A*- A grade material to help you secure the top marks in your exams this summer. This content is only for UK Democracy and participation that you will have studied in Year 12. The documents offers all the notes on the subject in depth as well as model essay answers.
Democracy and Participation
The term democracy comes from the Greek demokratia. The origins of democracy can be
traced back to Ancient Athens. This Athenian democracy was very different in nature to
modern democracy and was direct in nature. The Ekklesia was the General Assembly of
Athens and made executive decisions -> like parliament today.
By 300BC democracy had died out and in Western Europe it did not emerge again in
any significant form until the 18th century with coming of the Age of Enlightenment.
Liberal democracy:
- The existence of a constitution in some form
- The importance of the rule of law
- The existence of political parties and acceptance of plurality
- The expectation of the protection of rights -> Magna Carta (1215) established the
right of Habeas Corpus – the right to not be detained unlawfully.
- Universal or comprehensive suffrage and free and fair elections -> Universal suffrage
was achieved in Britain in 1928 with the Representation of the Peoples Act. The
concept of universal suffrage (that every adult can vote) is now central to liberal
democracy.
- Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Expression -> The US Bill of Rights of 1792
places freedom of expression as its very first protected right.
- Limited government -> In Britain, it’s fundamentally achieved by the fact that the
government only retains its position with the support of Parliament and can be
removed at any time through a ‘motion of no confidence’.
Different types of democracy
Direct democracy = a form of democracy in which citizens take decisions directly for
themselves.
Representative democracy = a form of democracy in which citizens do not take decisions
directly to themselves, but instead entrust them to elected representatives.
,Direct democracy involves giving power over decisions directly to citizens:
- Referendums
- Petitions
- Recall elections
- Initiatives
- Citizens juries
Direct democracy has traditionally been limited in the UK. However, its use has grown in
recent years through the development of e-petitions, the passage of the Recall of MPs Act
(2015), the experiments with Citizen’s Juries and the increasing use of referendum (13 since
1973).
How significant have E-petitions been in the UK?
The right to petition the government was enshrined in the Bill of Rights (1689).
The Chartist Petitions: The Chartists were a group particularly famous for using petitions to
put pressure on the government. Their 1839 petition to parliament had 1.28million
signatures and was over three miles long. It called for:
- Universal suffrage
- Annual parliament
- Salaried MP’s
In 2005, an E-petitions website was set up by the Blair government. The site was immensely
popular and in just 6 months saw 2,680 petitions and one – which called for tolls on roads
not to be introduced – was signed by 1.8million people. In 2009, the Wright Committee
recommended a new E-petitions system which would give petitioners more right. This was
included as part of the Conservative election manifesto and subsequently introduced by the
coalition government.
However, there are certain rules that the petition must meet to become a live petition.
Examples of rejected E-petitions:
- End compulsory homework in schools – ‘Decisions about whether to discipline
students for not completing homework are a matter for individual schools, not the
UK Government or Parliament’.
When a petition meets the criteria and is signed by at least five people, it will then go live
for six months. If a petition receives 10,000 signatures, the government will respond.
Example – ‘We call upon the government to hold a public inquiry into the impact of Brexit’
(67,036 signatures by response time)
If a petition reaches 100,000 signatures, a Select Committee called the Petitions Committee
will consider whether it is fit for debate in the House of Commons.
, Examples of significant petitions:
- Revoking Article 50 and remain in the EU (6.1m signatures)
- Prevent Donald Trump from making a state visit to the UK (1.8m signatures)
120,782 E-petitions since 2010
1,156 Government responses
70+ debated in parliament
APPLY: There can be no doubt that the e-petition system has enhanced democracy in the
UK. There are several reasons for this: they allow political expression on key issues to be
given by the electorate. In the process of signing and sharing, debate is started around both
important sometimes niche issues. The way that child food poverty quickly became a
mainstream issue in 2020 is a good example of this. Another reason is that that government
must be aware of the pulse of the nation. If a petition reaches 10,000 signatures the
government is required to give a formal response. If a petition reaches 100,000 signatures it
is likely that it will be debated in Parliament and again the government will be required to
justify its position. This helps to keep the government honest and ensure they cannot hide
away from issues that matter to the electorate until the next election. HOWEVER, there are
also clear limits on the significance of the e-petitions system such as debates awarded under
the scheme are often lacking in prestige. The vast majority of debates awarded by the
Petitions Committee do not take place in the House of Commons chamber and instead take
place in Westminster Hall. They are often badly attended and do not have the impact that
they should. Another limitation is that there are significant limits on what e-petitions can be
about. Petitions can only be about things within the competence of parliament. Therefore,
petitions about aspects that fall into royal prerogative powers, for example the use of
military force, cannot be debated.
Overall, E-petitions have not revolutionised the way that government is carried out in the
UK. Instead, they have had a smaller contribution to political dialogue and discussion and
are now undoubtedly here to stay as a way in which the electorate can share their political
opinions between election.
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