservatives won 37.9% of votes but Labour won 4 more seats.
        
        Minority government - Governments are elected after winning only a minority of votes. In 2005 Labour won the election with only 35.2% of the popular vote. This threatens both the legitimacy and the theory of mandate.
        
        Smaller parties lose out - Smaller parties are unable to win seats because their votes are spread thinly instead of concentrated in one constituency; Labour voters are concentrated in North England, inner cities, Scotland and Wales. Conservative voters are concentrated in the South and South West and rural areas.
        
        Wasted votes - Many votes cast do not have any impact on final result
        
        Lack of choice - Voters only get one vote as voters cannot choose between candidates from the same party. In most constituencies, it’s a two party contest.
    - - Single Transferable Vote - Proportional Representation. Used in Northern Ireland Assembly and European Parliament election in Northern Ireland. Voters vote by ranking as many candidates as they want in order of preference. Any candidate which meets the quota after first preference votes are counted as elected. When they hit the quota, their second and subsequent preferences are shared among other candidates. This process goes on until all the seats have been filled.
        
        Advantages –
        
        Wider choice - Gives voters a wide choice so people may feel better represented if there is more of a variety of political candidates on offer to choose from. In 2011 Northern Ireland assembly election – South Antrim: there were 10 candidates to choose from.
        
        Internal choice - Voters are able to choose candidates from the same party so it gives voters more choice, allowing them to choose between candidates from the same party. In 2011 Northern Ireland assembly election – South Antrim: 3 DUP candidates were elected.
        
        Representation - Each constituency has several seats available/allocated so voters are widely represented as more than one party is representative of the constituency in accordance to the votes they receive – may increase turnout in the future if people feel more represented. In 2011 Northern Ireland assembly election – South Antrim: 6 assembly members were elected for the constituency from 10 candidates.
        
        Proportional - Seats won are awarded in proportion to votes won so the result seems for legitimate to the public and people may feel better represented. For example in 2011 Sinn Fein received 26% of the seats for 26% of the votes.
        
        Disadvantages –
        
        Complex - Complicated system that voters may not be able to understand which leads to voters feeling confused and may lead them to not respect the legitimacy of the result and potentially deter them from voting the future, affecting turnout. When STV was introduced for local council elections in Scotland, there were many spoilt ballot papers.
        
        Internal conflict - Voters are able to choose candidates from the same party meaning candidates from the same party have to compete against each other, which could cause conflict and splits in the party. In 2011 Northern Ireland assembly election – South Antrim: 3 DUP candidates were elected.
        
        Unstable - Seats won are awarded in proportion to votes won so no single party gains a majority = power sharing – takes a long time to pass decisions which could have a negative impact in events of crisis etc. In 2011 Northern Ireland assembly election – Belfast South: 5 parties each gained a good share of the seats.