The Role and Function of Political Parties and Pressure Groups in the UK Democracy, Lecture notes of Law

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UNIT 1 REVISION

GUIDE

1. Democracy and Representation

2. Political Parties

3. Electoral Systems

4. Voting Behaviour and the Media

Unit 1.1- Democracy and Representation 1.1 Current systems of democracy in the UK Democracy: Greek word meaning people rule. Defined by Lincoln in 1863 ‘Government by the people, of the people and for the people’ Liberal Democracy : When a democracy has pluralism, and good rights protection. Features and examples of Direct Democracy and Advantages/Disadvantages  When there is no distinction between the Government and the Governed, expressing opinions themselves.  Seen in its purest form in Ancient Athens and the Swiss Cantons.  In the UK it can be seen through referendums (EU in 2016, Scottish Independence 2014, AV voting system 2011), the 2015 Recall of MPs Act and petitions. Normal people expressing opinions outside of elections. Advantages Disadvantages Gives equal weight to all votes, unlike a representative system where varying sizes of constituencies mean that votes do not have equal value Impractical in large, heavily populated modern states where decision making needs to be quick and is complicated Encourages participation as citizens will feel they make an impact Many people will not want to or will be qualified enough to take part in decision making- with some issues being too complex Removes the need for representatives who can sometimes fail in their duty Open to manipulation as some voters will be easily led and too emotional Purest form of democracy meaning an increase in legitimacy Leads to tyranny of the majority, minorities will always be ignored It can work in a modern context- referendums and Swiss cantons. Can undermine elected representatives who are usually more professional and educated in political issues. Features and examples of Representative Democracy and Advantages/Disadvantages  Where people are not involved in every decision but rather pick a representative who will make decisions on their behalf.  Examples in the UK: Represented by MP, MEP, Councilor, Mayor and Assembly Members.  Can also be represented by Pressure Groups and Political Parties.  Representative Democracy relies on constituencies where citizens pick their representative. Constituents therefore expect their representative to represent them. Because they are elected, they can be legitimate, and if they don’t represent well they can be held accountable at the next election Advantages Disadvantages Only practical system in a modern state May lead to reduced participation as citizens let representatives make decisions Politicians form parties and ensure there is a clear choice, aided by Pressure Groups, there is a pluralist democracy of many choices.` Parties and Pressure Groups are often run by elite members of society- pursuing their own agendas not actually representing the people Reduces chance of the tyranny of the majority as representatives can look our for under-represented groups Minorities still in danger as politicians who want to be elected will side with the majority Elections allow representatives to be held to count for decisions Politicians have teams of media campaigners to avoid accountability and our elections in the UK are every 5 years Politicians are in theory better informed to make momentous decisions Politicians can become corrupt and incompetent and betray their electorate

 More referendums- belief that the high turnouts of Scotland Brexit referendums show that they are popular and will ensure participation doesn’t reduce. However, these two were very important the AV referendum of 2011 had a turnout of 42%. These ones will come up later  Change Voting system  Get rid of House of Lords  More devolution  Recall elections 1.2 A wider franchise and debates over suffrage How has suffrage changed? Votes at 16 for and against (now have the vote in Scotland and Wales!): For Against With the increase in youth engagement and in the wake of Brexit, young people are better informed than ever before 16/17 year olds are too young to make mature rational decisions. 18 - 24 year old turnout is currently very low, this may encourage them to vote, by engaging them early; ¾ voted in Scottish referendum. Many issues are too complex for young people to understand. If you are old enough to marry, join the army and have sex; you should be able to vote. Very few pay tax, so don’t have a stake in society Could help to balance out conservatism of the old- over 80% of 70+ voted Tory. The young are too radical as they have too little life experience Many issues will affect 16-17 year olds more than other parts of the electorate. Turnout is usually very low among the young : 58% in 2017 for 18- 24 , and 47% in 2019! Compulsory Voting for and against: For Against Forces voters, especially younger voters to engage with and learn about politics It is a violation of civil liberties, we should have the right to not take part. It will increase turnout and therefore increase the legitimacy of any Government It will force people to vote meaning many ill informed decisions will be made

