Edexcel 6GP01 Government and Politics Unit 1 Exam 01/06/2015

is pluralist democracy just a democratic system wherein
-there are different political parties with different views e.g contrasts between labour and cons, ukip and green
-different sources of independent information e.g newspapers, social media pages etc.
-and power is dispersed among different representatives from different locations e.g constituency mp system

Reply 1182

rkgraham

Original post by phantomspecialist

For pressure groups I'm thinking something along the lines of pluralism and elitism

For democracy, something about liberal democracy or about the participation crisis or features of the UK's democratic system?

For elections, electoral reform of Westminster or maybe *advantages/disadvantages of the UK electoral systems ?

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What points and examples could you use for elitism and pluralism?

Reply 1183

jackharris_97

1

Original post by xxvine

Yes I would like an answer to this as well? Thats a horrible qu. Hope we don't get that tbh :frown:

Mark scheme is vague on it too without any real structure!

Will be good to have a rough idea what to say about it though, hasn't come up in a while so need to be careful ...

Reply 1184

jackharris_97

1

Original post by TheonlyMrsHolmes

Here are reasons why it doesn't ensure strong and stable government.

-M.Ps often with their seats on a minority of the total votes in their constituencies i.e a simple rather than a absolute majority.This usually happens in over half the constituencies.

-Government is usually elected with only a simple majority of the total votes cast. Not since 1935 has a government been elected with over 50%of the national vote.

-Votes don't carry equal weight because 1) unequal size on constituencies varying number of votes cast and 2) uneven geographical spread of the votes cast.

-There are far too many 'wasted' votes that don't produce MP.

-There are far to many 'surplus' votes that are more than necessary

-Tactical voting is encouraged...

I shortened that a bit. be sure to add in examples but you could definitely word all of that to say that the system used don't produce a strong and stable government because of this ^

I like what you're getting at but struggling to see how it relates to the question? For instance, yeah wasted votes in a constituency tends to lead to a lack of legitimacy for an MP, but does that really impact on how 'strong and stable' a government is? I suppose you could blag it and say a lack of legitimacy makes a government less stable but surely there must be some other points.

It's a hard question, but if you've done an essay on it it'd be sweet if you could send it here? Thanks

Reply 1185

username1447874

10

Original post by rkgraham

What points and examples could you use for elitism and pluralism?

Pluralist:
Competition amongst groups - e.g ASH and FOREST
Voice to minorities that maybe overlooked - e.g TransAfrica
Equal chance of exerting influence - e.g Countryside Alliance and League Against Cruel sports
Resources available to all groups - e.g. Members, money, protests - Could talk about how groups use their resources e.g Stop the War Coalition, Amnesty International etc. use members for political action

Elitist:
Power concentrated into hands of a few - e.g insider/business/peak groups = more access to gov
Lack democracy - e.g some groups do not elect own members e.g. Liberty's leader Chakrabarti is appointed
Some groups have better access to resources - e.g peak/business groups tend to have more economic and financial power
Some groups have the chance to exert influence more than others as aims are more compatible with government - e.g BMA vs NUS

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 1186

Arsenal.FC

Original post by victoria1998

Would this answer be okay for a 5 marker?

Outline representative democracy.

Representative democracy is the type of democracy used inthe UK. In contrast to direct democracy, representative democracy is based on the indirect, limited and mediated actions. It operates through representatives that speak on behalf of citizens that they represent, and in practice, these representatives are voted for via elections (e.g. FPTP in the UK

It's really good if you can write that in 5 minuites. But I'd say you can add another example. When you said: representatives speak on behalf of citizens that they represent, you can say that for example every MP in the HoC represent one constituency in which they were elected by their local electorate.

