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How far is direct democracy possible in the 21 st century?Yes – it will cause a democratic renewal as in recent years the public have showed an interest The Scottish referendum had an 85% turnout, showing interest of the public in political system,therefore a system would work as the public are wil...

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How far is direct democracy possible in the 21st century? Yes – it will cause a democratic renewal as in recent years the public have showed an interest  The Scottish referendum had an 85% turnout, showing interest of the public in political system, therefore a system would work as the public are willing to contribute  The 2017 General election only had 69% turnout, showing that representative democracy isn’t as successful at encouraging participation as it has done in the past, so direct democracy will be possible  The EU referendum also resulted in the electorate of 46 million people, showing willingness for consistent participation by the public However; the importance of these referendums caused the turnout; as the AV referendum only had a 42% turnout, showing that direct democracy isn’t possible as the electorate won’t care about smaller issues in the 21st century, too much involvement can lead to unnecessary participation and a deficit Yes – likely to accept result that will result from the referendums and discussions due to popular will  The result of a referendum will be deemed legitimate if the public have given their consent for the change; for example, 74% of MPs voted against Brexit, but only 48% of the public; yet it went through and is deemed acceptable, being democratic  Parliament is unrepresentative of society; only 4% of parliament is female, yet they make over half the population; showing how representative democracy is not possible as the public may not all outcomes acceptable due to lacking representation  The Scottish referendum resulted in 55% of the electorate voting to remain part of the United Kingdom; therefore, this clearly identifies consent given by the people However; there are still exmaples of persisting referendum requests, such as with the Scottish referendums. there are 56 Scottish MPs still, who gained seats at the expense of the labour party after the 2017 GE. This indicates that the Scottish population hadn’t accepted the vote; making it illegitimate – in this way the electorate is likely to refuse against decisions democracy if feelings are strong No – even with access to education; the public are still not informed enough to make political decisions that may have major consequences  The Brexit campaign of 2016 was based on a major lie of 365 million going to the NHS each week if Britain left the EU, yet we are due to leave the European Union in a year and the NHS is still in a crisis  1/3 of MPs were privately educated in comparison to 7% of the population, so have better experience and knowledge that will allow them to make important decisions, otherwise it would be chaotic  the media distorts what the public eye sees, and releasing false information will affect political decisions more with direct democracy, the 21st century is faced with a lot of fake news  AV system is arguably more democratic but still rejected No – it is not practical in modern day society as it disrupts everyday life  it will be too disruptive of every day; of a population with 66 million; consistently asking before decisions is too tedious and pointless when representatives can make better informed decisions on their behalf  the fact that 68% expressed their approval of the FPTP system during the AV election of 2011 indicates support for the status quo  at the last election, 31% of the population didn’t vote; indicating acceptance of the status quo, therefore a transition to direct democracy would be too disruptive and not possible; the system wouldn’t work in the 21st century No – direct democracy may lead to tyranny of the majority and decisions may not be implemented  in the 21st century, there are many political views represented, from labour, with 262 seats, to Tories with 318 which are all becoming decreasingly centrist; making it hard to make decisions collectively  650 MPs provides enough representation for the people at the time  the FPTP system means there’s a good candidate-constituency link, such as in East Ham, where Timms was voted in with 81.5% of the vote – creating an understanding and successful Burkean representation style of democracy