It will ensure all sections of society vote, meaning representatives have to design policies for all, not just the groups that tend to vote It will cost far too much to create and enforce system It could be argued that it is a duty to vote, so you should be obliged to do it not forced It will favour famous and large parties, as uniformed people will vote for them Votes for Prisoners For Against Removes a civic duty from prisoners, making rehabilitation harder Those who commit a crime against society should lose their right to have a say in it. There is no evidence that losing the right o vote acts as a deterrent The threat of losing the vote helps to stop crime The right to vote is a fundamental right and should not be able to be removed Would undermine the principle of justice European Convention of Human Rights said it was a breach of rights Prisoners are concentrated in the constituency of prisons, giving them disproportionate say in elections 1.3 Pressure groups and other influences Types of Pressure Groups:  Sectional: represent a section of society, so fight many issues- Countryside Alliance.  Promotional: support and focus on one cause- CND  Inside: have a link through membership or ideology to the Government- NFU and DEFRA  Outsider: are separate to the Government- Greenpeace  Social Movement: Are looser in organisation and have much wider goals- Black Lives Matter Functions of a Pressure Group:  To represent- British Stammering Association  To hold the Government to account- Liberty and British Bill of Rights  To provide expertise on laws- NFU and DEFRA  To educate- Making Votes Matter  To increase participation- ANYONE Methods of a Pressure Group:  Direct Action- Student Protests in 2010, Black Lives Matter protests 2020  Lobbying MPs- Liberty’s campaign against the British Bill of Rights  Legal Challenges- Countryside Alliance challenged Fox Hunting ban in High Court, Anti-Brexit groups took Article 50 to Supreme Court.  Insider negotiation- NFU have close links with DEFRA.  Protests- People’s Vote March, March against Iraq War.  Media Campaigns- NUT’s 2017 campaign to highlight education cuts What makes a Pressure Group successful? Factor Example Size (^)  RSPB has over 1.2 million members  but how active are their members?- Cheque-book participation? Finance  Unite Union- 4 million to Labour in 2017  But Methods can be more important Methods (^)  Petition in 2016 stopped privatization of land registry Active Membership  Fathers4Justice  But, can be too active- student protest Government support  NFU are an insider group  CBI and Corporation tax  But.. can change quickly, BMA went against the Tories

 Equality Act 2010: Consolidated all anti-discrimination laws together, protecting sexuality, gender, religion, race, age etc. How are rights protected:  Pressure Groups: o Liberty UK helped to pressure the Conservatives over the British Bill of Rights in 2015-2016, keeping the HRA. o Campaign for Freedom of Information led to the law passing and they stopped MPs from changing the law in 2007 to ensure requests could not be made of Parliament. o 2017 Unison won a court case declaring expensive tribunal fees unlawful  Parliament: o In Nov 2005, Blair tried to change the number of days you could be detained for from 14 to 90 days. This was defeated by Parliament.  Judiciary: o Supreme Court ruled that a bakers had to make a wedding cake for a homosexual couple in 2016, court ruled that was against their rights. o Supreme Court can stop legislation that goes against laws- 2004 they stopped indefinite detention of foreign nationals accused of terrorism o Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that Pimlico Plumbers were not self-employed so were deserved employment rights. o High Court declared in March 2019 that laws holding Landlords to account for migration status of Immigrants went against the HRA as it encouraged landlords to discriminate. o September 2019 Courts declared Boris Johnson’s attempt to Prorogue Parliament illegal and Parliament sat the next day. o February 2020, deportations to Jamaica delayed due to human rights groups  Laws: o Human Rights Act 1998 protects all our rights form the ECHR and means they are legally binding o Equality Act 2010, means all demographics are now protected from discrimination. Are rights well protected  USE UNIT 2 KNOWELDGE AS WELL! Strengths Weaknesses Strong common law tradition to update rights and protect us Common law can be vague and overruled by Parliament The UK has to comply with the European Convention of Human rights Parliament is sovereign and can overrule anything- in 2010 passed the Terrorist asset freezing act to avoid a court ruling. Judiciary is independent and is happy to overrule Government Terrorism has led to rights being reduced  Snoopers Charter 2016  Secret Courts 2013 Pressure groups help to educate and hold Government to account Government has a majority so can in theory change all right laws (Tony Blair in 1997 had 418/650 seats!) Boris Johnson right now! Laws on terrorism in 2020. Coronavirus legislation shows how quickly laws can be passed which have huge impact on rights- Police arresting people etc. Collective vs Individual rights:

