1 / 14

Elections

Elections. Lecture Notes produced By Dr Peter Jepson Read & précis Chapter 2 of ‘AS UK Government & Politics’ by Garnett & Lynch (2005). 1. Functions of elections. According to Garnett & Lynch “In a liberal democracy elections should be competitive, free and fair.”

leo-dorsey
Download Presentation

Elections

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Elections Lecture Notes produced By Dr Peter Jepson Read & précis Chapter 2 of ‘AS UK Government & Politics’ by Garnett & Lynch (2005). 1

  2. Functions of elections • According to Garnett & Lynch “In a liberal democracy elections should be competitive, free and fair.” • We will not briefly consider each of these three elements - thinking about how we operate in the UK and asking ourselves - What about our elections? 2

  3. Competitive elections … • Competitive means - a meaningful choice between different political parties. • But - what if those parties are offering more or less the same thing - all supporting a capitalist system - with broadly similar political aims? 3

  4. Free elections … • Free elections - require basic civil liberties, such as freedom of speech and association, the right to join and and stand for a party of one’s choice and a free press. • Do we have freedom of speech in the UK? Do we have freedom of association (What about Hizb-ut-Tahira?)? Do we have a free press? 4

  5. Fair elections … • The maxim ‘one person, one vote, on value’ is a key criterion for a fair election: all citizens have one vote that is of the same worth. • Do we in the UK? If I vote Conservative in a safe Labour seat - I am wasting my vote. But if I vote the same in a marginal seat - it could influence the outcome. 5

  6. Electoral system • According to Garnett and Lynch … “the electoral system should translate votes cast into seats won in the legislature in a reasonably accurate manner.” • What we will need consider is if the FPTP, or any other system of elections, provides or can guarantee such an outcome. 6

  7. Functions of elections … • Representation - indirect election. • Choosing a government - Do we in the UK? • Participation of the electorate. • Influence over policy. Does a loss influence policy (e.g. Labour’s unilateral nuclear disarmament policy)? 7

  8. Functions of elections … • Government accountability Is an MP made to account? Is the govt called to account? • Citizen education - inform the public on policy. • Legitimacy - free and fair elections give authority to the political system. • Elite recruitment - What is it? 8

  9. Break into Pressure Groups • One group to be a ‘Top-down theorist’ - another a ‘bottom-up theorist’ group. [See page 29 of Garnett & Lynch). • Report back to the class.. 9

  10. Types of UK Elections … • Elections take place at different levels in UK politics. • General Election - House of Commons 659 MP’s. Do we elect the Prime Minister? When are they held? • EU elections - Who does this elect? 10

  11. Types of election … • Elections to devolved assemblies - Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly both elected directly (via the additional member system). Northern Ireland Assembly (via STV). • Local elections - Can you name them? • By-elections - What are they? 11

  12. The mechanics of voting • See page 31-32 of Garnett & Lynch - produce a diagram/chart based upon Box 2.1 - Milestones in UK democracy. Which milestone do you think is the most important and why? 12

  13. Who votes and how? • Produce a list of people who vote and who do not vote. • Which Government Department is responsible for voting and what is the role of the Electoral Commission? 13

  14. Break into Pressure Groups • Break into pressure groups to discuss and agree the alternative methods of voting (see page 33-34 of Garnett & Lynch) …Assess/discuss each one - then recommend to the class some changes to the voting arrangements.

More Related