The Valence Theory Of Adaptation In The UK

To what extent does democracy in the UK suffer from a participation crisis? (25 marks)

The AMS and FPTP are voting systems in use for the Scottish Parliament and House of Commons elections respectively. It can be argued that AMS gives voters more choice and better representation than FPTP, and in order to assess the validity of this argument 3 key indicators must be analysed: constituency links; proportionality and representation of smaller parties.

The Thatcher Era negatively influenced the socioeconomic conditions of Scotland for eleven years, during which time Trainspotting is set, which illuminates the impact of Thatcherism on the morale and pride of the Scottish people. During her tenure as Prime Minister, from 1979 to 1990, Margret Thatcher hoped to restore a sense of British pride following the Winter of Discontent, but in doing so, she implemented taxes and limited the creations and power of labor unions. These changes were not received well and profoundly influenced the conditions of the Scottish social system and diminished both their British and national pride (Stewart 13). Although Thatcherism was intended

In recent elections, the separatist parties in Quebec have seen crushing defeats, raising questions about their relevance in modern day Canada. Support for Quebec separatism has diminished in the past several decades, with the rise of the NDP in the 2011 federal election and the more recent provincial Liberal victory in April of 2014. In the 2011 federal election, specifically, the Bloc Quebecois was reduced to only four seats in the House of Commons, while the NDP took the majority of Quebec’s seats. The provincial Parti Quebecois (PQ) has also been faltering, losing more often than not to the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ). Indeed, over the past decade, the PLQ has only lost one election, and has held majorities in many. The most recent election put them back into power after a short PQ minority government that began in 2012. These recent elections may point to a future in which the separatist movement in Quebec may be silenced. Since the late 1950s, the question of Quebec separatism has existed, with levels of support varying throughout the following decades, leading up the referendums of 1980 and 1995. The defeats suffered by the separatist parties in recent elections demonstrate that the separatist movement may be close to being over in Quebec.

In 2014 however Scotland showed that there was indeed a large amount of voters who believed that Scotland would benefit from exiting the United Kingdom and since then the debate still continues with the SNP pushing for a second referendum.

‘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.

Overall it can be seen as a success for parts of England as they were entitled to independence. In a 1997 poll, people in Scotland were asked whether they felt they were Scottish or British. They answered as followed that 63% indicated that they felt that they were Scottish or more Scottish than British. This would fit in with the Marshall model – those who felt that they were Scots would wish for their own Parliament. So it accomplished the wishes of the Scots making it a success for the Scottish population.

Democracy, by Abraham Lincoln’s definition, is ‘’government of the people, by the people, for the people’’ and referendums allow this to happen. They allow the people to make direct decisions on issues rather than allowing representatives to do so. This means that everyone gets a say and therefore encouraging and promoting political participation. As Dr. Adam Quinn, a senior professor of international politics at Birmingham University says, referendums “intrinsic worth is an exercise in direct democracy. Referendum campaigns engage national publics, often passive and sometimes actively excluded, in the business of political debate and decision-making. Those who see virtue in the idea of a more direct link between the popular will and the levers of power, therefore, admire them as an instrument of empowerment for the too-often neglected people”. Dr. Quinn describes how, using referendums, the majority of the public can take political matters into their own hands. This can be seen when looking at the 1997 election turnout of 76% compared to the turnout in the 1998 referendum ‘The Good Friday Agreement’ in Northern Ireland that had an 81% turnout, considerably higher than the election turnout. This would suggest that referendums do actively strengthen democracy because it allows the decision to be made by the very same people who will be affected by the

Although complete sovereignty wasn’t lost over Scotland, the NO vote did cause parliament to devolve some power it held. This is not the first time sovereignty has been lost through Scottish referendums. In 1998 the Scottish parliament was re-established: The Scotland Act established what matters were to be devolved and what matters were to be reserved by Parliament. Devolved matters included health and social care (for example free nursing care for the elderly) and education (for example tuition fees). Reserved matters included defence, foreign policy and the constitution (the UK still controls Scottish independence, as it has the power to over-rule the referendums) Theoretically, Westminster could repeal the Scottish acts. This imbalance of power can cause some policy divergence, for example Scotland passed a law banning smoking in public places before the UK.

The centrepiece of Labour 's programme of constitutional reform was undoubtedly devolution. This was achieved with remarkably few problems. There now seems no likelihood that the new arrangements could be reversed, even by a Conservative administration. The election on 6 May 1999 of a Parliament in Scotland, with extensive powers of primary legislation as well as tax-raising, and an Assembly in Wales, with powers of secondary legislation only, will have a profound impact on governance within the UK. In

In recent years, it has been increasingly apparent that European Parliament election turnout is on the decline, with just 35.6% of British citizens casting their vote in 2014. This is remarkably low, especially when viewed alongside other national decisions such as the referendum for Britain to leave the European Union, which received a staggering 72.2% turnout. However, this decline was not

Within the United Kingdom, a recurring issue has been raised regarding the political position of Scotland and how the Scottish Parliament could better govern the country. To establish whether the quality of life could be improved for the Scottish people, key events, devolution, and the Scottish Parliament must be evaluated and analysed. The argument for greater power in decision making and the ability to implement change for the citizens of Scotland, has been central to Scottish politics for some time.

Not every member of the public will be interested in politics or in fact have a clear understanding of the political system in Britain and this could affect the voter’s outcome. For example, an individual might not understand the significance of their vote to a political question, and that it can have long term effects that they may not take into consideration whilst voting. Furthering this point, the public may be easily influenced by campaigns of newspapers, notable tabloids, or by wealthy vested interests who can afford to spend large amounts of money on a campaign. This suggests that referendums are not always a true representation of what the public wants an outcome to be.

Scottish devolution was defeated in the referendum and the two biggest parties campaigned for “No”. The SNP considered the results as a victory for devolution but was against the referendum as they were campaigning about the complete independence.

This vote is important to the nation, even teenagers the age of 16 is excited to participate in the vote; because of their interest in independence Ben Page of Ipsos MORI refers to them as the "Brave heart generation" after the movies. The movie brave heart portrays sir William Wallace in the 13th-century he was a Scottish warrior who led the Scottish people in the First War of Scottish Independence against King Edward I of England. But the young generation aren’t the only one excited about the vote in fact A poll published taken this week suggested that as many as 84% of Scots aged 16 and over will vote next week this number far exceeds the number of people who normally come out to vote in elections. Alex Salmon said: “Last Monday I saw something which I did not ever think I would see in my political life. In Dundee, I saw people queuing up – and it was not a short queue, it was a long queue – to register to vote Almost reminiscent of the scenes in South