Glossary:

Why is funding controversial?  Funds collected vary considerably. In the three months before the 2017 election: Tories Labour Lib Dems SNP UKIP Plaid Cymru £25 million £9.5 million £.4.4 million £600,000 £150, 000 £5,  Funding by large donors may give them influence. Labour received £4.4 million Unite Union, Tories received £1.5 million from the JCB Hedge fund  Cash for honours and cash for questions scandals, show problem of funding Richard Desmond scandal 2020, big donation after his bulding was approved by Conservatives.  Declining party memberships makes parties more reliant on donations 2019 Election funding: Proposed solutions

• Impose restrictions on size of individual donations
• Impose tight restrictions on spending
• Outlaw donations from anyone other than individuals
• Replace with state funding

2.1 Established Political Parties

Old Labour values and policies Values:  Equality and social justice  Class conflict  Equality of opportunity  Collectivism  Common ownership  Trade Unionism  Nationalisation and statism  Welfarism Policies: Economy (^)  Nationalise key industries: Rail, Energy, Water etc  Control economy – state intervention Taxation (^)  Progressive taxation (very high for rich, 90% for Wilson in 60s) Trade Unions (^)  Protected through laws Donations to Parties between October and December 31st^2019 - Highest ever, £70 Million in all! Party Funding Conservatives £37.6 million Liberal Democrats £13.7 million Labour £10 million Brexit Party £7 million Green Paty £0.4 million (409,000) SNP £0.2 million (213,000) Plaid Cymru £0.09 million (90,000!) YES NO  It will end opportunities for corrupt use of donations  It will end opportunities for ‘hidden’ funding and influence of money  Reduce huge financial advantage of big parties  Improve democracy, by increasing wider participation of all groups, not just the rich  Taxpayers may object to their taxes funding certain parties  It will be difficult to know how to divide up state funding. Will bigger parties get more? Will this make change harder?  Parties may lose some independence  May lead to state regulation of parties State funding?

 Very close to government, lots of beer and sandwiches Health (^)  Create National Health Service Education (^)  Created comprehensive education – against grammar schools  Belief in free education – no tuition fees, generous grants etc. Europe (^)  Traditionally opposed to Europe, believe it may challenge socialism  BUT liked that it began to protect workers Foreign Policy (^)  Committed to nuclear disarmament  Anti-Intervention- Harold Wilson avoids Vietnam  Low military spending Law and Order  Believe in rehabilitation over punishment Social Issues/Misc.  Progressive- Legalise homosexuality, abortion and illegalise the death penalty  Anti-racist policies New Labour values and policies Values:  Reject class conflict  Capitalism  Enabling state- allow private companies to create wealth and don’t control the economy.  Individualism  Equality of opportunity  Communitarianism  Constitutional reform. Economy  Follow on with Thatcherism and Neo-Liberalism  No renationalisation, happy to keep things privatised  Huge public spending- Tax Credits, NHS spending, Schools etc.  Focus on attacking poverty as opposed to creating equality- introduce minimum wage Taxation (^)  Kept low- similar to Thatcher- ‘No problem with people getting filthy rich’ Trade unions (^)  Limited role, no reversal of Thatcher policies Health (^)  Huge expenditure.  Introduced more capitalist ideas- league tables and private contracts. Education (^)  Huge expenditure.  Increase in University places, but also introduction of fees. Europe  Very Pro-Europe Foreign Policy (^)  Want UK to take a leading role- support the making and possession of Nuclear weapons.  Believe in intervention- Kosovo 1999 and Iraq 2003  Pro-EU and globalization. Law and Order  Tough on crime and tough on causes of crime.  Introduce strict anti-terror laws and ASBOs Social Issues/Misc.  Progressive- Anti-Discrimination laws and Human Rights Act  Lots of reform- devolve power to Scotland/Wales/N.Ireland, Freedom of Information Act, Constitutional Reform Act. Etc.

