Paper 1 Essay Questions
Evaluate the view that general elections in the UK are lost by the government
rather than won by the opposition
The GE is lost by the government The GE is won by the opposition
1979 • It was the government who failed to • Media supported the
General develop the economy Conservatives like the Sun
Election • Callaghan made the mistake by • The Conservatives hired a PR
delaying the elections further than company to reform
he needed to Thatcher's image
• This then aligned the GE with the • Promises made by their
Winter of Discontent, making the manifesto like financial
situation much worse than it reform and controlling the
should've been for the Labour Trade Unions resonated with
government the public
• Trade Unions were out of control
(e.g. even graveyard diggers were
striking)
1997 • The Conservatives were shaken after • Media support was behind
General Thatcher leaving Labour and they had well
Election • There was rivalling factions amongst equipped spin doctors in
the Conservatives, leaving John their campaign such as
Major in a weak position both in his Alistair Campbell and Charlie
party and in Parliament Whelan to help provide
• They mismanaged the economy as favourable media coverage
well, leaving many discontent with • New Labour gave the people
the current government what they sought after, an
• The Conservatives had also been in image of reform and change
power for 16 years by this point and through their manifesto
people were yearning for change promises like devolved
assemblies
• Labour had also reformed
themselves to be more
centrist, reforming leftist
policies such as Clause IV of
the Labour constitution from
a commitment to nationalise
to an advocate for
meritocracy
• This allowed Labour to attract
voters from the centre and
those on the left of the
Conservatives
2019 • It was theirs to lose • Although the election saw
General • The government of the day did well the incumbent government
Election enough to win winning a majority, the
, • They had a strong social media election was not won by the
campaign, spending millions on ads opposition because they did
on Facebook to promote their slogan not do well enough
for the campaign: "Get Brexit Done" • Corbyn was unpalatable as a
• Boris was also more popular than potential PM due to his
Corbyn as he appealed to all sides further left views
and had the experience in • He alienated many of those in
government as an MP for 15 years as the centre of his party as well
well as being the London Mayor 8 as the electorate as he only
years performed well in youth
• Therefore people had the confidence votes which tends to have
in him to deliver on Brexit the lowest turnout
Evaluate the view that franchise reform is the most pressing democratic reform
required in the UK
Franchise reform is the most pressing Franchise reform is not the most pressing
democratic reform democratic reform
Lowering the voting age to 16 Youth voter turnout is already low
• There is a lack of representation of the • Youth turnout in recent elections has
youth seen in Parliament today been much lower compared to other
• The House of Common's average age is age groups
around 50 and they arguably do not • As seen in the Isle of Man which allows
represent the needs/wants of the youth this age group to vote, turnout has even
• Issues like climate change that are dropped since 2006 from 55% to 42% in
important to the youth are largely being 2021
ignored, as seen in the government • Therefore enfranchising them will not
issuing new licenses for extracting north help to better represent the interests of
sea gas/oil rather than investing in new the youth as they themselves do not
green technology take the initiative to vote and have their
• By lowering the voting age, this will own voices heard
ensure politicians take into account the
youth vote and ensure that their
demands can be represented in
Parliament
Prisoner voting rights Public are not content with allowing rights to
• Prisoners should gain the right to vote serious criminals
as it is considered to be a basic human • There is very little public support for
right prisoners' voting rights as many believe
• The ECHR deems that to be so as it that those who were arrested for
found Britain's blanket prisoner voting serious crimes, such as murder, assault
ban to be incompatible with the ECHR in etc. should have their rights taken away
2004 as the prisoners had taken the right
• This also arguably prevents them from away of other citizens
assimilating fully with society once they • Therefore the public has little sympathy
are released from prison as they would for those who have committed serious
not have a say about government crimes
Evaluate the view that general elections in the UK are lost by the government
rather than won by the opposition
The GE is lost by the government The GE is won by the opposition
1979 • It was the government who failed to • Media supported the
General develop the economy Conservatives like the Sun
Election • Callaghan made the mistake by • The Conservatives hired a PR
delaying the elections further than company to reform
he needed to Thatcher's image
• This then aligned the GE with the • Promises made by their
Winter of Discontent, making the manifesto like financial
situation much worse than it reform and controlling the
should've been for the Labour Trade Unions resonated with
government the public
• Trade Unions were out of control
(e.g. even graveyard diggers were
striking)
1997 • The Conservatives were shaken after • Media support was behind
General Thatcher leaving Labour and they had well
Election • There was rivalling factions amongst equipped spin doctors in
the Conservatives, leaving John their campaign such as
Major in a weak position both in his Alistair Campbell and Charlie
party and in Parliament Whelan to help provide
• They mismanaged the economy as favourable media coverage
well, leaving many discontent with • New Labour gave the people
the current government what they sought after, an
• The Conservatives had also been in image of reform and change
power for 16 years by this point and through their manifesto
people were yearning for change promises like devolved
assemblies
• Labour had also reformed
themselves to be more
centrist, reforming leftist
policies such as Clause IV of
the Labour constitution from
a commitment to nationalise
to an advocate for
meritocracy
• This allowed Labour to attract
voters from the centre and
those on the left of the
Conservatives
2019 • It was theirs to lose • Although the election saw
General • The government of the day did well the incumbent government
Election enough to win winning a majority, the
, • They had a strong social media election was not won by the
campaign, spending millions on ads opposition because they did
on Facebook to promote their slogan not do well enough
for the campaign: "Get Brexit Done" • Corbyn was unpalatable as a
• Boris was also more popular than potential PM due to his
Corbyn as he appealed to all sides further left views
and had the experience in • He alienated many of those in
government as an MP for 15 years as the centre of his party as well
well as being the London Mayor 8 as the electorate as he only
years performed well in youth
• Therefore people had the confidence votes which tends to have
in him to deliver on Brexit the lowest turnout
Evaluate the view that franchise reform is the most pressing democratic reform
required in the UK
Franchise reform is the most pressing Franchise reform is not the most pressing
democratic reform democratic reform
Lowering the voting age to 16 Youth voter turnout is already low
• There is a lack of representation of the • Youth turnout in recent elections has
youth seen in Parliament today been much lower compared to other
• The House of Common's average age is age groups
around 50 and they arguably do not • As seen in the Isle of Man which allows
represent the needs/wants of the youth this age group to vote, turnout has even
• Issues like climate change that are dropped since 2006 from 55% to 42% in
important to the youth are largely being 2021
ignored, as seen in the government • Therefore enfranchising them will not
issuing new licenses for extracting north help to better represent the interests of
sea gas/oil rather than investing in new the youth as they themselves do not
green technology take the initiative to vote and have their
• By lowering the voting age, this will own voices heard
ensure politicians take into account the
youth vote and ensure that their
demands can be represented in
Parliament
Prisoner voting rights Public are not content with allowing rights to
• Prisoners should gain the right to vote serious criminals
as it is considered to be a basic human • There is very little public support for
right prisoners' voting rights as many believe
• The ECHR deems that to be so as it that those who were arrested for
found Britain's blanket prisoner voting serious crimes, such as murder, assault
ban to be incompatible with the ECHR in etc. should have their rights taken away
2004 as the prisoners had taken the right
• This also arguably prevents them from away of other citizens
assimilating fully with society once they • Therefore the public has little sympathy
are released from prison as they would for those who have committed serious
not have a say about government crimes
