Edexcel Government & Politics - Unit 1 06/06/16
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Original post by TySnaps97
Ive been going through the all the past papers and this one question has be confused,
Assess the arguments in favour of the greater use of directdemocracy in the UK.
What would i write for it?
Assess the arguments in favour of the greater use of directdemocracy in the UK.
What would i write for it?
Thats pretty much pros and cons of referenda
Im not doing that topic though
Original post by BirdIsWord
Thats pretty much pros and cons of referenda
Im not doing that topic though
Im not doing that topic though
Thanks I was really panicking there.
What topics are you doing
ARGH!
What came up in the 2015 exams? I can only find mark schemes up to 2014. Want to know what won't come up lol.
What came up in the 2015 exams? I can only find mark schemes up to 2014. Want to know what won't come up lol.
Original post by xxvine
So true
You know there is free media
What would you expand on that to prove that the uk is democratic
You know there is free media
What would you expand on that to prove that the uk is democratic
You could argue that there are multiple news outlets, blogs, YouTube videos, news articles, news reports about political issues that the citizenry can make their own judgements upon
But to counter that you could say there is still some government control over what media let's out for example there was riots a couple of months ago about wanting Tories out of government and the bbc which is meant to be unbiased did not report it...or you can say that some of the information out there is not always truthful but you could say again that there's plenty of sources for the citizens to collect and see what is true and what isn't true ☺️
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Original post by TySnaps97
Thanks I was really panicking there.
What topics are you doing
What topics are you doing
I'm aqa but the topics are pretty much the same.
Out of Participation and VB/Electoral systems/PolParties/Pressure Groups, I'm doing Participation/vb and Pressure Groups. You?
Original post by stratagems
ARGH!
What came up in the 2015 exams? I can only find mark schemes up to 2014. Want to know what won't come up lol.
What came up in the 2015 exams? I can only find mark schemes up to 2014. Want to know what won't come up lol.
25 marks:
To what extent is there a democratic deficit in the UK?
Make out a case in favour of electoral reform for Westminster elections.
Do pressure groups distribute or concentrate power?
To what extent do the major political parties agree overpolicies and ideas?
Does anyone have a plan for an essay regarding Pressure groups and social media?
Original post by BirdIsWord
I'm aqa but the topics are pretty much the same.
Out of Participation and VB/Electoral systems/PolParties/Pressure Groups, I'm doing Participation/vb and Pressure Groups. You?
Out of Participation and VB/Electoral systems/PolParties/Pressure Groups, I'm doing Participation/vb and Pressure Groups. You?
I'm edexcel. our topics are democracy, electoral systems, pressure groups and political parties.
I'm doing democracy and electoral systems
Original post by mollyadtr
You could argue that there are multiple news outlets, blogs, YouTube videos, news articles, news reports about political issues that the citizenry can make their own judgements upon
But to counter that you could say there is still some government control over what media let's out for example there was riots a couple of months ago about wanting Tories out of government and the bbc which is meant to be unbiased did not report it...or you can say that some of the information out there is not always truthful but you could say again that there's plenty of sources for the citizens to collect and see what is true and what isn't true ☺️
Posted from TSR Mobile
But to counter that you could say there is still some government control over what media let's out for example there was riots a couple of months ago about wanting Tories out of government and the bbc which is meant to be unbiased did not report it...or you can say that some of the information out there is not always truthful but you could say again that there's plenty of sources for the citizens to collect and see what is true and what isn't true ☺️
Posted from TSR Mobile
Don't have original quote. But..devolution = democratic, could say HoL is reflective of population, effective job of scrutinising legislation and holding govt to account (tax credits), the existence of a variety of methods to participate in politics i.e. pressure groups, FPTP allows good representation look = democratic
Original post by TySnaps97
Thanks I was really panicking there.
What topics are you doing
What topics are you doing
No, no, don't be fooled. It is not just about referendums, it is about all direct democracy things. I've done this essay plan so here it is:
Direct democracy is a form of democracy that gives the people themselves unmediated control over policy formulation and implementation. Dealing election turnout and the increase in pressure group membership has seen the wider use of direct democracy in the UK.
Direct democracy promotes political participation and combats voter apathy. Citizens juries and referendums make the public more actively involved - increasing political awareness and education. One of the major advantages of citizens’ juries is that, unlike referendums and opinion polls, they operate through deliberation and debate. Participants are not just asked to express opinions. Instead, they are required engage in discussion, possibly assisted by a neutral adviser, and have the opportunity to scrutinise information and even to cross-examine witnesses. Through such mechanisms, an informed and ‘mature’ sense of public opinion is developed. This significantly widens the traditional view of citizenship, helping to overcome one of the key drawbacks traditionally associated with direct democracy.