One Nation Conservatism values and policies Values:  Human nature is flawed  Order  Tradition  Organic society  Pragmatism  Property  Opposition to Ideology Economy  Want a mixed economy, both private and state control. Capitalism was seen as dangerous to the one nation idea, but creating problems between poor and rich.  Accepted nationalisation and didn’t reverse it. Edward Heath even bailed out Rolls Royce in the 1970s- Not free market. Taxation (^)  Acceptance of progressive taxation, helps to bind nation together. Tax remained at 60-80% for highest earners. Trade unions (^)  Believed Trade Unions helped to bind nation together and do not introduce anti-union laws. Health (^)  NHS is left untouched and is well funded- pragmatic as they knew it was popular, but also because they believed it helped the one nation idea. Education (^)  Well-funded state education- but also wanted to embrace opportunity.  Introduced the the tripartite system of Grammars, Technical colleges and Secondary Moderns. Europe (^)  Very Pro-Europe- enter the EEC (later the EU) in 1973. Foreign Policy  Traditional and sought to uphold prestige of Empire- Suez invasion 1956 Law and Order  Belief in order and tradition- strong approach to Law and Order. Social Issues/Misc.  Belief in traditional moral values. Vote against illegalising the death penalty and legalising abortion Thatcherism values and policies Values:  Neo-Liberalism  Free Markets  Create incentives  Stop dependency culture  Disengage from controlling economy  Traditional values  Strong law and order  Neo-Conservative Economy  Believed Govt. involvement was the problem, not the solution. More private competition was needed to create incentives. Tried to make it a freer market.  Privatised nearly all key industries, and let failing businesses go bust- Mines, Steel mills etc.  No longer put money into national schemes.  Reduced regulations in all areas and disengaged from economy- Right to buy council houses. Taxation  Taxes disincentives hard work. Needs to be less progressive and more equal. Tax cuts for the wealthy, increase in VAT and Community charge (Poll Tax) Trade unions  Believe they ruin the economy and stop businesses from booming by forcing wages up and stopping the introduction of technology.  Passes laws to make it harder to go on strike, allows businesses to sue for lost money and defeats the miners’ strike. Market needs to be free of strong unions. Health (^)  Suspicious of national services, and a belief in choice. Still accepted the NHS, but no funding increases and introduced competition between Hospitals (league tables) and tax breaks for those going Private. Education  Belief in choice and opportunity.  Stopped the closure of grammar schools, league tables (funding based on this) and assisted places schemes to help more go to Private Schools, cut funding of free school milk!

Europe  Suspicious of multinational organisations, very nationalistic. Bit split on this- very pro Europe to begin with (joins the single Market) But then turns against it. NO, NO, NO she famously said when the EEC wanted to increase power. Foreign Policy (^)  Nationalist and a want to defend markets and British interests. Very anti-communist, supported USA and Reagan. Falklands War in 1982 Law and Order  Belief in order and tradition meant they were strict and increased Prison sentences. Social Issues/Misc.  Belief in traditional moral values. Section 28 (prohibited the promotion of homosexuality in schools) and refused to investigate the AIDS epidemic. Boris Johnson Policies Is Boris Johnson One Nation or Thatcherite? One Nation Thatcherite  Increase to living wage  Increase to threshold on NIC  Increased public spending  Ending ‘Austerity’  Low corporation tax  Pro-Brexit  Cutting tax for rich (looks like he won’t actually do this)  Tough on Law and Order  Keep trade union act.  FlyBe Collapse! Economy (^)  Increase to a national living wage (£9.59 an hour by 2020 and £10.30 by 2024)  ‘Ended’ Austerity with $29 billion on infrastructure improvement, $5billion on improving broadband across countryside.  Let FlyBe collapse, not bailing it out!  Coronavirus policies of nationalization and wage support- Furlough scheme etc.  ‘New Deal’ policy and ‘Build Build Build’. Big economic injections- Left wing looking Taxation (^)  Increase the threshold at which you pay NIC (essentially a tax cut for poorer)  No change to income tax  Keep Corporation Tax at the same low level. Trade unions  No reversal of Trade Union laws.  New law ensuring that all tips go to employees. Health (^)  40 more hospitals built (only 6 to begin with…)  £13 billion increase to health (only 2.8bn to start with)  New independent body with legal powers- HSSIB  Improved mental health act Education  Announced a £14 billion increase to Education spending (over 5 year)  Continue to expand Free Schools  £120m on increasing number of technical colleges Europe (^)  New Boris Deal: o UK leaves EU o End of free movement o Northern Ireland remains in customs arrangement (so border is basically in the Irish sea)  Wants a new trade deal when they have left. Foreign Policy  Support trident  Supports increase in building of Royal Navy Law and Order  Harsher sentencing laws- have to serve at least 1/3rds of term now.  20,000 extra Police Officers Social Issues/Misc.  New Environment bill- carbon, plastic and pollution clamped down.  New anti-voter fraud law

