Curriculum Portal

neurologyYou need to know

• What students should know
• Democracy means rule by the people and government based on consent, participation and legitimacy.
• The nature of democracy can be debated:
• Is democracy mainly about elections?
• Or does it also require rights, freedoms, equality and participation beyond voting?
• Direct democracy is when citizens make political decisions themselves.
• Example: referendums.
• Strengths: clear public mandate, high legitimacy, more direct participation.
• Weaknesses: voters may lack detailed knowledge, issues can be oversimplified, turnout may be low.
• Representative democracy is when citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf.
• The UK is mainly a representative democracy.
• Strengths: practical in large modern states, allows informed decision-making, regular accountability through elections.
• Weaknesses: can distance people from power, may produce weak representation, elections are infrequent.
• Suffrage means the right to vote in political elections.
• The development of suffrage in the UK has been gradual, not sudden:
• Before 1832: voting was very restricted and based largely on property.
• Great Reform Act 1832: extended the vote to more middle-class men but most working-class men and all women were excluded.
• Second Reform Act 1867: extended voting rights to more urban working-class men.
• Third Reform Act 1884: extended voting rights to more rural working-class men.
• Representation of the People Act 1918: almost all men over 21 could vote; some women over 30 gained the vote.
• Equal Franchise Act 1928: women gained the vote on the same terms as men at 21.
• Representation of the People Act 1969: voting age reduced from 21 to 18.
• Key debates about suffrage include:
• Gender: women were excluded until the twentieth century.
• Class: early voting rights favoured property owners and the wealthy.
• Ethnicity: formal rights may exist, but participation and representation can still be unequal.
• Age: debate continues over whether 16- and 17-year-olds should be allowed to vote.
• The Chartists were significant because they demanded political reform and wider male suffrage.
• Their six points included universal male suffrage and secret ballots.
• Although not immediately successful, many of their aims were later achieved.
• The Suffragists were significant because they campaigned peacefully and constitutionally for women's voting rights.
• Led by Millicent Fawcett.
• The Suffragettes were significant because they used militant tactics to raise the profile of women's suffrage.
• Associated with Emmeline Pankhurst and the WSPU.
• Suffrage can be seen as a human right because it reflects political equality and full membership of society.
• Participation means the ways citizens get involved in politics.
• Voting
• Joining a political party
• Joining a pressure group
• Signing petitions
• Attending protests
• Contacting an MP
• Campaigning online
• Standing for office
• Patterns of participation are uneven:
• Older people are more likely to vote.
• Younger people are often more likely to use social media and protest.
• Participation can vary by class, education, ethnicity, region and political trust.
• Partisan dealignment means weakening loyalty to traditional political parties.
• Voters are less likely to always support the same party.
• Class-based voting has declined.

• What students should be able to do
• Define direct democracy, representative democracy, suffrage, participation and partisan dealignment accurately.
• Explain how the franchise in the UK changed from 1832 to the present day.
• Identify the significance of the Chartists, Suffragists and Suffragettes.
• Analyse debates about suffrage linked to gender, class, ethnicity and age.
• Explain why suffrage is often considered a human right.
• Compare direct democracy and representative democracy.
• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each type of democracy.
• Explain different forms of political participation, not just voting.
• Analyse patterns of participation and suggest reasons why some groups participate more than others.
• Use examples such as referendums, elections, pressure groups, petitions and protest movements.
• Assess whether the UK is fully democratic.
• Evaluate whether expanding participation always improves democracy.
• Explain how partisan dealignment has changed voting behaviour in the UK.
• Make supported judgements using:
• clear political vocabulary
• historical knowledge
• relevant contemporary examples