Direct democracy’s representative feature also saves the electorate from a tyrannical government which could become unaccountable and receive little checks and balances other than in the form of elections. The greater use of referendums limits government power as they have little control over its outcome. Pressure groups activity and public support also restrain the government as they fear to lose electoral support if they do not adhere to the aims of a pressure group. Increases in pressure group membership indicates the electorates need to influence government policy and the wider use of direct democracy could do so.
However, the greater use of direct democracy could also cause concerns. The wider use of referendums means a politically unaware electorate may make constitutional changes with long term and far reaching effects. Referendums also undermine Parliament and the accountability of the government to make informed decisions on the benefits of the people. Government’s control over when and what issues referendums are addressing, as well as influencing campaigns limits is effectiveness. It has been reported that the government have spent £9m on leaflets to every home concerning the upcoming EU referendum. Pressure groups increase political inequality as already powerful sections of society gain influence to government and are unaccountable to the public as they are unelected. The consultation of pressure groups with government also undermine Parliament as the deliberative chamber, not serving its responsibilities and representative features.
Citizens juries only represent a small section of society and are ineffective as government are able to portray the idea of a ‘listening government’ without having to share policy making power.
In conclusion, the wider use of direct democracy should be implemented to give the electorate more power between elections and limit that of the government, but not to the detriment of parliamentary democracy and sovereignty or majoritarian democracy.
Original post by jjbloomy
No, no, don't be fooled. It is not just about referendums, it is about all direct democracy things. I've done this essay plan so here it is:
Direct democracy is a form of democracy that gives the people themselves unmediated control over policy formulation and implementation. Dealing election turnout and the increase in pressure group membership has seen the wider use of direct democracy in the UK.
Direct democracy promotes political participation and combats voter apathy. Citizens juries and referendums make the public more actively involved - increasing political awareness and education. One of the major advantages of citizens’ juries is that, unlike referendums and opinion polls, they operate through deliberation and debate. Participants are not just asked to express opinions. Instead, they are required engage in discussion, possibly assisted by a neutral adviser, and have the opportunity to scrutinise information and even to cross-examine witnesses. Through such mechanisms, an informed and ‘mature’ sense of public opinion is developed. This significantly widens the traditional view of citizenship, helping to overcome one of the key drawbacks traditionally associated with direct democracy.
Direct democracy’s representative feature also saves the electorate from a tyrannical government which could become unaccountable and receive little checks and balances other than in the form of elections. The greater use of referendums limits government power as they have little control over its outcome. Pressure groups activity and public support also restrain the government as they fear to lose electoral support if they do not adhere to the aims of a pressure group. Increases in pressure group membership indicates the electorates need to influence government policy and the wider use of direct democracy could do so.
However, the greater use of direct democracy could also cause concerns. The wider use of referendums means a politically unaware electorate may make constitutional changes with long term and far reaching effects. Referendums also undermine Parliament and the accountability of the government to make informed decisions on the benefits of the people. Government’s control over when and what issues referendums are addressing, as well as influencing campaigns limits is effectiveness. It has been reported that the government have spent £9m on leaflets to every home concerning the upcoming EU referendum. Pressure groups increase political inequality as already powerful sections of society gain influence to government and are unaccountable to the public as they are unelected. The consultation of pressure groups with government also undermine Parliament as the deliberative chamber, not serving its responsibilities and representative features.
Citizens juries only represent a small section of society and are ineffective as government are able to portray the idea of a ‘listening government’ without having to share policy making power.
In conclusion, the wider use of direct democracy should be implemented to give the electorate more power between elections and limit that of the government, but not to the detriment of parliamentary democracy and sovereignty or majoritarian democracy.
Direct democracy is a form of democracy that gives the people themselves unmediated control over policy formulation and implementation. Dealing election turnout and the increase in pressure group membership has seen the wider use of direct democracy in the UK.
Direct democracy promotes political participation and combats voter apathy. Citizens juries and referendums make the public more actively involved - increasing political awareness and education. One of the major advantages of citizens’ juries is that, unlike referendums and opinion polls, they operate through deliberation and debate. Participants are not just asked to express opinions. Instead, they are required engage in discussion, possibly assisted by a neutral adviser, and have the opportunity to scrutinise information and even to cross-examine witnesses. Through such mechanisms, an informed and ‘mature’ sense of public opinion is developed. This significantly widens the traditional view of citizenship, helping to overcome one of the key drawbacks traditionally associated with direct democracy.
