1) Democracy and participation

Direct Democracy:
- Voting turnout in 2016 EU referendum = 72.2%
- Voting turnout in 2014 Scottish independence referendum = 84.6%
- Protests after EU referendum - Over 1 million participants (could be an argument against direct democracy)
- 2015 Recall of MPs Act - successfully used to remove: Fiona Onasanya and Christopher Davies - Ian Paisley Jr's petition was unsuccessful (signed by 9.4% of constituents)
- 7.6% voting increase for 2016 EU Referendum
Representative Democracy:
- London 2021 mayoral election - 19.1%
- 2001 General Election turnout - 59.4%
- 2017 General Election turnout - 68.8%
- In 2019 - Lib Dem's received 19% of seats yet only 2% of vote (against representative democracy)
Wider Franchise and debates over suffrage:
- Over 89% of 16-17 year olds registered for the Scottish independence referendum
- The Elections Act 2022 - New requirement for Voter ID which could supress voter turnout particularly in areas where people have less authenticated ID - poorer areas can't afford to travel so won't have passports/licence
- Measures proposed to weaken independence of electoral commission which supervises elections + investigates breaches of electoral law

Pressure groups -

Civil Disobedience:
- In 2023, Just Stop Oil abandons disruptive climate protests after being shamed by Tory Government
- Fathers4Justice had to abandon methods of civil disobedience such as throwing purple flour on Tony Blair during a commons meeting -> failed to achieve significant change
- Don't Pay UK (grass roots) - In response to Cost of Living crisis (echoes Anti-Poll Tax Alliance) + 192,000 people had signed up for the campaign
- Police, Crime and Sentencing Act 2022 - Strengthens polices power to tackle disruptive protests
- 77% of junior doctors voted to strike in 2023
Inside Pressure groups:
- CBI (Confederation of British Industry) - key insider group - In 2022 Sunak made a speech at the CBI conference - CBI analysed the details of the 2022 Austin Statement - The CBI responded to the speech by requesting to hear details of measures used to achieve Sunak's goals
- BMA - Lobbied policy makers through direct meetings, parliamentary briefings and media work to ensure the Heath and Care Act 2022 addressed their concerns
Outside Pressure groups:
- 38 Degrees - Uses social media to effect change and has 2.5 million members
- 38 Degrees has been successful in stopping the privatisation of England's forests + their website allows members to quickly choose and advocate for their own campaign
- Green Peace - Influenced the decision by Michael Gove to ban bee harming pesticides, however this ban was repealed in 2023
- Marcus Rashford worked with "Fare Share" one the #MakeTheUTurn and convinced the government to provide families in England with vouchers for free school meals during summer for pupils' need
Think Tanks:
- Liz Truss - In 2022 had important links with neo-liberal think tank "Institute of Economic Affairs" - according to the head of IEA - Liz had spoken more of it's events than any other politician over the past 12 years
- Truss' Senior special advisor, Ruth Porter, was communications director at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)
- Truss' Political secretary,Sophie Jarvis, was head of government affairs at the Adam Smith Institute
- IEA had significant influence in Brexit - for example in the UK leaving the EU single market
- Institute for fiscal studies revealed the "fiscal hole" after the 2022 mini budget - important as government wouldn't publish broadcast by the independent office of budget responsibility
Lobbying:
- 2021 Greensill Scandal - Cameron lobbied Rishi Sunak via text message on behalf of company "Greensill" who paid him $10 million over the course of two and a half years of part time work - accused of exploiting contracts for his own benefit
- Owen Patterson left the commons in November 2021 after being accused of breaking lobbying rules
- Bernie Ecclestone Affair
Rights in context:
- S.C declares government's 2004 civil Partnership Act incompatible with HRA in 2018 - government amended the act in 2019
- ECHR rules in 2005 in the case of John Hirst that a blanket ban on allowing prisoners to vote was incompatible with ECHR - allowed 500 prisoners to take legal action through the ECHR
- However - the two convicted murders who argued that the ECHR gave them the right to vote had their appeals dismissed by the S.C. in Westminster in 2013
- Freedom of information Act 2000 - allowed public to access the information of public bodies in the name of transparency and following expense scandals
- In 2013 the Court of Appeal upheld a legal challenge by five disabled people over the decision to abolish the independent living allowance
- In the case of abu Qatada - his deportation to Jordan was blocked due to the belief that the evidence obtained under torture would be used against him. After 10 years he was eventually deported with the promise of Jordan's government to not use the evidence that was obtained under torture
- Investigatory powers Act 2016 - Allows for greater state surveillance in Britain - with the police given new powers to collect data from devices and requires web and phone companies to store everyone's web browsing histories for months and give unprecedented access to the data
- 2022 Police Crime and Sentencing Bill - criminalises one person protests, gives police power to impose on noisy protests, creates "buffer" around parliament
- 2023 Public order Bill - further limits right to protest

