Democracy and participation - direct democracy

Direct democracy

Decisions are reached by a majority voting decision

Referendums

Citizens directly vote on issues and the government creates polices based on the response

European Union referendum

In 2016

33 million citizens voted

52% voted leave

48% voted stay

Alternative vote referendum

In 2011

19 militant citizens voted against AV and chose to remain with FPTP

Example of online petition

1.6 million people signed to stop US president making state visit to UK

MPs debated Trump's visit to parliament and changed from "state visit” to "working visit” in 2018

Rallies and protests

Groups of people concerned about the government or political actions may gather to demonstrate their support or disapproval.

But, governments don't have to respond to protests.

Examples of rallies and protests

In 2017 thousands of citizens gathered to protest in London against the government’s economic and politicaldecisions. People disapproved of austerity measures.

In 2010 thousands of students marched in London to protest tuition fee rises.

Advantage of direct democracy - transparency

Ensures a strong level of openness between citizens and the government.

Advantages of direct democracy - wishes of people

Direct democracy ensures that the will of the people is clear. So, the government will have a clear directive to act.

Advantages of direct democracy - cooperation

People are more likely to engage in the political process if they believe their opinion will make a difference.

Advantages of direct democracy- purest form

Direct democracy is the ‘purest’ type of democracy and does not involve any interpretation.

Advantages of direct democracy - education

Citizens become educated in key political issues.

The Alternative Vote Referendum in 2011 educated the public on different kinds of voting

Advantages of direct democracy - au votes count equally

In representative democracies, some constituencies are larger than others

In bigger constituencies, each vote will count for less

In direct democracies, each vote counts the same amount towards important decisions

Disadvantages of direct democracy - impractical

A system of direct democracy is too time-consuming, expensive, and may not be practical to make frequent decisions.

For a big country with millions of citizens, direct democracy is especially difficult.

The Cabinet Office estimated that the total cost of the 2016 EU Referendum was £142.4m

Disadvantages of direct democracy - can be manipulated

The way in which questions are phrased and the timing of them can manipulate results.

The electorate can be influenced, particularly by influential political figures, campaigns or the media.

People may vote with their emotions rather than considering all of the options available.

Disadvantages of direct democracy - can be manipulated example

The wording of the 2016 EU Referendum was changed from "yes/no" to "remain/leave".

This is because "yes/no" questions may benefit the "yes" side.