‘Devolution should be extended to England.’ Discuss

intro – since Blair’s election landslide, he gained the mandate to introduce a series of reforms that caused the devolution of power in the UK, it is clear, after analysing these factors, that although these were successful in other areas, this shouldn’t occur in the UK as we already have EVEL, devolution leading to the breakdown of the UK, and there is no demand for such, alternatively some may argue that as seen in in devolved legislature, it has been very popular and also will allow decisions to be streamlined yes – Devolution should be extended to England as previous attempts in this were very successful and popular, looking at Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland  In 1997, 74.3% of the population voted for an assembly, 63.5% of which wanted a parliament  129 MSPs represent the Scottish population which allows them to cater to their needs specifically, such as free tuition fees, which improves their standard of living significantly  62% of the English population believe that the Government failed to work in the interests of the people, so devolution would be very popular amongst the people  the EVEL system is too complicated and has a double veto which is unfair however: there is no demand for it from the public. For example, there was a devolution referendum held to do with the north east of England in 2004, but the turnout was 47% and the yes vote 22%, indicating that people are content with the British parliament yes – Devolution should be extended to England as it means effort can be ‘streamlined’, leaving Parliament to make the more important decision making to British Parliament  for example, the 52% leave vote for Brexit means that British Parliament will focus on leaving, however until 2022, English citizens may feel as though they’re being neglected  Scottish Parliament is able to concentrate on the needs of the electorate and direct laws at increasing living standards as well as caring for the environment; for example, Scotland was the first country to come up with the initiative of banning plastic bags, providing free education has also been a major success as otherwise, it costs £9250 as a result of the Coalition, discouraging further education  Parliament will have reserved powers, such as on topics like the exploration of outer space, which is important, but don’t have to be concerned with smaller issues, such as public transportation However: the current situation Parliament is in means laws regarding England can still be decided; with over 650 MPs there are still legislation put in place, as well as referendums held In order to hear the views of the British – for example, the AV referendum of 2011 clearly indicated no – Devolution shouldn’t be extended to England as there as is already a system in place that works and helps the English population with laws  introduced in the House of Commons in 2015, the EVEL system ensures laws relating to England have consent from their MPs, making them legitimate in the eyes of the English  the Grand Legislative committee of English and/or Welsh MPs have the ability to approve or reject the given bill, parties on the committee are made in proportion to the amount in parliament which allows legitimacy and opinions of the population to be properly heard  the double VETO system also in place, meaning a law passed will definitely have consent from English MPs, and therefore have approval from the electorate, so is better for legitimacy and proper scrutiny in parliament no – Devolution should not be extended to England as it may lead to the breakdown of the United Kingdom.  The Bennet formula decides how much money the devolved Government receives which may not be fair when allocating the money out to them  It may mean that the British Parliament could also breakdown because there would be no need for it, if there are devolved Governments in every country; wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, since 1998 as well as England, the British Parliament would become obsolete  All the powers reserved to British Parliament such as the exploration of outer space and arming may be transferred to the devolved powers, which would erase the purpose of British Parliament and provide loopholes for policy on immigration in Britain, after Brexit no – The English electorate don’t need a separate Parliament as views are heard within the British one anyway, so devolution should not be extended to England  With 650 MPs, 533 of which represent England, the views of the electorate are always heard as they dominate the Parliament and so votes are generally cast in their favour  Unlike in Ireland, there is no need for devolution; it occurred there in 1997 due to conflict between the IRA and loyalists who caused a lot of difficulty during the Troubles; it would have cost lives without the system  The most popular party in England dominates Parliament, such the Conservatives currently, who have a majority in England, but not Britain, yet can still pass laws regarding the whole United Kingdom

How far do you agree that the struggle to increase the franchise is a thing of the past?