 Blue Labour- Maurice Glasman- believe in returning to working class values with more traditional social policies.  Also split over Brexit. Owen Smith was sacked in March 2018 for supporting a second referendum. Conservative  Traditional 1980s split of the Wets (more liberal) and Dries (more conservative)  Social Conservatives- Supported by group Cornerstone- Jacob Rees Mogg  Pro Brexit- Supported by European Research Group which is chaired by Jacob Rees Mogg and supported by Boris Johnson- Have been so powerful recently, leading opposition to the withdrawal deal, and leading the 48 letters in Dec. 2018.  Anti-Brexit and One Nation: Supported by Tory Reform Group- Ken Clarke and Amber Rudd. Resignations of Sam Gyimah and Jo Johnson in support of another referendum  Thatcherite- Supported by Conservative Way Forward- Liam Fox. Liberal Democrats  Orange Book Liberals- based on the name of a 2004 book written by Nick Clegg, David laws and Vince Cable. Much more classical in style, and supportive of Thatcher’s changes. Neo-Liberal and more similar to New Labour.  Social Liberals- much closer to traditional SDP, and more linked to Labour ideals. Focus on need on social justice, than social freedom, so desire more Government intervention, Tim Farron leader 2015-2017 was one, so 2017 manifesto was very socially liberal. 2.3 Emerging and Minor Parties SNP Policies:  Want to become an independent country that remains in EU  Support constitutional reforms such as abolishing FPTP and introducing Votes at 16.  Anti Trident and Anti-Austerity  Social Democratic in nature and looks like they may use new tax powers to increase tax for rich.  Abolish tuition fees and supports the EMA (financial support for A-Level students)  Lots of pro-environment policies. Importance:  Although a reduction in seats from 57 to 35 in 2017, they are still the largest party in Scotland.  They are the Government on Scotland and have been since 2011 election.  Due to closeness of recent elections, it is expected they would be natural Coalition partners for Labour to reach a majority.  Huge increase again in 2019 48/ UKIP Policies:  Hard Brexit- focusing on curbing immigration.  Raise tax thresholds- so poorer workers keep more.  Have a living wage and want strict inspections to make sure it is followed.  Tough on law and order and want an increase in all servicemen.  Want an expansion of grammar schools.  Want to increase funding for all public services.  Ban burqa and niqab  Close down Department for International Development (no more foreign aid)  Constitutional reform- Abolish Lords, end FPTP and more referendums. Importance:  Common for people to view UKIP as going extinct, they polled just 1% in April 2018- 6% in March 2019!  Suffered heavy losses in all recent elections- No MPs, only a handful of councillors. 13% in 2015 to 2% in 2017.  Only 1 member in Welsh and London Assemblies. Look to get very little in 2019

