4. What People Think and Do about Politics

2021 ◽  
pp. 101-145
Author(s):  
Peter John
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Political System ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Scottish Parliament ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Citizen Attitudes ◽  
Local Councillors ◽  
Elected Representatives

This chapter focuses on citizen attitudes, values, cultures, and behaviours, which underpin the British political system. Particularly important is voting for elected representatives, whether MPs, Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), Members of the Senedd (MSs), Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLAs), directly elected mayors, police and crime commissioners (PCCs), local councillors, or even parish councillors. Then there are extensive forms of political participation from citizens and groups, ranging from complaining to public authorities to protesting. Both voting and participation are linked to wider attitudes and beliefs about politics. The chapter also provides an understanding of the different forms of turbulence that have emerged in recent years, in particular since 2014, with the arrival of populist movements, and the more frequent use of referendums.

Institutional Structures, Party Selection, and Spotty Tights

2019 ◽  
pp. 194-216
Author(s):  
Thomas Hennessey ◽  
Máire Braniff ◽  
James W. McAuley ◽  
Jonathan Tonge ◽  
Sophie A. Whiting
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Participation ◽  
Scottish Parliament ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
Female Attitudes ◽  
Local Councillors ◽  
Elected Representatives ◽  
Nationalist Parties

Chapter 9 assesses the representation and roles of women in the UUP. Women represent 30 per cent of members of the Northern Ireland Assembly and 25 per cent of local councillors However, compared to other devolved institutions, where female representation is 42 and 35 per cent in the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament respectively, Northern Ireland politics maintains a significant gender deficit, as nationality and religion tend to eclipse a gender focus. The gender deficit within unionist politics is stark when compared with nationalist parties. The chapter accounts for the reasons behind the gender deficit in the UUP, where there is low female party membership and elected representation. The chapter discusses how female participation is promoted. It examines male and female attitudes to women in the party, utilizing survey evidence on views of quotas, on whether female elected representatives can better represent women’s interests, and whether women have significant voice.

Alternatieve consumptie als vorm van politieke participatie ? : Een onderzoek naar de politieke motivatie voor het lidmaatschap van Voedselteams in Vlaanderen

Res Publica ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-55
Author(s):  
Marleen Baetens ◽  
Marc Hooghe
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Political System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Consumerism ◽  
Form Of Life ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
Onderzoek Naar ◽  
General Decline ◽  
Full Form ◽  
Definition Of

Despite the fact that various authors have expressed concern about a general decline of civic engagement in Western societies, other indicators portray a transition from traditional and formal participation formats to more informal participation forms. This replacement thesis, however, entails the question whether these new forms can still be regarded as a form of political participation. The Alternative Food Circles in Belgium can be considered as a typical grass-roots example of 'political consumerism', which is portrayed as a contemporary alternative for institutionalised politics. In a member survey, 163 members of the Circles were questioned about their motives to participate. They clearly paid little attention to influencing the political system, but notions of solidarity and social change were clearl y present. This form of political consumerism therefore cannot be considered a full form of political participation (using an institutionalist definition of 'politics'), but it clearly is a form of 'life style politics' (Giddens).

scholarly journals The Constitution of the United Kingdom

1999 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney Brazier
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
British Government ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Scottish Parliament ◽  
Unitary State ◽  
Legal Effect ◽  
History Of ◽  
Similarities And Differences

BEFORE the dawn of the millennium new legislative and executive authorities will have been established in Edinburgh, Cardiff and (subject to further political and other progress) in Belfast. This article analyses the nature of these constitutional initiatives, and examines their place in the unitary state which is the United Kingdom. It begins by tracing the history of constitutional union between England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. The legal effect of the 1998 devolution statutes is examined, in particular on the legal sovereignty of the United Kingdom Parliament. A triple constitutional and legal lock exists in the Scotland Act 1998 to ensure that the devolution settlement is the final step away from the pure unitary state which has enfolded Scotland in Great Britain. The nature and likely success of that lock are analysed in some detail. The lawmaking powers of the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, and the Northern Ireland Assembly are assessed. The similarities and differences between each of the three devolved governments and the British Government are highlighted, and consequences and possible lessons for future government-making at Westminster are drawn. The article concludes with a peer into the possible constitutional futures for the United Kingdom.

