Edexcel Government & Politics - Unit 1 06/06/16

Ohh ok, it was just that on the spec it says that you need to know the benefits and draw backs of each system, so I assumed they could put it as an assess question.

Hey this is not an essay plan but these are my notes on pluralism and elitism

What is pluralism?Pluralism is a theory of the distribution of political power. It argues that power is widely and evenly dispersed in society, rather than concentrated in the hands of the elite or the ruling class. They believe that pressure groups promote healthy debate and discussion and therefore strengthen the democratic process.Pluralism is based on the following assumptions:Political Pluralism,Cultural Pluralism,Moral Pluralism.Pluralist- Promote DemocracySupplement electoral democracyParticipation:Pressure groups provide opportunities to participate in-between elections. Pressure groups also offer an alternative means of political participation for those who are uninterested in the main political parties, or who feel that their vote is wasted at election time. As membership of the main parties and turnout in elections declines, pressure groups assume an increasingly important role in keeping government informed of public opinion.

Education:Pressure groups promote political debate, discussion and argument, this creates a better-informed and more educated electorate. As a result this helps improve the quality of policy. Without pressure groups, the public and media would have to rely a narrow range of political views. They offer alternative points of view and widen the information available to the public. Pressure groups are prepared to ‘Speak truth to power’.The 2016 Act for the Act campaign used the stories of average Britons whose rights had been protected by the Human Rights Act, to expose the public to cases that might not have received much media coverage.

The input from pressure groups can greatly help policy formation and implementation. ministers and MPs are rarely experts on every issue, even in areas that they specialise in as a part of a select committee or government department. Pressure groups are regularly consulted so that Parliament can make informed decisions. For example, the British Medical Association is likely to be consulted for medical policies, or Liberty might be consulted for their views on the extradition process, or human rights in the UK. Working with pressure groups helps to address potential problems early on, avoiding issues further down the road. Benefits of competition:They widen the distribution of political power as they compete against each other. This ensure that no group or interest can remain dominant permanently.


Elitist- Threaten democracy
Political Inequality: Pressure groups tend to empower the already powerful. The most successful ones tend to be the ones with wealth and privileged links to the government whereas it should actually be groups with the most support and membership.

Non-legitimate power:Pressure groups leaders are not elected. They are therefore not publicly accountable, meaning the influence they exert is not democratically legitimate.Behind the scenes influence:Pressure groups usually exert influence behind closed doors , this is particular with insider groups whose representatives stalk the corridors of power unseen by the public and away from media scrutiny.

Tyranny of the minority:Pressure groups typically represent minorities rather than majorities. Minority interests may be put above the interests of the majority. Therefore governments may find it hard to serve public interests as a result of pressure from pressure groups.

these have been taken from my textbook and a range of articles my teacher has given me, hopefully this helps XO

Deffo alevelpolitics.com

It's not impossible I suppose, just highly unlikely. To be honest I just don't think there's enough to write about for it to warrant a 25 marker. The textbooks also don't spend much time on their differences, which suggests again they could only be 5/10 markers.

I'm hoping for a functions question on Parliament or an elected second chamber - last year's question was pretty difficult so it shouldn't be too bad this year I imagine

Do you think parliament will be a 25 marker this year?

Guys, I really need your help

Because of various issues I have not got much time to revise a lot for unit 2, however I am fine with unit 1 (democracy&participation and pressure groups). For unit 2 my teacher went through Constitution, Parliament, and the PM&Cabinet. Since I am pressed for time, I am thinking of risking it and only revising 2 of the 3 topics for unit 2 that I have learnt. I'd appreciate if anyone could suggest which 2 I could focus on and if you have any predictions on the topics.

I think PM & Cabinet and Constitution will be 25 markers.

Prediction for unit 2 out of Judiciary Parliament and PM and cabinet which 2 are likely to be in the same section I only have time to revise 2

Plus constitution. You can't really predict it tbh

honestly i'm so annoyed with parties because i have to update my labour policies to corbyn's. does anyone know where i can get a comprehensive list of his policies?

A few that I know of are that:

- he wants to nationalise the railway system

- opposes the trident scheme

- in terms of foreign politics he describes the way to peace as "talking to those whom you disagree" (he was criticised for referring to groups such as Hamas as 'friends' but defended himself saying that he meant it as a collectivist term) so he clearly doesn't agree with military action and an example of this was his strong opposition to the Syria airstrikes, he's a national chair of the Stop The War coalition...

- in terms of education he wants a "National Education System" modelled like the NHS, return control to local authorities (opposes free schools and state-funded academies) and to scrap uni fees and replace them with grants

- sees immigration as a great benefit to our country and believes that we should house those desperate for somewhere safe to live

- wants to remain in the EU but "remain to fight for a better Europe" - basically he doesn't want to leave but wants to make changes to how the conditions currently stand

- in terms of environment he's pretty big on it. He seriously backs cycling (he doesn't own a car and cycles everywhere)

- wants a national MAXIMUM wage to cap the salaries of high earners

Hope this helps!

If I got a B this year, do you think it would be stupid to resit next year in order to get an A?