 BUT… they can be seen as actually the most important political party in recent years, it is very unlikely we would have had an EU referendum without them, and even less likely Leave would have won without them.  So they have been hugely important in shaping national policy- Labour and Tory are now both Pro-Brexit.  Unlikely to ever improve again due to Brexit party Green Policies:  Referendum on final Brexit deal- Very Pro-European.  Introduction of a 4 day week  Scrap tuition fees  New Wealth tax on top 1%  Renationalise rail, energy, water, buses and Royal Mail  Votes at 16 and abolish FPTP  Increase minimum wage to living wage  Ban fracking and replace all power stations with renewable energy- 100bn climate fund Importance  The Green party only have one MP, and have no majority control over any councils.  They have made environmental policies much more important- all major parties now dedicate parts of their manifesto to the environment.  They have lost support due to the now newly left wing Labour Party occupying much of the same space as them Brexit Party Policies:  Reform Constitution- Abolish FPTP, House of Lords and make Supreme Court Judges a political appointment. More Referendums!  Hard Brexit, with a tough Australian Style Points system of immigration  Cut Foreign aid budget.  Abolish inheritance tax  Cut Vat and Fuel tax  Reduce tariffs  Cut Corporation tax for small companies  Reject privitisation of NHS  Reform Universal Credit and improve benefits Importance:  They won the European Elections! So are the largest UK Party in the EU- 30%  They arguably led to Theresa May resigning and being replaced by the more Leave leaning Boris Johnson.  BUT…. Farage not running in Tory seats in 2019 means they are only running in half of the seats possible. Is that important?  Lots of Brexit candidates h stood down to help Conservatives- Rees Mogg’s sister!  Have they achieved their mission already- BoJo is supporting their plan for Brexit?  Only got 2% of the vote and no MPs. But helped Tories win in Labour Leave seats?

1.3 Electoral Systems

3.1 Different Electoral Systems FPTP- Features and Working- PLURALITY SYSTEM  Country is divided into constituencies- 650  Each constituency elects one Member of Parliament  Each Party puts forward one candidate in each constituency  Every constituent gets one vote for one MP  The winner has to achieve the most votes, not a majority. This is called a plurality.  Safe Seats: Some constituencies always return the same party. It is estimated that NUMBER OF SAFE SEATS. This can disenfranchise voters and mean there are many wasted voted every year. An example is Liverpool Walton where the majority is 77%.  Marginal Seats: Some constituencies regularly change hands, and the parties have very small majorities. Voters in these seats feel like they have more power, as their vote is more likely to not be wasted. Parties will also focus on them more. For example the SNP in Fife North East have a majority of just 2 votes! Advantages Disadvantages  Easy to understand and is counted quickly. Producing an efficient and easy result (Voting is nearly always completed by the next morning and a Govt. formed)  Gives each constituency one MP who can be contacted easily and will represent all who live in the constituency (dog poo in the parks!)  MPs can therefore clearly be held to account for the previous 5 years  Tends to produce a clear winner and a decisive Government (Only three elections since 1945 have produced hung Parliaments- 1974, 2010, 2017) 2019 was a return to form.  Helps to stop extremist parties to break into Parliament (BNP in 2010 for example)  Has been used for our history, no reason to change and step into unknown.  Outcome is never proportional or fair Look below for examples  Many wasted votes are produced 68% wasted in 2017  Safe seats and Marginal Seats mean there are votes of unequal value- Green needed 525,000 to elect one MP. Tories needed only 42,978.  Benefits parties with concentrated support- SNP got 7 .4% of the seats, but 3.9% of the vote. LDs got 11.6% of the vote and 1.7% of the seats.  Encourages tactical voting, rather than democratically voting for who you support  Prevents new parties breaking in, causing inertia  Since 1945, no party has won 50% of the vote. Meaning all Governments did not actually receive a majority. Conservatives in 2015 only received 36.9% of the vote, and Labour in 2005 only received 35.2%!  FPTP has begun to fail to give decisive results, meaning it’s biggest strength no longer exists. Failed to give a storng majority in 2010, 2015, 2017. The ERS said that 2017 is the 3rd^ strike. 2017 results Party % of Votes % of Seats Tory 42.4 48. Labour 40 40. SNP 3 5. Lib Dem 7.4 1. DUP 0.9 1. Sinn Fein 0.7 1. Plaid Cymru 0.5 0. UKIP 1.8 0 Green 1.6 0. Others 1.7 0