Intro – it is clear that the struggle to increase the Franchise is a thing of the past as the system is fair, allowing women to vote, as well as those over 18 and restricting the Lords vote, as is democratic however, it could be argued as 16 year olds and prisoners don’t have to vote, struggling to increase the Franchise isn’t a thing of the past; yet, it can still be argued, as these groups don’t deserve the vote due to either immaturity and losing the right to after breaking the law, the franchise shouldn’t be extended to them No – 16 year olds still don’t have the vote, therefore increasing the franchise isn’t a thing of the past  Over 100,000 16 year olds voted in the Scottish referendum of 2014  75% of 16 and 17 year olds voted showing their willingness to participate and interest in politics, therefore it’s only fair if they receive the vote  Under 18s deserve the vote as they are exposed to enough information and Corbyn has under 2 million followers, many of who support but can’t vote him, which is unfair  Participation e.g #JEZWECAN in 2017 shows the youth being active in politics However: teenagers are 8 times more likely to give into peer pressure as compared to adults; therefore, the votes casted may not be representative of their actual beliefs and distort the result, making the illegitimate as they don’t have sufficient support from the public; they also are more likely to support labour, as famously mentioned by Churchill, which makes it unfair as it gives the party an advantage No – prisoners still don’t have the vote, yet they should be able to, meaning the struggle to increase the franchise isn’t a thing of the past  The European court of Human Rights forbid inmate voting in 1969; this was signed by 47 countries including the UK, limiting the rights of prisoners  The HRA of 1998 gives us the right to freedom of speech but this is being denied from the Prisoners  Many prisoners aren’t serving long terms and are jailed for petty crimes; so should be able to vote for governments they believe will introduce reform, or help people in their same situation  The prison population is currently 80,000 but this can be drastically reduced if prisoners see the law as legitimate and to be followed, which can be done by giving them a say However; Prisoners intentionally break the law; and in doing so forfeit the rights by violating another’s; also over 70% of prisoners reoffend; so those who break the law can’t be deciding it as this is unfair Yes – women have the vote; making the system fair  1918 the representation of the people act was passed  This gave women the vote ultimately, as 6 million women could now vote, which made the campaign led by both the suffragists and suffragettes successful in the end  Followed by reform in 1928 given to all women over 21 years, allowing better gender equality between men and women; as gender equality is reached within the voting system, therefore extending the Franchise is a thing of the past  Under 50% of women voted for Thatcher; possibly due to this change, so equality is clear as standards and rights are consistently improving as a result of this reform Yes – the Franchise has been extended enough within reforms, such as for 18 year olds and EU citizens  franchise to 18 year olds in 1969 and overseas voters in 1985  YouGov found that under 60% of 18-24 year olds were voting; which is a very small number so there is lack of interest from the youth so the franchise doesn’t need to be extended, meaning the current system is fine  EU citizens can also vote in local elections; allowing local council governments to cater to the needs of the minorities in society as well, which is fair to UK residents Yes – members of the house of lords are unable to vote, which is democratic, so shouldn’t be extended  800 people who are Lords aren’t allowed to vote, which is democratic  As the House of Lords review the work and policies of the House of Lords; it’s fair they don’t have to vote as it helps represent differences in opinion and limits bias  92 peers are hereditary therefore it’s fair they don’t receive the vote as they have their own powers, such as delaying parliamentary reform for a year; making the process better as power is dispersed evenly and neither chamber is given too much power than what is democratic How far can opinion polls be said to shape the outcome of British general elections?