Direct democracy’s representative feature also saves the electorate from a tyrannical government which could become unaccountable and receive little checks and balances other than in the form of elections. The greater use of referendums limits government power as they have little control over its outcome. Pressure groups activity and public support also restrain the government as they fear to lose electoral support if they do not adhere to the aims of a pressure group. Increases in pressure group membership indicates the electorates need to influence government policy and the wider use of direct democracy could do so.
However, the greater use of direct democracy could also cause concerns. The wider use of referendums means a politically unaware electorate may make constitutional changes with long term and far reaching effects. Referendums also undermine Parliament and the accountability of the government to make informed decisions on the benefits of the people. Government’s control over when and what issues referendums are addressing, as well as influencing campaigns limits is effectiveness. It has been reported that the government have spent £9m on leaflets to every home concerning the upcoming EU referendum. Pressure groups increase political inequality as already powerful sections of society gain influence to government and are unaccountable to the public as they are unelected. The consultation of pressure groups with government also undermine Parliament as the deliberative chamber, not serving its responsibilities and representative features.
Citizens juries only represent a small section of society and are ineffective as government are able to portray the idea of a ‘listening government’ without having to share policy making power.
In conclusion, the wider use of direct democracy should be implemented to give the electorate more power between elections and limit that of the government, but not to the detriment of parliamentary democracy and sovereignty or majoritarian democracy.
You are a life saver. Thank you!!!
Original post by alevelpain
How does the party list work? I understand that the country is divided in to 12 multi-member constituencies. Within those constituencies, does a party put forward people who will represent it, and then the vote for the entire multi-member constituency is received and then it is divided using the d'Hont method?
So within party list system there's closed list and open list
Close list: the party puts forward a list of candidates however the electorate does not know who is on the list, they only have to vote for the party and then say if they get 40% of the vote 40% of the candidates on the list are elected..this means there's no choice or control by the electorate so often the representatives are more accountable to party leadership than the electorate
Open list: where the candidate can see who the parties have put on the list and are able to openly vote for one of the candidates, and then from there it's just votes= seats
There's no multi member constituency though it procure multi party systems
Also there is a minimum threshold the candidates must reach in order to be elected, it's about 105 votes as far as I know ☺️
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Original post by jxssamy
For the 10 Mark
"Express arguments in favour of lowering the voting age"
how would you incorporate examples?
"Express arguments in favour of lowering the voting age"
how would you incorporate examples?
Use figures from the Scottish referendum where they lowered it to 16.
Also for against you can use the 18-24 voter turnout percentage which was 43% in the 2015 general election, compared to 65+ which was 78%
Original post by jjbloomy
No, no, don't be fooled. It is not just about referendums, it is about all direct democracy things. I've done this essay plan so here it is:
Direct democracy is a form of democracy that gives the people themselves unmediated control over policy formulation and implementation. Dealing election turnout and the increase in pressure group membership has seen the wider use of direct democracy in the UK.
Direct democracy promotes political participation and combats voter apathy. Citizens juries and referendums make the public more actively involved - increasing political awareness and education. One of the major advantages of citizens’ juries is that, unlike referendums and opinion polls, they operate through deliberation and debate. Participants are not just asked to express opinions. Instead, they are required engage in discussion, possibly assisted by a neutral adviser, and have the opportunity to scrutinise information and even to cross-examine witnesses. Through such mechanisms, an informed and ‘mature’ sense of public opinion is developed. This significantly widens the traditional view of citizenship, helping to overcome one of the key drawbacks traditionally associated with direct democracy.
Direct democracy’s representative feature also saves the electorate from a tyrannical government which could become unaccountable and receive little checks and balances other than in the form of elections. The greater use of referendums limits government power as they have little control over its outcome. Pressure groups activity and public support also restrain the government as they fear to lose electoral support if they do not adhere to the aims of a pressure group. Increases in pressure group membership indicates the electorates need to influence government policy and the wider use of direct democracy could do so.
However, the greater use of direct democracy could also cause concerns. The wider use of referendums means a politically unaware electorate may make constitutional changes with long term and far reaching effects. Referendums also undermine Parliament and the accountability of the government to make informed decisions on the benefits of the people. Government’s control over when and what issues referendums are addressing, as well as influencing campaigns limits is effectiveness. It has been reported that the government have spent £9m on leaflets to every home concerning the upcoming EU referendum. Pressure groups increase political inequality as already powerful sections of society gain influence to government and are unaccountable to the public as they are unelected. The consultation of pressure groups with government also undermine Parliament as the deliberative chamber, not serving its responsibilities and representative features.
Citizens juries only represent a small section of society and are ineffective as government are able to portray the idea of a ‘listening government’ without having to share policy making power.
In conclusion, the wider use of direct democracy should be implemented to give the electorate more power between elections and limit that of the government, but not to the detriment of parliamentary democracy and sovereignty or majoritarian democracy.
