Democracy

Direct Democracy

When people make their own decisions through referendums.

Purest form of democracy

decisions made are highly legitimate as ppl have made them themselves.

Tyranny of the majority

Alexis de Toquevelle

Majority wins

Representative Democracy

People elect representatives to make decisions for them.

Accountable to voters

Effectiveness depends on electoral system

Legitimacy

Rightful use of power with pre set criteria such as a government right to vote following an election.

Conservative Thinker EDMUND BURKE

“Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgement; and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion.”

Advantages of Direct Democracy

1. Purest form of democracy as people’s voice is clearly heard.

2. Avoid delay and deadlock within the political system.

3. People are making a decision gives it great legitimacy.

Disadvantages of direct democracy

1. Lead to ‘tyranny of the majority’

2. People may be easily swayed by short term, emotional appeals by charismatic individuals.

3. Some issues may be too complex for the ordinary citizens to understand.

Diff types of Representation

Social Representation

National interest

Constituency Representation

Party Representation

Occupational Representation

Casual Representation

Natural Interest

A term used to describe something that may not be popular but will be best for the nation as a whole.

MP have a duty to prioritise above the concerns of the citizens.

Consistency Representation

Locality that elects a representative in Uk national politics. The idea is that people in a geographical area will have similar social and economic concerns that a representative will speak about in the elected body.

What does consistency representation implies?

1. Representing the interests of the constituency as a whole such as funding.

2. representing the interests of individual constituents. It is often described as the redress of grievances.

3. A representative listens to the views of their constituents when deciding about a national issues. This can lead to another Dilemma.

Redress of Grievances

An MP pursuing a grievance that a constituent may have against a public body, usually claiming that they have been unfairly or unequally treated. MPs may lobby ministers and officials or raise the matter in the House of Commons.

Manifestos

A list of policy promises made by political parties at election time to persuade voters to vote for them.

Levels of Representation in UK

1. Parish or town councils

2. Local councils

3. Combined authorities

4. Metropolitan Authorities

5. Devolved Government

6. National Government

Decentralisation

The process of spreading power away from the centre both towards devolved governments in the national regions and to local governments.

Levels of Constituency

1. Ward or Parish

2. Parliamentary Constituency

3. City region

4. Metropolitan Authority

5. Devolved assembly constituency

Pluralist Democracy

Type of democracy in which a government makes decisions as a result of interplay of various ideas and contrasting arguments from competing groups and organisations.

how do pressure groups in UK represent bodies?

1. Have a formal membership and represent their section of society by promoting policies that will benefit them.

2. Groups are engaged in casual representation where they represent a set of beliefs, principles or demands they believe will benefit the community.

Civil Society

A collective name for all various associations including parties, pressure groups, religious, voluntary organisations, charities etc in which citizens will take part. It acts as a vital counterbalance to the power of the government.

Liberal Democracy

A system of government which accepts majority rule through elections and focuses on individual rights that an elected go cannot easily or randomly remove. Power and rights are usually defined by an official constitution.

Liberal Democracy features

Secret Ballot

The practice of voting being private and done away from public view so that no one knows how an individual casted their vote.

Ballot Rigging

The process of fixing an election to get a particular outcome. This can be done by stuffing ballot such as boxes with extra votes, losing ballot boxes or miscounting them.

Democratic Deficit

A flaw in the democratic process where decisions are taken by people who lack legitimacy.

Examples of UK’s democratic deficit

1. The first past the post electoral system for general elections produces disproportional results. It discriminates against small parties with dispersed support.

2. The House of Lords has considerable influence but is an unelected body.

3. The sovereignty of Parliament, in theory, gives unlimited potential power to the government.

4. The powers of the prime minister are partly based on the authority of the unelected monarch.

5. The European convention on Human Rights is not binding on Parliament, so individual rights and liberties remain under threat.

Constituents

The ordinary voters who elect a particular representative, usually based on residence in a particular geographical area.

Advantages of representative democracy

Democratic Deficit

A situation where democratic institutions or processes do not adequately represent the people or allow them sufficient influence over political decision making.