Intro - Opinions polls, as created by companies such as survation and yougov, can be argued to shape public opinion and therefore the outcome of an election as they create the underdog, or bandwagon effect. however, the argument for opinion liked isn’t as convincing as over factors, such as the role of social factors, like geographical location, ethnicity and social class; which are both far more influential than the role of opinion polling in shaping the outcome of British general elections. Opinion polls shape the outcome of British elections as they cause the underdog effect to occur:  Corbyn has recently gained a lot of support and has a 1% lead over Theresa May according to Survation, even after losing the 2017 GE  Also within the General Election, there was a drastic rise in support for Corbyn, from 18-25 year olds, as he gained 262 seats, in comparison to May being short of majority with 318, which may be as he was polling badly at the start  He faced a backlash from his own Party, from MPs such as Steven Timms in recent elections, but has under 2 million followers on twitter, reinforcing support he has from the electorate, even if not from his MPs, in comparison to May’s 5k following However: this change in support may be explained by policies or manifestoes catering to the population – such as Corbyn’s policies, which is why he experienced an increase in support from the youth, also seen through his twitter page Yes - Opinion polls are said to shape the outcome of British elections as they cause the bandwagon effect: parties are more likely to succeed as reactions from the public exaggerate what’s shown within the polls:  Blair won by a landslide as he was polling well, as exaggerated by the Sun Newspaper in 1997, which may have helped him gain the mandate he eventually used to implement devolution of power  May had a 17-point lead before the 2017 GE, which may have enabled her to gain 13.7 million votes; which was a record high, indicating the impact of the polls on the electorate, who seemed to have reflected May’s confidence in herself when she called the election  During all of Blair’s landslide victories, most companies were successful in predicting the outcome However: polls may sometimes overstate the support of parties, and the underdog effect caused by polling also works against this change – so may balance out any existing influences on voter behaviour No - Social class has a large influence in shaping the outcome of British general elections:  the lower class tend to vote for labour whereas the upper classes tend to vote for the conservatives. This is statistically proven as seen in the 2017 GE as 47% of AB voters supported the Conservatives, whereas 47% of DE voted labour according to the NRS class system  political parties direct their policies at individuals of certain calibre or class an individual is in influences the way they vote, as they will clearly vote in favour of themselves; an individual from the working class would clearly support labour under Jeremy Corbyn since 2015, as they have policies in their favour, such as abolishing zero hour contracts  an upper class voter, who will clearly be in favour of cutting corporation tax, will clearly support the Conservatives, who always promise such on their manifesto, they would be opposed to any labour policies, such as progressive taxation. No – ethnicity has a larger influence than opinion polling in shaping the outcome of British elections as there is a clear split between BME and white voters, according to trends  Certain policies appeal to the BME more, for example labour policies are more directed towards BMEs, which is why their lead amongst BME increased to 54 points in 2017  Sadiq Khan is the First Asian mayor of London and won 56.8% of the vote which may partially be due to the fact that he’s Asian, so many voted for him in order to allow this representation form the Asian community; labour also has 20 more BME MPs than the Conservatives, showing large diversity  BME are more likely to be in lower classes as social mobility is difficult due to discrimination and institutional racism, therefore are more likely to vote for parties that support people in poverty No – Geography has a largest influence on shaping the result of British elections; a clear north-south divide in the UK  Traditionally, people people in the south tend to be from upper-middle classes, whereas the North has lower class individuals, which is why Yorkshire won 37 Labour seats, in comparison to about winning only 7 in the East of England  There are many ‘safe seats’ in Particular areas too, such as East Ham, which has been a labour safe seat since the end of the second world war, due to its diversity and location; in London  Ethnicity also affects geography as BME tend to live in cities, which is why 50% of BME voted labour in the 2015 GE, as they’re more aware of existing poverty

Are pressure groups fundamentally undemocratic? No – pluralist society means pressure groups battle for influence in society and gain attention and support from society; giving power to the people (Robert Dahl)  the process is democratic as there are multiple pressure groups in society that all battle for influence  for example, Fathers 4 justice aren’t powerful as they can’t be taken seriously; as in 2004 they threw purple powder as Blair during the PMQS  however, other groups like the BMA has over 156,000 in doctors and helped the government implement a smoking ban in public places in 2006  some have more influence due to their membership and significance of their cause; making it democratic as support from the people helps to pass legislation However: if the membership only legitimises the group, this means that minorities aren’t being heard and taken into account by the government. Parliament already lacks representation, such as only 32% of MPs being women and this continues on ignoring minorities; leading to tyranny of the majority No – pressure groups have resulted in reforms in the pass so are successful overall  the National Union of Teachers successfully stopped teachers getting paid according to results in 1897 and also gained media attention when teachers were fired coming to school after 8:30 in Portsmouth  this allows change to be implemented in favour of the people  in 2012 Starbucks volunteered to pay £20m as a compensation for all the tax evasion previously committed – showing justice and the democratic approach to social reform; with major companies willingly giving into public pressure a result of protests; in this way they can be successful through...