Democracy and Participation | Edexcel A-Level Politics (9PL0)
Democracy and Participation
- 79 questions
- 5 subtopics
- Component 1: UK politics
- Component 1
Covers how democracy works in the UK and how far people take part in it: the balance between representative and direct forms, the long argument over who gets the vote, the influence of pressure groups and lobbyists, and the rights citizens hold against the state..
It covers current systems of representative and direct democracy, a wider franchise and debates over suffrage, pressure groups and other influences, think tanks, lobbyists and corporations and rights in context.
Sample questions from Democracy and Participation
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
-
Current systems of representative and direct democracy
State two differences between direct and representative democracy.
Show the answer
In direct democracy the people decide each issue themselves; in representative democracy elected officials decide. Direct democracy gives continuous control over every issue, while representative democracy gives only periodic control at elections. -
Current systems of representative and direct democracy
What is meant by a "democratic deficit"?
Show the answer
A situation where democratic institutions or processes fall short of the democratic ideal — for example weak accountability, low participation, or under-representation of voters’ wishes. -
A wider franchise and debates over suffrage
What did the Representation of the People Act 1928 do?
Show the answer
It gave women the vote on equal terms with men, lowering the female voting age to 21 — establishing universal adult suffrage. -
A wider franchise and debates over suffrage
Give one argument for lowering the voting age to 16.
Show the answer
At 16 people can work, pay tax and consent to some legal responsibilities, so they should have a say; it could also boost lifelong participation and engagement. -
Pressure groups and other influences
How do pressure groups use legal challenges to influence policy?
Show the answer
They bring cases to court to challenge government decisions, establish legal precedents, or force policy changes through judicial review. -
Pressure groups and other influences
Give an example of the BMA successfully influencing government policy.
Show the answer
Its long campaign for a ban on smoking in enclosed public places contributed to the Health Act 2006, which brought the ban into force in England in 2007. -
Think tanks, lobbyists and corporations
Which think tank is associated with the ideas of New Labour?
Show the answer
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a centre-left think tank founded in 1988, which supplied ideas and personnel to Labour in the 1990s. -
Think tanks, lobbyists and corporations
What happened in the Owen Paterson affair of 2021?
Show the answer
The Conservative MP was found to have breached paid advocacy rules by lobbying for two companies that paid him; the government's attempt to overhaul the standards system to spare him provoked an outcry, it reversed course and he resigned.
The 5 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Current systems of representative and direct democracy | Recall questions on what direct and representative democracy each mean, how they differ, where each is used in the UK, and the case for and against extending direct democracy. | 16 |
| A wider franchise and debates over suffrage | Recall questions on how the franchise widened, the methods of the suffragists and suffragettes, and the arguments over lowering the voting age and compulsory voting. | 14 |
| Pressure groups and other influences | Recall questions on what a pressure group is, insider and outsider groups, lobbying, expert evidence, demonstrations, direct action and legal challenges, the factors that decide a group’s influence, the debate over groups against parties, and the BMA and Just Stop Oil as contrasting cases. | 24 |
| Think tanks, lobbyists and corporations | What think tanks are and how they influence policy, the Centre for Policy Studies, Policy Exchange and IPPR, professional lobbying and the Lobbying Act 2014, the Greensill and Owen Paterson affairs, corporate influence and its limits, and the threat to democracy. | 13 |
| Rights in context | Recall questions on civil liberties and human rights, the Human Rights Act and the Equality Act, and how individual rights come into conflict with collective ones. | 12 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
-
Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
-
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
-
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
Edexcel A-Level Politics Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,101 questions with their answers.