Unit 1 UK Politics Essays RATED A+
Is the UK experiencing a democratic deficit? - ANS - Yes participation crisis
- No?
- Yes FPTP = bad
Is the UK experiencing a participation crisis? - ANS - Yes, Turnout in elections and referendums
- Yes, decline in party membership
- No
Should voting be made compulsory? - ANS - No, infringes on civil liberties
- Yes, Increased turnout
- No, voters are not well informed
Do pressure groups promote democracy and participation? - ANS - Yes, helps to remove tyranny of the
majority by representing issues of minority groups
- No, they help compensate for election geography (members of a certain constituency may be voting on
matters that are not confined to that constituency)
- Yes, Pressure groups can be seen to be an alternative to political parties. As political party membership
has decreased, the membership of pressure groups has been on the rise (alternate way to show opinion
on policy between elections and allow participation and many don't feel represented by parties as they
represent a broader spectrum of political issues rather than more specific ones unique to the individual)
Evaluate the view that pressure groups are less influential than corporations in influencing government
policy - ANS - Cooperations have economic value (amazon, google etc)(alcohol companies)
- Insider pressure groups have direct contact to policy makers
- Pressure groups appeal to the public and the gov
, Evaluate the view that pressure group activity has an effective influence on government policies - ANS -
Insider groups work with gov and may impact policy (BMA and CBI) gov can even seek to consult them
(the BMA managed to pressure the government to increase spending on the NHS under a plan that
would increase spending by 3.4% per annum from 2019 to 2024)
- Outsider groups do not have an effective influence on policy, may have less conservative behaviour
(Extinction Rebellion net zero by 2025 - actions are disapproved by gov)
- Think Tanks
- Lobbying to get influence
Should parties be state funded? - ANS - No, People will object to their taxes going to parties that they
do not support, especially extremist parties
- Yes, It would end the dependence of political parties on wealthy donors and firms and therefore the
suspicion that they can use donations to parties to buy influence and change policies and government
decisions (actually wouldn't, Firms, interest groups and wealthy individuals are able to get access to
politicians anyway, whether or not they donate to parties. In countries with state funding of parties
there has still been corruption)
- Funding based on the existing share of the vote strengthens the larger parties further and makes it
more difficult for smaller parties, who may represent new patterns of support, from breaking through,
especially given First Past the Post system for Parliamentary elections. (
Is the influence of the media the most important factor in determining the success or failure of a
political party? - ANS - Yes, Media is becoming increasingly important in all of its forms, published and
broadcasts (Political parties dare not make a mistake as it will be amplified by the media and could be
fatal - public gain their info via media)
Is the UK experiencing a democratic deficit? - ANS - Yes participation crisis
- No?
- Yes FPTP = bad
Is the UK experiencing a participation crisis? - ANS - Yes, Turnout in elections and referendums
- Yes, decline in party membership
- No
Should voting be made compulsory? - ANS - No, infringes on civil liberties
- Yes, Increased turnout
- No, voters are not well informed
Do pressure groups promote democracy and participation? - ANS - Yes, helps to remove tyranny of the
majority by representing issues of minority groups
- No, they help compensate for election geography (members of a certain constituency may be voting on
matters that are not confined to that constituency)
- Yes, Pressure groups can be seen to be an alternative to political parties. As political party membership
has decreased, the membership of pressure groups has been on the rise (alternate way to show opinion
on policy between elections and allow participation and many don't feel represented by parties as they
represent a broader spectrum of political issues rather than more specific ones unique to the individual)
Evaluate the view that pressure groups are less influential than corporations in influencing government
policy - ANS - Cooperations have economic value (amazon, google etc)(alcohol companies)
- Insider pressure groups have direct contact to policy makers
- Pressure groups appeal to the public and the gov
, Evaluate the view that pressure group activity has an effective influence on government policies - ANS -
Insider groups work with gov and may impact policy (BMA and CBI) gov can even seek to consult them
(the BMA managed to pressure the government to increase spending on the NHS under a plan that
would increase spending by 3.4% per annum from 2019 to 2024)
- Outsider groups do not have an effective influence on policy, may have less conservative behaviour
(Extinction Rebellion net zero by 2025 - actions are disapproved by gov)
- Think Tanks
- Lobbying to get influence
Should parties be state funded? - ANS - No, People will object to their taxes going to parties that they
do not support, especially extremist parties
- Yes, It would end the dependence of political parties on wealthy donors and firms and therefore the
suspicion that they can use donations to parties to buy influence and change policies and government
decisions (actually wouldn't, Firms, interest groups and wealthy individuals are able to get access to
politicians anyway, whether or not they donate to parties. In countries with state funding of parties
there has still been corruption)
- Funding based on the existing share of the vote strengthens the larger parties further and makes it
more difficult for smaller parties, who may represent new patterns of support, from breaking through,
especially given First Past the Post system for Parliamentary elections. (
Is the influence of the media the most important factor in determining the success or failure of a
political party? - ANS - Yes, Media is becoming increasingly important in all of its forms, published and
broadcasts (Political parties dare not make a mistake as it will be amplified by the media and could be
fatal - public gain their info via media)
