Politics — UK A-Level
Curated flashcards for UK A-Level Politics (AQA, Edexcel, OCR). Covers UK Politics (democracy and participation, parties, electoral systems, voting behaviour and the media), UK Government (the constitution, Parliament, the executive, the judiciary and devolution), the three core political ideas (conservatism, liberalism, socialism), a non-core idea (nationalism), and US Government and Politics with UK-US comparison.
Ämne: Samhällskunskap · Nivå: Gymnasium (16–19) · 430 kort
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- Direct democracy is a system in which citizens make political decisions themselves, voting directly on issues rather than electing representatives to decide for them. Referendums are the main modern example in the UK.
- Representative democracy is a system in which citizens elect representatives (such as MPs) to make political decisions on their behalf. It is the dominant form of democracy in the UK.
- A liberal democracy is a representative democracy in which free and fair elections operate alongside the rule of law, an independent judiciary, and protected civil liberties. The UK is generally classed as a liberal democracy.
- Pluralist democracy is a system in which many competing groups and interests freely compete for influence, dispersing power across society rather than concentrating it. Pressure groups are central to a healthy pluralist democracy.
- Legitimacy is the rightful use of power in accordance with agreed rules or consent. In the UK, an elected government gains legitimacy from winning a general election under established rules.
- The 'democratic deficit' describes a perceived lack of democratic accountability and legitimacy in institutions or processes — for example, the unelected House of Lords or low turnout undermining a mandate.
- A 'participation crisis' refers to declining engagement in formal politics — falling turnout, shrinking party membership and low trust — raising doubts about the health of UK democracy.
- Turnout at the 2019 UK general election was about 67%, while the 2024 general election saw turnout fall to around 60% — one of the lowest figures since 1945.
- The franchise (or suffrage) is the legal right to vote. Extending the franchise to new groups has been a central theme of UK democratic reform since the 19th century.
- The Great Reform Act 1832 was the first major extension of the franchise, redistributing seats from 'rotten boroughs' to growing towns and extending the vote to more middle-class men.
- The Representation of the People Act 1918 gave the vote to all men over 21 and to women over 30 who met a property qualification. Equal voting age for men and women (21) followed in 1928.
- The voting age in UK general elections is 18, set by the Representation of the People Act 1969. Scotland and Wales have lowered the voting age to 16 for their devolved and local elections.
- The Suffragists (NUWSS), led by Millicent Fawcett, campaigned for women's votes through peaceful, constitutional methods such as petitions and lobbying. The Suffragettes (WSPU), led by Emmeline Pankhurst, used militant direct action.
- A pressure group is an organised body that seeks to influence government policy without seeking to form a government itself. Examples include the RSPB, the BMA and Greenpeace.
- A sectional (interest) group represents the shared interests of a specific section of society, such as a trade union or the British Medical Association. Membership is usually restricted to that group.
- A promotional (cause) group campaigns for a particular cause or value rather than for its own members' interests, and is usually open to anyone. Examples include Greenpeace and Liberty.
- An insider pressure group has close, regular access to government decision-makers and is often consulted on policy — for example the BMA on health matters. Outsider groups lack this access and rely on public campaigns.
- Factors affecting pressure group success include wealth and resources, size of membership, public support, expertise, insider status, and how closely the group's aims align with government policy.
- A think tank is a research organisation that develops policy ideas and seeks to influence government, such as the Institute for Fiscal Studies or the Adam Smith Institute.
- A lobbyist is a person or firm paid to influence government on behalf of a client. Concerns about lobbying led to the Transparency of Lobbying Act 2014, which created a statutory register of consultant lobbyists.
- Civil liberties are the fundamental freedoms protecting individuals from the state, such as freedom of speech, assembly and a fair trial. In the UK they are protected mainly through the Human Rights Act 1998.
- The Human Rights Act 1998 incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law, allowing people to bring rights cases in UK courts rather than only at Strasbourg.
- The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is a Council of Europe treaty, separate from the EU, enforced by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The UK remains a signatory after Brexit.
- The Equality Act 2010 consolidated earlier anti-discrimination law and protects nine 'protected characteristics', including age, disability, race, religion, sex and sexual orientation.