Reply 1187

Original post by phantomspecialist

For:
Decline in party membership
Against:
Rise in membership of smaller parties
Rise in membership of pressure groups

For:
Decline in voter turnout - e.g 2001 election turnout = 59%, lowest since 1918
Against:
Voter turnout is high when the question is what the people want - e.g Scottish Referendum

For:
Electorate is more concerned with themselves rather than wider society
Against:
Pressure groups aim to advance the views of all, especially minorities - e.g TransAfrica

For:
Electorate may feel that they have a lack of choice so they do not bother voting - e.g they know that one of the dominant parties (Labour or Conservative) will govern, so they do not bother to vote as they feel that it is being wasted.
Against:
Votes are not wasted as
2010 election showed that more than one party can come into power - ConLib gov
2015 - more SNP members

(feel free to *correct my mistakes)

The last two points are they relevant to the qu though?
Votes not being wasted...how does that link to 'being a participation crisis?

Reply 1188

Guys remember to revise for and against digital democracy....that may be a 25 marker...my teacher just emailed me.

Reply 1189

victoria1998

Original post by Arsenal.FC

It's really good if you can write that in 5 minuites. But I'd say you can add another example. When you said: representatives speak on behalf of citizens that they represent, you can say that for example every MP in the HoC represent one constituency in which they were elected by their local electorate.

Fab! Thank you! I timed myself, 4 minute, 20 seconds! Haha!

How're you feeling about tomorrow?

Reply 1190

victoria1998

Original post by xxvine

Guys remember to revise for and against digital democracy....that may be a 25 marker...my teacher just emailed me.

Could they do that?

Reply 1191

Arsenal.FC

Original post by victoria1998

Fab! Thank you! I timed myself, 4 minute, 20 seconds! Haha!

How're you feeling about tomorrow?

Well Done!!! Impressive. I'm sure you'd be marked 4/5 minimum if it was a strict examiner!

For politics I just want to get it over and done with....i've revised democracy and elections in great detail detail making sure everything I learn is on the spec..tonight im going to make short notes on pressure groups JUST IN CASE but hopefully I don't and won't need to use it!!

Reply 1192

gcarys

Original post by xxvine

Guys remember to revise for and against digital democracy....that may be a 25 marker...my teacher just emailed me.

is digital democracy e-voting?
how would you define it? just the use of the internet for political participation like voting

Reply 1193

username1447874

10

Original post by xxvine

The last two points are they relevant to the qu though?
Votes not being wasted...how does that link to 'being a participation crisis?

wasn't 100% sure about this one but I threw it out there anyways, however if the voters see that their votes are not being wasted then they will be more likely to participate as they feel that their voices are being heard?

Reply 1194

satanicwarmaster

12

Any predictions for the Unit 2 topics? I am dreading the Unit 2 exam. I've left revision for it too late. For me, Unit 2 is not only hard, but exceptionally boring, too.

Unit 1 is awesome, though. Am I the only one who finds Unit 2 to be a barbed wire in the head, while finding Unit 1 more enjoyable?

Here's hoping I can score high marks on the Unit 1 exam, so I can afford to lose some marks on the Unit 2 exam. :frown:

Reply 1195

Original post by victoria1998

Could they do that?

Yeppp
came up in 2013 jan i think

Reply 1196

Arsenal.FC

Original post by victoria1998

Could they do that?

Yep.
I replace digital with technical democracy (only in my head...NOT when I write it) to remember it.

That would be an easy question though

Reply 1197

gcarys

Original post by Arsenal.FC

Yep.
I replace digital with technical democracy (only in my head...NOT when I write it) to remember it.

That would be an easy question though

what would be the arguments for? would they be that there is lots of independent information online, and that people who cannot go to polls will be able to which increases turnout and that it becomes more applicable/relatable to 21st century so people feel more inclined to vote

Reply 1198

Original post by satanicwarmaster

Any predictions for the Unit 2 topics? I am dreading the Unit 2 exam. I've left revision for it too late. For me, Unit 2 is not only hard, but exceptionally boring, too.

Unit 1 is awesome, though. Am I the only one who finds Unit 2 to be a barbed wire in the head, while finding Unit 1 more enjoyable?

Here's hoping I can score high marks on the Unit 1 exam, so I can afford to lose some marks on the Unit 2 exam. :frown:

Unit 2 is horrible

Very boring I agree....so much to remember as well. Argh

Reply 1199

victoria1998