Key topic: Political Participation and Voting Behaviour

DO NOWAlmost double the number of respondents to the 2015 Hansard Society Audit of Political Participation say they are not registered to vote (15% compared to 8% in Audit 11). The decline in reported registration is seen most significantly in those aged under 35; 28% claim not to be registered compared to 18% in the 2011 Audit. What factors may explain a high failure to register among this year group?

The youth voteYoung adults in the UK exhibit lower levels of trust than youth in most other established democratic countries. But scepticism about political institutions does not necessarily mean a withdrawal from all forms of participation. Young adults in the West Midlands were more likely than their European counterparts to have volunteered in an election campaign, contacted a politician or local councillor, collected signatures, given a political speech, or distributed leaflets with a political content. And whilst young people in the UK do not exercise their right to vote as much as many of their European counterparts, most still state that voting is the most important and effective form of participation. In the recent Scottish Independence referendum, 68% of voters aged 16-24, exercised their right to vote. In Denmark, over 90% of young voters turned out for national elections.

Adapted from Pilkington and Ellison Why Don’t Young People Vote (2015)

• Define the term participation as used in the extract. (5)• Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, consider two ways in which young people could be

encouraged to participate more actively in politics. (10) • ‘Low levels of turnout at recent general elections to the Westminster Parliament result from political

apathy alone.’ Discuss. (25)

Topic 1 Participation and voting behaviour

‘My question about voting behaviour is the best.’ Discuss.

Write your question in the centre of the A3 sheet like this …

Peer learning

You can make three types of contribution to one another’s questions.

• A point that addresses the question • A counterpoint in response to an existing point• Evidence in support of either

You must write legibly and clearly, so that your contribution can be understood. Aim to contribute something to everyone’s question stem.

Peer learning

Is there anything you have read elsewhere that is relevant to answering this question? If so, add it to your concept map.

Do you need additional evidence to support a point you would like to make in answer to this question? If so, consult the textbooks.

Participation and voting behaviour‘There is no participation crisis in the UK.’ Discuss.

‘Stability, rather than volatility, now characterises voting behaviour at UK general elections.’ Discuss.

‘Voting behaviour at UK elections is determined more by issues of personality and image than on the basis of policies or performance in office.’ Discuss.

‘The election campaign is now more important than long-term factors in shaping voting behaviour.’ Discuss.

‘Low levels of turnout at recent general elections to the Westminster Parliament result from political apathy alone.’ Discuss.

Electoral systems

‘The case for retaining the First-Past-the-Post system for use at UK general elections is overwhelming.’ Discuss.

‘The UK would benefit greatly from the wider use of referendums.’ Discuss.

‘The first-past-the-post system used in elections to the Westminster Parliament should be replaced with a more proportional system.’ Discuss.

‘There is no such thing as a perfect electoral system.’ Discuss.

‘The wider use of referendums would pose a threat to the form of representative democracy traditionally practised in the UK.’ Discuss.

Draft your essay

Go to the Independent Study Area.

You have 30 mins to produced a typed answer to your essay question. The answer must be emailed to me as a word document as soon as it is complete. a.crossman@evelyngraceacademy.org

We will be reviewing model answers together. You will receive a marked-up version of your essay by return email.

Our mark scheme – 25 marks

L Descriptor AO1 AO2 AO3 Total4 “Excellent” 10-11 7-8 5-6 22-253 “Good” 7-9 5-6 3-4 16-192 “Limited” 4-6 3-4 2 9-121 “Basic” 1-3 1-2 1 3-60 “No relevant

response”0 0 0 0

What three things will I do differently / better when answering 25 mark questions as a result of today’s exercise?

Plenary

Devolution to the citiesPolitical philosopher Brian Barry said that Britain had a ‘power-hoarding’ model of governance, often euphemistically referred to as ‘the man in Whitehall knows best’. That has changed significantly through moves towards devolution. But what is the aim of devolution? Is it about accountability or efficiency? Is it to increase democracy and popular control over central government? Is it to improve economic efficiency? Is asymmetric devolution to be translated into infinite models in England, of variable, localised scales of civic participation and engagement? In the case of devolution to UK cities, the key focus seems to be on devolution as a mechanism of economic regeneration? Yet, this raises many questions that have not been discussed. What happens to Cities outside of the hub of a City/Region? What happens if devolution does not produce economic growth? In other words, we are on the way to some form of devolution, but none of the fundamental questions about what it is meant to achieve have been properly debated.

Adapted from Smith and Richards Against Ad-Hocery (2015)

• Define the term power hoarding as used in the extract. (5)• Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, consider two ways in which devolution can increase local

government accountabilty. (10) • xxxxx

Topic 4 Multi-level Governance