- The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives the public a right to request information held by public bodies, increasing government transparency. It came into force in 2005.
- A political party is an organised group seeking to win political power by putting up candidates for election and forming a government. Parties aggregate interests and offer voters a programme.
- A party manifesto is the document setting out the policies a party promises to enact if elected. Winning an election on a manifesto is often said to give a government a 'mandate' to implement it.
- A mandate is the authority granted to the winning party to carry out its manifesto, derived from victory in a general election. Critics note that few voters read manifestos in full.
- The Conservative Party traces its roots to the early 19th century and is the traditional party of the centre-right in UK politics, historically emphasising tradition, order, the free market and the union.
- Thatcherism refers to the New Right policies of Margaret Thatcher (PM 1979-1990): privatisation, deregulation, lower direct taxes, reduced trade union power and a strong stance on law, order and defence.
- One-nation conservatism, associated with Benjamin Disraeli, stresses social obligation and pragmatic reform to bind society together and avoid class conflict. It contrasts with the free-market New Right.
- The Labour Party was founded in 1900 from the trade union and socialist movements and is the traditional party of the centre-left, historically committed to social justice, the welfare state and workers' rights.
- Clause IV of the Labour Party constitution originally committed the party to common ownership of the means of production. It was rewritten under Tony Blair in 1995 to symbolise the move to New Labour.
- New Labour, under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown (1997-2010), embraced a 'Third Way' between traditional socialism and free-market liberalism, accepting markets while investing in public services.
- The Liberal Democrats were formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP). They are a centrist party emphasising civil liberties, constitutional reform and pro-Europeanism.
- The Liberal Democrats governed in a coalition with the Conservatives from 2010 to 2015 under David Cameron and Nick Clegg — the first UK coalition government since the Second World War.
- The Scottish National Party (SNP) is a centre-left, pro-independence party that has dominated Scottish politics since 2007 and forms the third-largest grouping by membership in UK politics.
- Minor UK parties include the Green Party (environmentalism), Reform UK (right-wing populism, formerly the Brexit Party), Plaid Cymru (Welsh nationalism) and the DUP and Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland.
- UK political parties are funded by membership fees, donations from individuals and organisations, and limited public money such as 'Short money' paid to opposition parties in the Commons.
- The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 set limits on national campaign spending and created the Electoral Commission to regulate party finance and elections.
- A two-party system is one in which two major parties dominate and realistically compete to form a government. The UK Commons has long been characterised this way (Conservative and Labour), reinforced by first-past-the-post.
- First-past-the-post (FPTP) is the plurality system used for UK general elections. The country is divided into single-member constituencies, and the candidate with the most votes in each wins the seat.
- A 'safe seat' is a constituency that a party wins comfortably at almost every election, while a 'marginal seat' can change hands on a small swing. Marginals receive disproportionate campaign attention under FPTP.
- A 'wasted vote' is a vote that does not contribute to electing a candidate — either cast for a loser or surplus to the winner's needs. FPTP produces large numbers of wasted votes.
- FPTP tends to produce single-party majority governments and a clear winner, but it is disproportional: a party's share of seats can differ greatly from its share of votes.
- The Additional Member System (AMS) is a hybrid system used for the Scottish Parliament and Senedd. Voters cast two votes: one for a constituency MP (FPTP) and one for a regional party list, which tops up seats to improve proportionality.
- The Single Transferable Vote (STV) is a proportional system used for Northern Ireland Assembly and local elections and Scottish local elections. Voters rank candidates in multi-member constituencies, and surplus or eliminated votes transfer.
- The Supplementary Vote (SV) was used to elect the Mayor of London and other directly elected mayors until 2022. Voters marked first and second choices; FPTP replaced it for these posts under the Elections Act 2022.
- A proportional electoral system allocates seats roughly in proportion to votes cast. Such systems tend to produce coalition or minority governments and give smaller parties fairer representation.
- The 2011 referendum on changing the Westminster voting system from FPTP to the Alternative Vote (AV) was rejected, with about 68% voting No. The result entrenched FPTP for general elections.