Family, Ambition, Locality and Party. A Study of Professionalization in the Activation and Apprenticeships of Local Councillors in Europe

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-62
Author(s):  
Tom Verhelst ◽  
Eric Kerrouche
Keyword(s):  
Political Party ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Family Ties ◽  
Political Recruitment ◽  
And Function ◽  
Local Councillors ◽  
Elected Representatives

It is widely acknowledged that elected representatives have often benefited from a variety of steppingstones in their passage to power. This article comparatively studies a selection of such steppingstones amongst local councillors in Europe. More specifically, it takes account of family ties, ambition, the entrenchment in the locality and the political party as elements of activation and apprenticeship in the process of political recruitment. In doing so, it sets out ideal-typical laymen from their professionalized counterparts. The article shows that at this early stage of recruitment, local councillors still generally tend towards the layman archetype. Furthermore, some assets, such as the inclusion in the local community and the enrolment in a political party, seem necessary to enter on a political career. Others are more provisional (e.g. family, motivations, social background, municipal size, ideology and function) or dependent upon the institutional provisions in place (e.g. quota, electoral system). Finally, professionalization patterns do not depend directly from traditional country types, but rather from the specific combination of factors in each country.

The Labor Party in Ulster: Opposition by Cartel

1967 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 526-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard F. Rutan
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Political System ◽  
Party System ◽  
Political Socialization ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Society ◽  
Political Beliefs

Almost thirty years ago Nicholas Mansergh concluded that the political parties in Northern Ireland did not fulfill the needs of the political system: that (to put his statement in more contemporary terms) the input functions, particularly that of political socialization, were enfeebled to the extent that one party constituted a permanent government while the other became an equally permanent opposition. What is more, underlying the party system and within the political society itself there existed no consensus on fundamentals: “There is no residue of political beliefs—as in Great Britain and the Free State—acceptable to both parties.”

Resisting gendered change: Feminist institutionalism and critical actors

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Abortion Legislation ◽  
Elected Representatives ◽  
Rules Of The Game

Feminist institutionalism is concerned with the ‘rules of the game’ in political institutions. It is interested to explore how institutions create gender-just conditions in terms of the policies and actions they undertake and the make-up of the elected representatives they contain. It also has a growing interest in how institutions can resist or obstruct positive gendered change. It is argued here that employing the concept of ‘critical actors’ alongside a feminist institutionalist framework can further our understanding of why some institutions resist change. Using the example of abortion legislation in Northern Ireland, this article illustrates how the literatures on feminist institutionalism and critical actors can, when combined, help to build a fuller narrative of why gendered policy change does not happen.

scholarly journals Editorial Power, People and Constitutional Engineering

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-327
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Voter Participation ◽  
The Political ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Registered Voters ◽  
Elected Representatives

In 2005, a number of alarming reports on voter participation, social exclusion and political participation were published by the Electoral Commission in the United Kingdom. One third of the electorate do not feel represented by any of the political parties. Less than one in five votes had any impact on the outcome of elections in 2001 and 2005. In the 2005 election, 39% of registered voters did not vote. The turnout for general elections has declined significantly since 1997, and elected representatives are held in low esteem.

scholarly journals Strategic Opposition and Government Cohesion in Westminster Democracies

2011 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
TORUN DEWAN ◽  
ARTHUR SPIRLING
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Roll Call ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Scottish Parliament ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
Collective Decisions ◽  
Simple Variant ◽  
The Government ◽  
Empirical Regularity

Cohesive government-versus-opposition voting is a robust empirical regularity in Westminster democracies. Using new data from the modern Scottish Parliament, we show that this pattern cannot be explained by similarity of preferences within or between the government and opposition ranks. We look at differences in the way that parties operate in Westminster and Holyrood, and use roll call records to show that the observed behavior is unlikely to be determined by preferences on any underlying issue dimension. Using a simple variant of the agenda-setting model—in which members of parliament can commit to their voting strategies—we show that the procedural rules for reaching collective decisions in Westminster systems can explain this phenomenon: in the equilibrium, on some bills, members of the opposition vote against the government irrespective of the proposal. Such strategic opposition can reinforce government cohesiveness and have a moderating effect on policy outcomes. We introduce new data from the House of Lords, the Welsh Assembly, and the Northern Ireland Assembly to distinguish our claims from competing accounts of the data.

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