Explain and analyse 3 arguments for making voting compulsory in the UK. (9/9 - A*)
One reason for making voting compulsory in the UK is to increase turnout and participation.
For example, in 1910 the Australian federal elections resulted in 62% turnout, which is
similar to the UK 2019 general elections which saw 67.3% turnout. However after
compulsory voting was introduced there was a 30% increase in turnout as the 1943 federal
elections saw a significant change with 95% of the population voting which remains the
average level of turnout in Australia today. This demonstrates how making voting
compulsory would significantly increase political participation and education in the long term,
thus solving historically low levels of turnout in the UK. Therefore, compulsory voting would
S
be fundamental in increasing participation which would have wider educational implications
ES
further allowing consistent levels of high turnout for general elections.
Another reason for making voting compulsory is to provide more legitimacy to governments.
PR
This is because compulsory voting would ensure that the executive receives more than 50%
of the popular vote making it harder to dispute the outcome. For example, in 2005 Labour
only won 22% of the vote due to their increasingly unpopular stance over the Iraq War. This
EX
created a minority government causing their legitimacy to be questioned as their policies
arguably didn’t represent ‘the will of the people’. Making voting compulsory would instead
allow for more uniform voting as the result would reflect the popular majority rather than
simply the electoral majority. Therefore, compulsory voting would create more majority
ES
governments with democratic legitimacy in order to implement policies in their manifesto.
Finally, compulsory voting in the UK would ensure a more representative model of
AD
democracy as a wider variety of backgrounds and opinions would be considered. For
example, at the 2010 general election there was a 23% gap between the turnout of the
richest and poorest income groups. This creates a vicious cycle as minority groups are least
R
likely to vote for a representative MP, thus increasing the participation gap amongst the most
marginalised groups in society. Countries with compulsory voting score higher on the state
G
legitimacy index, which reflects public confidence in state institutions & processes, as is
shown in Uruguay which ranked 3rd in 2019 after compulsory voting was introduced in 1934.
In comparison, the UK ranks 24th thus presenting the correlation between countries without
compulsory voting and the lack of faith in the executive powers. Therefore, making voting
compulsory would make the population feel more represented & satisfied by the
government’s performance, thus preventing tyranny of the majority.
One reason for making voting compulsory in the UK is to increase turnout and participation.
For example, in 1910 the Australian federal elections resulted in 62% turnout, which is
similar to the UK 2019 general elections which saw 67.3% turnout. However after
compulsory voting was introduced there was a 30% increase in turnout as the 1943 federal
elections saw a significant change with 95% of the population voting which remains the
average level of turnout in Australia today. This demonstrates how making voting
compulsory would significantly increase political participation and education in the long term,
thus solving historically low levels of turnout in the UK. Therefore, compulsory voting would
S
be fundamental in increasing participation which would have wider educational implications
ES
further allowing consistent levels of high turnout for general elections.
Another reason for making voting compulsory is to provide more legitimacy to governments.
PR
This is because compulsory voting would ensure that the executive receives more than 50%
of the popular vote making it harder to dispute the outcome. For example, in 2005 Labour
only won 22% of the vote due to their increasingly unpopular stance over the Iraq War. This
EX
created a minority government causing their legitimacy to be questioned as their policies
arguably didn’t represent ‘the will of the people’. Making voting compulsory would instead
allow for more uniform voting as the result would reflect the popular majority rather than
simply the electoral majority. Therefore, compulsory voting would create more majority
ES
governments with democratic legitimacy in order to implement policies in their manifesto.
Finally, compulsory voting in the UK would ensure a more representative model of
AD
democracy as a wider variety of backgrounds and opinions would be considered. For
example, at the 2010 general election there was a 23% gap between the turnout of the
richest and poorest income groups. This creates a vicious cycle as minority groups are least
R
likely to vote for a representative MP, thus increasing the participation gap amongst the most
marginalised groups in society. Countries with compulsory voting score higher on the state
G
legitimacy index, which reflects public confidence in state institutions & processes, as is
shown in Uruguay which ranked 3rd in 2019 after compulsory voting was introduced in 1934.
In comparison, the UK ranks 24th thus presenting the correlation between countries without
compulsory voting and the lack of faith in the executive powers. Therefore, making voting
compulsory would make the population feel more represented & satisfied by the
government’s performance, thus preventing tyranny of the majority.