2) Political parties

- 2015 - Conservatives won 37% of electorate but 51% of seats
- 2015 - The Green Party won 1 million votes yet only 1 seat
- 2015 - UKIP won 12.6% of the vote (influenced by the demand for Brexit)
- 2017 - UKIP only won 1.8% of the vote
- 2019 - Johnson elected Party leader and consequentially PM by 1% of population (100,000 members)
- Housing Minister - Robert Genrick rushed through approval for development project to satisfy Tory Donor Richard Desmond - saved him millions
- David Cameron - left in 2016 yet before rewarded loyal supporters with peerages in HOL
- Expense scandal
- Starmer in 2020 questioned the government on algorithm used for A-level grades during the pandemic
- Labour only lost one vote in 10 years
- 1998 - Bernie Ecclestone donates £1 million to the Labour Party - attempted to exempt Formula 1 from ban of tobacco sponsorship
- 2017 - Labour and Conservative received highest vote share since 1979
- 2017 - Labour + Conservative 82.3% of the vote share
- Political parties reported donations of £51 million in 2022
- In 2022 - Conservatives received £4,860,00
- In 2022 - Labour received £7,220,000
- In 2022 - LibDems received £1,432,000
- In 2022 - The Green Party received £172,000
- The British public think a lack of trust in politicians and government is one of the top 5 issues facing the government
- In 2022 - Keir Starmer promised to restore trust in government - Johnson did the same in 2019
- After 2015 - The LibDems vote share has fallen sharply to just 8%

'Hung' Parliament - A parliament which no single majority control in the House of Commons.
'Pro-woman' feminism - A form of feminism that advances a positive image of women's attributes and propensities, usually stressing creativity, caring and human sympathy, and cooperation.
Absolute monarchy - A monarchy that is invested with sovereign power, ensuring that all other bodies are subordinate to authority of the king or queen; absolute monarchies are usually based on the doctrine of 'divine right'.
Absolutism - The principle of complete and unrestricted power in government. Also known as totalism or totalitarianism.
Absolutism - A form of government in which political power is concentrated in the hands of a single individual or small group, in particular, an absolute monarchy.
Act - A statute law; a bill that has completed its various parliamentary stages and become an Act of Parliament.
Additional member system (AMS) - A 'mixed' voting system that is made up of a constituency-based 'first past the post' element and a regional party-list element, the latter being a 'top-up' to achieve the highest possible level of proportionality.
Additional member system (AMS) - A hybrid electoral system that has two components or elements. The voter makes two choices. Firstly, the voter selects a representative on a simple plularity (FPTP) system then a second vote is apportioned to a party list for a second or 'additional' representative.
Adjournment debate - A debate, initiated by one or more backbenchers, that is held at the end of the parliamentary day.
Administrative devolution - A form of devolution in which regional/national bodies implement policies that are made elsewhere.
Administrative law - The body of law that governs the exercise of powers and duties by public authorities.
Adversary politics - A form of politics that is characterized by deep ideological conflicts between major parties; the parties offer rival ideological visions.
Affirmative action - Policies or programmes that are designed to benefit disadvantaged minority groups by affording them special assistance.
Affirmative action - A policy favouring historically disadvantaged members of a community.
Age of majority - The age at which adulthood begins, in the eyes of the law; reflecting the idea that a person has 'majrity control' over him-or herself.
Agrarianism - A political philosophy that values rural society and the farmer as superior to urban society and the paid worker , and sees farming as a way of life that can shape social values.
Alienation - To be separated from one's genuine or essential nature; used by MArxists to describe the process whereby, under capitalism, labour is reduced to being a mere comodity.
Alternative vote - A voting system in which electors vote preferentially and lower placed candidated drop out in succession with their vote beig redistributed until one candidate gains 50%.
Altruism - Concern for the interests and welfare of others, based either on enlightened self-interest or on a belief in a common humanity.
Altruism - Concern for the interest and welfare of others based on rational self-interest or a belief that humans are social beings with a capacity for social solidarity.
Anarchical society and society of states - Theory that the states of the world can be members of a society despite the anarchical nature of the international system.
Anarchism - The abolition of government authority, through violent means if necessary, and the adoption of a society that is based on voluntary cooperation.
Androgyny - The possession of both male and female characteristics; used to imply that human beings are sexless 'persons' in thes ense that sex is irrelevant to their social or political status.
Animal rights - Moral entitlements that are based on the belief that as animals are non-human 'persons', they deserve the same consideration as human beings.
Anomie - A weakening of values and normative rules, associated with feelings of isolation, loneliness and meaninglessness.
Anthropocentrism - A belief that human needs and interests are of overriding moral and philosophical importance; the opposite of ecocentrism.
Anti-permissiveness - A rejection of permissiveness, which is the belief that people should make their own moral choices, suggesting there is no objective right and wrong.
Anti-politics - A rejection of, and/or alienation from, conventional politicians and mainstream political parties.
Apartheid - Meaning "separation" in Afrikaans, a policy of racial discrimination introduced in South Africa following the National Party's election victory in 1948.
Apathy - The absence of interest in or enthusiasm about a subject, usually reflected in inactivity.
Appartchik - A member of the communist party machine. It has come to be used as a derogatory description of a political zealot.
Assimilation - The process through which immigrant communities lose their cultural distinctiveness by adjusting to the values, allegiances and lifestyles of the 'host' society.
Assimilation - The process by which social minorities adopt the values, customs and beliefs of the majority.
Assymetrical devolution - A form of devolution that operates differently in different regions, with no common pattern of devolved powers and responsibilities within the state.
Athenian democracy - The form of democracy that operated in ancient Athens, characterized by a system of government by mass meeting supplemented by the allocation of government posts on the basis of lot or rota.
Atomism - A belief that society is made up of self-interested and self sufficient individuals, or atoms, rather than social groups.
Austerity - Sterness or severity; as an economic strategy, austerity refers to public spending cuts designed to eradicate a budget deficit, and underpinned by faith in market focus.
Authoritarianism - The practice of rule 'from above'; government that is imposed on citizens regardless of their consent.
Authoritative works - Works written by experts describing how a political system is run; they are not legally binding but are taken as significant guides.
Authority - The right to influence the behaviour of others, based on an acknowledged duty to obey.
Autocracy - Literally, self-rule; rule by a single person who exercises his or her power in an arbitrary manner.
Authocratic state - A state that is ruled by a single person with unlimited power.
Autonomy - A form of self-government or legislation, a combination of freedom and responsibility, in which the individual is not subject to the will of the state or any other person.
AV plus - A mixed voting system consisting of the alternative vote (AV) and the party list, which is used as a top-up; SV is a version of AV.

