Summary: UK Elections & Electoral Reform (2nd edition) is one of a series of Advanced TopicMasters, providing detailed, up-to-date analysis of key topics in A-level Government & Politics. This book is designed to:Stretch and challenge your understanding of the topicHelp you apply your skills to analyse and evaluate data and stimulus materialTest your knowledge on your way to your best possible gradeFully updated since the 2010 general election, this new edition of UK Elections & Electoral Reform analyses searching questions on the key issues affecting elections in modern democracies, especially recent debates around the 'participation crisis' and the growth of social media and the internet as campaigning tools. With extensive coverage of major recent UK elections, you will be able to analyse and evaluate each topic area and then test your understanding with the AS-style questions provided.Free additional material, providing guidance to the tasks in this book, is available online at www.hodderplus.co.uk/philipallan.
Helps students to master key topicsShows students how to make best use of up-to-date analysis and dataHelps students to improve their coursework and exam preparation through specially tailored exercises
Helps students to master key topics
Shows students how to make best use of up-to-date analysis and data
Helps students to improve their coursework and exam preparation through specially tailored exercises
Table of Contents: How effectively do elections promote democracy?What is democracy?How healthy is democracy in the UK?What attempts have been made to enhance democracy in the UK in recent years?Conclusion: how effectively do elections promote democracy?How democratic is direct democracy?What are the main forms of direct democracy?Why have referendums been used more often since 1997?Assessing the value of referendums?Conclusion: has the increased use of direct democratic devices in the UK since 1997 enhanced democracy?Is first-past-the-post defensible?What are the main problems with FPTP?Why should we keep FPTP?Do the parties support reform of the electoral system?How likely is reform of the method used for electing Members of Parliament?Do the new UK electoral systems work?Single transferable vote (STV)Additional member system (AMS)Closed list PRSupplementary vote (SV)Conclusion: has the use of different electoral systems strengthened the case for further electoral reform?What factors influence the way people vote?How far do social factors influence voting behaviour?Party identification and voting behaviourTo what extent is issue voting important?To what extent does tactical voting affect the results of general elections?Conclusion: why do we vote the way we do?How important are general election campaigns?Funding the campaignThe impact of the mediaWas 2010 an e-election?TurnoutOpinion pollsConclusion: how important was the campaign in 2010?
About the Author(s): Neil Smith is an experienced teacher, a senior examiner and author of numerous A-level Politics publications.The series is edited by Eric Magee, the editor of Politics Review. He also edited the bestselling AS UK Government and Politics textbook (3rd edn 2010) and is a co-editor of the 2011 UK Government and Politics Annual Survey, both published by Philip Allan Updates.
