Politics Case Studies

Paper 1: UK Politics - Democracy & Participation

• The features of direct democracy: 2016 Brexit Referendum - 72% turnout.
• The features of representative democracy: 2019 turnout - 67%.
• The similarities between direct democracy and representative democracy: 2019 European Parliament Elections and similarity to the 2016 Brexit Referendum.
• The differences between direct democracy and representative democracy: Conservative and Labour Big Beasts and the side they supported during the 2016 Brexit Referendum.
• Advantages of direct democracy: 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum - turnout 85%.
• Disadvantages of direct democracy: 2011 AV Referendum - 42% turnout.
• Advantages of representative democracy: the 2019 General Election as a confirmatory referendum resolving Brexit, e.g. Labour's vote fell on average by more than 10 points in the most pro-Leave areas.
• Disadvantages of representative democracy: 2009 Parliamentary Expenses Scandal.
• Debates over suffrage: 75% of 16 and 17 year olds voted in the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum - the highest turnout by age category.
• The work of a current movement to extend the franchise: In 2013, Liberty submitted written evidence to the Joint Committee on the Draft Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Bill.
• How different pressure groups exert influence and how their methods and influence vary: the impact and tactics of Vote Leave in 2016.
• Thinks tanks, lobbyists and corporations, and their influence on government and Parliament: 2014 Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act.
• Debates on the extent, limits and tensions within the UK’s rights-based culture: 2018 Supreme Court ruling on Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd.
• The work of two contemporary civil liberties pressure groups: Votes at 16; the Open Rights Group.

Political Parties:

• Theresa May vote of no confidence 2018 (which she narrowly won).
• Tony Blair 1997 majority with 418 seats (landslide).
• UKIP gaining 3.9 million votes in 2015 – rise of the Right-Wing groups in response to centralised British politics.
• Cameron “fighting Labour for the centre ground”.
• Thatcher “you would rather the poor be poorer, than the rich be richer”.
• Conservative Party resignations and firings under Johnson 2019 – removing the whip from 20 MPs over Brexit (including Hammond and Clark – two well established and leading conservative figures).
• 2000 – Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Acts controls the issue of Party Spending and Finance.
• Conservative Factions – One Nation (Tory Reform Group), The Bruges Group (pro Brexit), Thatcherite.
• Labour Factions – Blue Labour (socially conservative), Momentum (pro Corbyn), Labour First (right wing, but claims to support the ‘moderate’ Labour stance)
• Liberal Democrat Factions – Orange Book (want liberal economic attitudes).
• UKIP Factions – the emergence of the Brexit Party under Farage.

Electoral Systems:

• Northern Ireland government shutdown. From 2017 it’s been suspended due to Single Transferable Vote.
• “The number of MPs a party has in Westminster rarely reflects the number of votes the party's candidates received.” Electoral Reform Society.
• 2015 – Belfast South – this was won with only 24.5% of the vote.
• In 2005, only 1/3 of all Constituencies were actually won with more than 50% of the vote.
• In 2017, the “safest seats” were for Labour and in Liverpool (X3 seats.
• AMS allows for more local representation. in the Glasgow region in 2011, 3 Labour, 2 SNP, 1 Conservative and 1 Green MSP were elected.
• Results under different systems: Conservatives would have won under FPTP, AV and AMS but would not have had a majority in any. Labour would have won under STV, but without a majority.
• Electoral Systems by country: England – FPTP, Scotland – AMS, Wales – AMS, Northern Ireland – STV.
• Referendums – 10 since 1997. Turnouts range from 34% to 85%.
• Electoral Reform Society – campaigning for move away from FPTP to a Proportional Representative system.

Voting Behaviour and the Media:

• 2019 Local elections – a growth from middle income earners voting for the Liberal Democrats.
• 2017. Class ABC1 voted 44% Conservative compared to 40% Labour.
• 2017. Women vote evenly across Labour and Conservative. Men vote 45% to 39% Conservative.
• Most Conservative newspapers. Express, Mail, Telegraph (all above 75% Conservative voters).
• Late 1990s – Class Dealignment becomes a major issue.
• Ethnicity – more likely to vote Liberal or Labour. But now being mitigated by class and income as a driving factor
• Age – For every 10 years you age, your chance of voting Conservative increases by 9%.
• Gender – fluctuates. Typically women voted Labour / Liberal with men voting conservative. Thatcher gained a lot of female voters. Now being mitigated by impact of employment and class.
• Employment Status – Labour wins with full-time students or those new to work. Conservative leads with retirees. Both parties share a roughly equal share of full-time workers.
• Class – typically AB1 voters turn towards conservative with strong links to their employment status and income. C1, C2 and D typically vote Labour with connections to benefits and support, however Thatcher won a lot of support from this group with her 1979 election promises.
• Education – ties in with class and income. Higher levels of education on their own don’t show much trend, but with class and income there is more connection.
• Opinion polls – have not predicted successfully the outcome of 2015 election, 2017 election or 2016 EU referendum.