Change to conserve - This is the core principle of conservatism, which separates conservatives apart from reactionaries. It emphasises the idea that, in order to preserve something valuable, it must be regularly adapted and cared for.
Human imperfection - This is a concept deeply rooted in the idea of original sin from the Old Testament, highlighting the enduring flaws inherent in humanity. It suggests that striving for a 'perfect' society is ill-advised and could lead to harmful consequences.
Empiricism - This prioritises 'evidence' over 'theory' and focuses more on describing 'what is' rather than prescribing 'what should be'.
Normative - This refers to how things ideally 'should' be in the future. Conservatives tend to dislike this concept because they emphasise the uncertainty of human existence and are sceptical of prescribing specific ideal norms.
Progressive - This is associated with ideologies like socialism and liberalism, reflecting a belief that problems always have solutions and that the future should be better than the past and present. Conservatives, however, are sceptical of this assumption and emphasise the uncertainty of progress.
Hierarchy - This is the idea that equality in status and power is undesirable. It suggests that human affairs require leadership from a select few, with the majority accepting their decisions. Supporters of hierarchy argue that successful social and political structures often involve an unequal distribution of power.
Paternalism/noblesse oblige - This refers to the sense of duty and responsibility that a ruling class or elite group has towards society. There are two forms: hard paternalism, where elites decide what is best for others regardless of their wishes, and soft paternalism, where the ruling class listens to the non-elites' opinions and may involve some consultation before making decisions, even though power ultimately remains with the elites.
Authority - This refers to the acknowledged right for certain individuals or groups to make decisions that others are obligated to accept. However, there is significant disagreement among conservatives, liberals and socialists regarding how authority should be obtained and the purposes for which it should be exercised.
Laissez-faire - This is the concept of allowing market forces to operate without significant government intervention. It is closely linked to economic liberalism but has found support from various conservative perspectives, including traditional conservatives like Edmund Burke and New Right conservatives like Robert Nozick.
Thatcherism - This refers to the political ideology associated with the UK's New Right conservatism, particularly during the tenure of Margaret Thatcher's governments from 1979 to 1990. It involved a combination of neo-liberal policies like privatisation and tax cuts, and neo-conservative policies such as enhanced police authority, immigration restrictions and tax incentives for traditional family structures.

Conservatism is a form of change, not just about preserving the status quo. It advocates 'changing to conserve' rather than resisting all change like reactionaries.
Conservatives believe change is inevitable but should occur in a way that values past successes.
Edmund Burke emphasised that change is essential for the conservation of a state.
Just like living organisms need constant attention and renewal, so do societies.
Conservatism can be seen as a 'doctrine of maintenance', advocating ongoing repair and development over complete demolition and the creation of something entirely new.

Conservatism emerged as a reaction to the Enlightenment's ideas of reason and tolerance, which promoted ideals like tolerance, equality and individual rights.
In England during the 'Whig supremacy', Enlightenment principles were seen as intellectually unquestionable and politically irresistible.
Early liberal politicians in England, like the Whigs, embraced the principles of the Glorious Revolution and the American Declaration of Independence.
Critics of the Enlightenment were often associated with outdated, theocratic thinking, such as defending monarchical absolutism and the divine right of kings.
The French Revolution initially seemed to align with Enlightenment ideals, but it eventually led to horrific consequences and the Reign of Terror. The Revolution changed the political landscape by allowing criticism of Enlightenment principles without appearing reactionary. This shift paved the way for a new political ideology that respected the need for change while warning of its dangers.
Edmund Burke is often considered the 'father of conservatism' and epitomised this new approach.