Key debates in Politics

UK Politics

Democracy and Participation

 Is there a participation crisis in the UK?

Higher levels of political participation increase the legitimacy of political actions, the mandate of politicians and
the understanding of the political process.

Point - yes Counterpoint – no

Over the years, turnout at general elections has seen a
steady decrease, suggesting that people are no longer
engaging in the political process. Turnout in the 2019
general election was only 67.3% compared to 76% in
1979 and even in the 2022 Northern Ireland election,
turnout was only 62.8%
This suggests there has been an increase in voter
apathy (lack of interest in the electoral process),
supporting the notion that there is a participation crisis
in the UK.
Membership in parties has also dropped as people
have become less involved in formal politics. In 2015,
only 1% of the electorate was a member of the Labour,
Conservative or Liberal Democrats in comparison to
3.8% in 1983. This reduction in membership suggests
that there has been a drop in the trust and
engagement with political parties, leaving the parties
with fewer volunteers and a limited talent pool to
draw candidates from.
However, turnouts from referendums such as Brexit (72.2)
and the Scottish independence referendums (84.6%) show
that when there are votes of great national interest, the
electorate is willing to engage in the political system and
thus there is no participation crisis.
Despite this, even referendums have seen low turnouts
with the AV referendum only having 42.4% turnout and
the extension of Welsh powers referendum had only
35.6%.
However, membership of the Labour, Conservative and
Liberal Democrats has seemingly increased from 1% in
2015 to 1.5% of the electorate in 2022 suggesting that
people are becoming politically engaged and are more
willing to participate in politics in recent times.
Despite this, this number is minuscule when compared
to the vast majority of the electorate which does not
belong to a party suggesting that there is in fact a
participation crisis as people are no longer seeking the
most formal form of political participation

Trade union membership has decreased significantly
and traditionally, this was one of the ways that people
were most likely to engage in politics. In the 1970s,
there were 13 million Britons who belonged to trade
unions however, Thatcherism in the 1980s saw the
state take on the power of unions and their power has
seen a return since then. As a result, the number of
people who belong to trade unions has continued to
fall. This is exemplified by the percentage of workers in
trade unions falling from 23.7% in 2020 to 23.1% in
2021. This suggests there is a participation crisis as
they no longer help workers engage in the political
process like they did prior.
However, it could be argued there isn’t a participation
crisis as people are no longer resulting to traditional forms
of participation and are using the internet to partake in
political debate, for example, e-petitions. For example, an
e-petition on ending child food poverty in 2020 received
over 1 million votes.
Regardless of this, most of this online participation is
passive and thus has less of a direct impact.

 Is democracy in crisis/Is there a democratic deficit in the UK?

 Should direct democracy be used more frequently in the UK?
 Should the franchise be extended in the UK?
 Should voting be made compulsory?
 Should 16-year-olds receive the vote?
 Do pressure groups enhance democracy?
 Do pressure groups have a significant impact on government action?
 Do think tanks and lobbyists have an impact on government policy?
 Are individual and collective rights adequately protected in the UK?

Political Parties
  Should political parties be funded by the state?
 Does the current system of party funding harm democracy?
 Is the Labour Party more internally divided than the Conservative Party?
 Evaluate the view that there are more disagreements between than with the main
parties?
 Evaluate the view that we are in a time of consensus politics.
 Are minor parties still important today?
 Has the UK become a multiparty democracy?
 Is the media the most important influence on the success of parties in the UK?

Electoral Systems

 Is FPTP the most effective electoral system for promoting representative

democracy?
 Does FPTP bring more advantages than disadvantages to UK democracy?
 Has the emergence of multiple parties meant the current Westminster system
should be changed?
 Do the various electoral systems in the UK make significant differences to party
representation?
 Do referendums improve democracy?
 Is proportional representation preferable to FPTP?
 Is creating an effective government with strong mandate the primary purpose of
general elections?

Voting behaviour and the Media

 Are general elections in the UK won by the opposition rather than lost by the
government?
 To what extent do social factors determine voting behaviour?
 Is the influence of the media exaggerated, not heavily biased and has little power of
persuasion?
 Is it the media, not pressure groups, that has the greater influence on governments?
 Are the results of general elections determined by government competence?
 Does the media play a key role in deciding the result of a general election?
 Do opinion polls bring more advantages than disadvantages to elections and
referendums?
 Does class still have a decisive effect on voting behaviour?