Democracy

• Features of democracy


  • Free and Fair Elections
  • Independent Judiciary
  • Dispersal of Political Power
  • Free Media
  • Opportunity to participate
  • Respect for the Rule of Law
• Representative democracy


  System in which citizens vote for individuals to act on their behalf to exercise political choice and make decisions
• Direct democracy


  A democratic political system in which individuals vote on laws and policies themselves
• Pluralist democracy


  A type of democracy in which a government makes decisions based on the interplay of various ideas and contrasting arguments from competing groups and organisations
• Advantages of direct democracy


  • Encourages political participation
  • Removes the need for trusted representatives, and also minimises the possibility for corruption/the will of the people being disregarded
  • Stops few from ruling in their self-interests
  • Develops a sense of community
  • Encourages genuine debate, with people feeling like they have a genuine stake in the political system
• Disadvantages of direct democracy


  • Impractical in large, heavily populated modern states
  • Many people will not feel qualified to take part in decision making on a regular basis
  • Open to manipulation by clever and articulate speakers
  • Minority viewpoints are disregarded, as it is a majoritarian system
• Advantages of representative democracy


  • The only practical system in a large country with complex problems needing rapid responses
  • Parties represent the public and give people a real choice of representatives
  • Reduces the chance of tyranny of the majority by giving minority groups a voice in parliament
  • Elections allow representatives to be held to account
  • Politicians are (in theory) better informed than the average citizen and less likely to be swayed by emotional appeals
• Disadvantages of representative democracy


  • May lead to reduced participation as responsibility is left with the politicians
  • Parties and politicians don't necessarily represent the best interests of the people
  • Minorities are still underrepresented as they don't hold much electoral weight
  • Politicians are skilful in avoiding accountability
• Positive democratic features of the UK political system include devolved governments, elected mayors, independent judiciary, free media, and free and fair elections
• Arguments that the UK has a democratic deficit include the FPTP voting system, unrepresentative results, and the unelected House of Lords
• Arguments that the UK has a participation crisis include declining voter turnout and party membership
• Arguments that the UK does not have a participation crisis include high turnout in referendums, increases in party membership, and growth in other forms of political participation
• Reforms to improve democracy could include people's referendums, electronic petitions, and the power of recall
• Referendums in Switzerland have an average turnout of 48%, compared to the UK with 67% in the 2019 general election
• Electronic petitions might be more powerful if they automatically trigger a parliamentary vote
• Automatically triggering parliamentary votes on electronic petitions leaves Parliament with less time to fulfil their mandated objectives
• Boris Johnson appointed 86 new life peers, 51% of which were Conservative
• Making the Lords elected would make Westminster democratically accountable
• Electing the House of Lords may create rivalry between the Houses, possibly creating constitutional gridlock
• Cyber interference is likely to occur, often in the form of voter fraud, and this has happened in the West, often at the hands of Russia
• The replacement of FPTP with a proportional form of election would create a fairer connection between the votes a party receives and Parliament
• The parliaments in Wales and Scotland are elected by the additional member system (AMS), which is more proportional, yet their turnouts suggest that proportional representation won't necessarily fix things
• The 2014 Scottish independence referendum allowed 16-17 year olds to vote
• Voter turnout among 18-24 year olds is lower than other age groups, so allowing 16-17 year olds to vote may compound the problem of voter apathy
• In the Isle of Man, 16-17 year old voter turnout dropped from 55% in 2006 to 46% in 2021
• In Scotland, prisoners can vote for the Scottish Parliament or local elections, if they have a sentence under 12 months
• The Representation of the People Act allowed all men aged 21 and over and women 30 and over who fulfilled a property qualification, to vote in general elections


  1918
• A further Representation of the People Act extended the vote to men and women aged 21 and over, establishing universal suffrage


  1928
• A third Representation of the People Act lowered the voting age from 21 to 18

  1969
• Sectional pressure groups


  Represent the interests of a particular group within society and lobby government on behalf of these clearly defined social groups
• Cause pressure groups


  Promote a particular issue and members can be drawn from across society
• Insider pressure groups


  Have privileged access to government decision making and possess specialist information that governments will wish to consult
• Outsider pressure groups


  Do not possess access to political decision making and may even be unprepared to work within existing political structures that they see as hopelessly compromised
• Insider status of pressure groups


  • If political decision makers consider it in their advantage to consult with a pressure group, then their influence is guaranteed
  • A pressure group's insider status can be determined by political circumstances
• Wealth of pressure groups


  • Wealthy pressure groups have the financial resources to employ researchers, operate offices close to important points of government access and arrange meetings with MPs
  • Wealth doesn't guarantee success but provides a powerful voice
• Celebrity leadership of pressure groups


  • Being connected to a famous name helps achieve popular recognition
• Use of social media by pressure groups


  • Provides new opportunities for pressure groups to engage with the public
• Think tanks


  A group established to generate ideas. Political parties work closely with like-minded think tanks to develop policy
• It could be argued that think-tanks don't have that much power unless the government agrees with their opinions
• Lobbying


  Major corporations and lobbying firms seek to influence decision making by cultivating links with politicians