‹ All questionsPaper 1 · Sample · 30 marks
Using the source, evaluate the view that UK democracy is in crisis.
Democracy & Participation
Source
Source 1 presents an academic perspective on democratic participation and engagement in the UK.
Evidence that UK democracy is in crisis
On certain measures, Britain does, indeed, appear to be facing something of a participation crisis in its political system. Levels of trust in government and confidence in the political system are lower than they were little more than a decade ago. Electoral turnout has fallen sharply, most noticeably at the 2001 general election. Meanwhile, the introduction of new political institutions since 1997, designed in part to restore people's trust and confidence, appears to have had little impact.
Evidence against the view that UK democracy is in crisis
People do not seem more disengaged from the political system. Participation outside the ballot box has increased somewhat over the last fifteen or so years. Levels of political interest have not fallen, and people remain confident in their own ability to engage with the political process and to believe in the importance of voting at elections. Perhaps the most reassuring evidence from our research is that which suggests the decline in trust and turnout is not due to long-term social forces, but to short-term political ones. The most plausible explanation for the decline in trust is the public reaction to allegations of misconduct and 'sleaze' on the part of politicians. These conclusions suggest that the remedies for any 'crisis' largely lie in the hands of politicians themselves. Trust is acquired when words and actions accord with one another. And only a closely fought and clear competition between the parties appears to prompt many citizens to cast their vote. Meanwhile constitutional change should not be regarded as a quick fix. However it would be wise to look to measures to both reform and improve democracy in the UK. Hence, British democracy -- and especially its politicians -- certainly face a 'challenge'. But talk of a 'crisis' is premature.
Mark scheme: agreement
AO1: The source shows that UK citizens are not engaging with politics at many levels, with poor engagement and identification with politicians, low turnout and limited awareness of political issues.
AO2: The lack of participation will serve to fuel a crisis in UK democracy as politicians and institutions will lack legitimacy and accountability.
AO3: This creates long-term damage to the political system with generational political inertia.
AO1: The source identifies an issue with new constitutional institutions and how they work: devolved assemblies and elected mayors, which use new proportional voting systems, have not delivered greater political engagement of citizens as was hoped.
AO2: The 1997 constitutional reforms have not solved the participation crisis and the source makes the suggestion that it is people, not institutions, that need to change.
AO3: This view can be reached when we look at the turnout of elections since these reforms, where, despite proportional representation (PR), the turnout level is decreasing; if this continues their legitimacy will be brought into question.
AO1: It is clear from the source that trust and faith in politicians has declined: for instance the sleaze allegations and incidents in recent decades have seen politicians from the major parties imprisoned for criminal actions.
AO2: The source states strongly that the major fault is the politicians themselves and the fact that poor behaviour destroys the public's trust and confidence.
AO3: There seems a reticence to solve this issue by placing higher moral and professional standards on politicians so that trust returns and that there is confidence in the political system; therefore the crisis is deep rooted and likely to worsen until effective reform is undertaken.
AO1: Confidence is falling in politicians and the established parties as they seemed powerless to prevent economic crisis and continued austerity, all undermining citizens' faith in the political process - for example the fact that the three major UK political parties along with the then current Prime Ministers (PMs) and past PMs supported remaining in the European Union (EU) but still the electorate did not trust that formidable bank of opinion.
AO2: As trust in politicians has declined, confidence in the political system has waned, which undermines the whole process of democracy.
AO3: Thus it was hoped that trust may be injected with the new institutions mentioned in the source - but these appear to be suffering from the same malaise as the older ones - so these solutions to avoid crisis have not been effective.
Mark scheme: disagreement
AO1: The source prompts the view that it is too simplistic to look only at turnout levels to understand political participation: people are still engaged in politics, for instance there is a great deal of political engagement and activity on social media.
AO2: Modern technology and a growing social media platform mean that new and more direct forms of political engagement and participation can be created.
AO3: This means that any crisis can be averted and the decline reversed.
AO1: The source leads to the view that there is a range of other ways in which people can participate in politics: from demonstrating, signing petitions and joining pressure groups. In addition, the growth of other political parties presents more means of participation for citizens.
AO2: The source leads to a consideration of the current resurgence in political engagement, for example the referendum in 2016 re-energised the political debate in the UK with a high turnout.
AO3: This therefore was a rejection of established politics and politicians, as all the main parties and the Government backed the Remain campaign, but the public ignored their advice.
AO1: Turnout at general elections is on the increase - increasing to 66.1% in 2015, turnout in the June 2016 EU referendum was 72.2% - showing a huge interest in the current political debate.
AO2: General election turnout did decline in 2001 but has been on the rise since and shows that voters are engaged.
AO3: However some view lower levels as an indication of contentment or 'hapathy' or a culture of contentment, not dissatisfaction.
AO1: The public outcry after the episodes of sleaze has resulted in tighter controls on politicians' allowances; reforms such as the Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and an active investigative media are serving to restore trust in politicians.
AO2: An active media constantly probes and tests the integrity of politicians and political processes; there has been visible redress with politicians being 'punished' for their actions.
AO3: This shows that the system has the energy and capability to deal with sleaze and corruption and does not need further reform.