Direct democracy is a form of democracy that gives the people themselves unmediated control over policy formulation and implementation. Dealing election turnout and the increase in pressure group membership has seen the wider use of direct democracy in the UK.
Direct democracy promotes political participation and combats voter apathy. Citizens juries and referendums make the public more actively involved - increasing political awareness and education. One of the major advantages of citizens’ juries is that, unlike referendums and opinion polls, they operate through deliberation and debate. Participants are not just asked to express opinions. Instead, they are required engage in discussion, possibly assisted by a neutral adviser, and have the opportunity to scrutinise information and even to cross-examine witnesses. Through such mechanisms, an informed and ‘mature’ sense of public opinion is developed. This significantly widens the traditional view of citizenship, helping to overcome one of the key drawbacks traditionally associated with direct democracy.
Direct democracy’s representative feature also saves the electorate from a tyrannical government which could become unaccountable and receive little checks and balances other than in the form of elections. The greater use of referendums limits government power as they have little control over its outcome. Pressure groups activity and public support also restrain the government as they fear to lose electoral support if they do not adhere to the aims of a pressure group. Increases in pressure group membership indicates the electorates need to influence government policy and the wider use of direct democracy could do so.
However, the greater use of direct democracy could also cause concerns. The wider use of referendums means a politically unaware electorate may make constitutional changes with long term and far reaching effects. Referendums also undermine Parliament and the accountability of the government to make informed decisions on the benefits of the people. Government’s control over when and what issues referendums are addressing, as well as influencing campaigns limits is effectiveness. It has been reported that the government have spent £9m on leaflets to every home concerning the upcoming EU referendum. Pressure groups increase political inequality as already powerful sections of society gain influence to government and are unaccountable to the public as they are unelected. The consultation of pressure groups with government also undermine Parliament as the deliberative chamber, not serving its responsibilities and representative features.
Citizens juries only represent a small section of society and are ineffective as government are able to portray the idea of a ‘listening government’ without having to share policy making power.
In conclusion, the wider use of direct democracy should be implemented to give the electorate more power between elections and limit that of the government, but not to the detriment of parliamentary democracy and sovereignty or majoritarian democracy.
lol, i said 'basically', not entirely. Its the same feel.
Original post by jjbloomy
Use figures from the Scottish referendum where they lowered it to 16.
Also for against you can use the 18-24 voter turnout percentage which was 43% in the 2015 general election, compared to 65+ which was 78%
Also for against you can use the 18-24 voter turnout percentage which was 43% in the 2015 general election, compared to 65+ which was 78%
Thanks, I'm trying to find them but I can't - do you have a link to them by any chance?
Original post by alevelpain
Don't have original quote. But..devolution = democratic, could say HoL is reflective of population, effective job of scrutinising legislation and holding govt to account (tax credits), the existence of a variety of methods to participate in politics i.e. pressure groups, FPTP allows good representation look = democratic
Could deffo add hoc being unrepresentative of society compared to the lords for example under representation of women and ethnic minorities too just to have a bit more about the parliament 😁
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Original post by BirdIsWord
Thats pretty much pros and cons of referenda
Im not doing that topic though
Im not doing that topic though
From the mark scheme:
Mention citizen juries, referendum, focus groups + e-participation (blogging etc.)
+ genuine democracy in action: people determine their destiny and shape their society. No vacuum between govt and the people.
- the above may be reflection of an ideal & aspiration than functional practical possibility. Not achievable in large scale societies with a votin population of 45 million.
+ SCANDALS & public mistrust of representatives (eg expenses scandal, but you could also mention the current Conservative Party election fraud, I think). Direct democracy would take away a layer of people who may distort the actual views of the people and make politics more relevant and purposeful.
- however: there is a need for experts in certain fields for INFORMED DECISIONS and have a practical long term view for the whole of society - eg. On medical and economic issues, experts are more informed + have greater insight.
+ direct democracy = informed and educated citizenry. Culture of education & progress will ensure. Regular participation creates a more vibrant society where people care about events and the factors behind a wide range of issue.
- however, could argue that public would soon tire of the effort and commitment to the process & are more content with limited involvement.
+ more direct democracy would extend greater legitimacy to the govt & its actions. Example: wider use of REFERENDUMS. Decisions reached in this way carry greater AUTHORITY.
- constant referendums & involvement of the public may create political instability and polarise opinion and possibly develop into a crisis.
Original post by BirdIsWord
lol, i said 'basically', not entirely. Its the same feel.
Ahaha sorry, wasn't trying to offend. Just read the examiners report for that year and loads of students fell into that trap of just talking about referendums so lost loads of marks. Was just trying to prevent that.
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