2/3 notes- 3rd period

AVERAGE CITIZENS
Every citizen 18 or older is eligible to vote- 77% voter turnout
Only 7% of electorate are real activists
61% of population belongs to at least one interest group

POLITICAL ELITES
1. Prime minister
Leader of majority party
Elected member of House of Commons
2. Cabinet ministers
Nominated by a local party selection committee for a seat in the House of Commons
Win seat
Make a name for themselves in Parliament (either by being good in debate or becoming an expert in a subject)
Probably has no prior experience in executive branch so is helped by the third political elite person
3. Senior or higher career civil servant
Enter civil service after leaving university and passing a competitive entrance exam
Government actively recruits the best and the brightest
Takes a number of years to go through the bureaucracy and those at the top earn the job

GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS
1. End of WWII to Early 1960’s
Pluralist system
2. Early ‘60’s to later ‘70’s
Neocorporatist system
Quango’s- non government organization that work with the government
3. 1980’s to Present
Conflictual- pluralist system
Some other elements remain

INFLUENCES ON PARTIES
1. Trades Union Congress (TUC)
Speaks for workers
About 90% of unionized workers affiliated
More singular than CBI
2. Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
Business sector
Membership of more than 250 thousand companies

DECISION MAKERS
Cabinet Ministers
political party leaders
senior civil service leaders
main way to reach policy makers is to go through political parties, the bureaucracy of the media

WORKERS STRIKES
form of political participation
strong limits on labor strikes
hard to find an example of a big strike
2002- 24 hour strike
1998- demonstration against money for college