Democracy

What is democracy? When two people talk about democracy, they can be talking about different types of democracy. Direct: Direct democracy sees ‘the people’ make the decisions. Direct democracy is commonly associated with Ancient Greece, but it is actually even older than that. Representative: Representative democracy sees ‘the people’ choose the decision-makers. Representative democracy is commonly associated with the US (presidential) and the UK (parliamentary). Monitory(?) John Keane has suggested that, since 1945, a new type of democracy has emerged: monitory democracy. Keane says that this is because of new power-monitoring devices, like judicial activism, expert reports and new forms of media scrutiny. What about the UK? Most people would say that the UK is a representative democracy, because the UK Parliament is sovereign, meaning that it can pass any law that it wants. However, the semi-popular use of (non-binding) referendums until 2016 did create a flavour of direct democracy.
Expansion of the franchise. Pre-1832: Before 1832, in counties, landowners of land worth at least 40 shillings were entitled to vote. Meanwhile, boroughs varied from pocket boroughs (where one landlord could essentially decide who got elected) to potwalloper boroughs (where boiling a pot on your own hearth was often the qualification). 1832: The ‘Great Reform Act’ expanded the franchise in counties, like to some renters. In boroughs, property qualifications were made uniform (like a rent of at least £10 per year), in some boroughs going against the general trend and actually reducing the size of the franchise. The Act was also the first to formally exclude women from voting. 1867 and 1884: Two more ‘Great Reform Acts’ followed the first, the second focusing on the boroughs and the third on the counties, each lowering property qualifications. 1918: The Representation of the People Act 1918 extended the vote to women over 30 who met a property qualification. The Act also removed the property qualification for all men aged over 21. 1928: The Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928 gave the right to vote to women on the same terms as men . 1969: The Representation of the People Act 1969 lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, where it remains for general elections and totally across England. Please note that this resource speaks only in respect of general elections and England.
Theories of voting behaviour. There are three main theories of voting behaviour — sociological, party identification and rational choice. Sociological: The sociological model suggests that how we vote is largely determined by our social characteristics (including our social class, gender, age, ethnicity and region). Data concerning the 2019 general election (see YouGov and Ipsos in particular) suggest that age, ethnicity and region are determinants, gender can play a role, while social class is increasingly less important in respect of voting. Party identification: The party identification model suggests that how we vote is mostly influenced by our attachment to a political party (which parents play a big role in). British Election Study data suggest that the percentage of voters who identify and strongly identify with a political party has notably fallen (particularly in the latter case) since the 1960s, but the former still remains remarkably high. Rational choice: The rational choice model suggests that people vote based on what they perceive to be their own self-interest. The leader in Gallup and YouGov’s ‘best person for Prime Minister’ polls in the run up to every general election since 1983 has ended up as Prime Minister. Which one is correct? All the theories are somewhat supported by the data that is available and none really claim to be the absolute answer. The popular ‘Butler-Stokes’ model and ‘valence politics’ model use multiple theories in different ways.