Democracy and Participation (Not finished)

What is Direct Democracy?

When citizens are granted the right to speak and vote on all issues, with the majority view becoming law

What is Representative Democracy?

Where citizens choose others to represent them, making important decisions on their behalf

Arguments for Direct Democracy

• Problems with FPTP which doesn’t produce true representation in terms of seats won and also creates a socially unrepresentative parliament of mostly white men

• The party system also means that representatives follow party leaders rather than the interests of the voters

• Direct democracy makes the government directly accountable

Arguments against Direct Democracy

• Difficult to reach an agreement in a modern state with millions of people

• People do not have enough knowledge or time to make important decisions (Turnouts for referendums are low and many of them are fuelled by emotion)

• Tyranny of the majority can occur, where minority interests are ignored

What is representation?

Describes how some individuals will stand for others, or groups of other for a certain time period

Advantages of representative democracy

• People cannot be petted to have time or interest to make important and regular decisions

• Representatives can educate the unlicensed on political issues

• Ensures the interests of all sections of society can be taken into account

Disadvantages of Representative Democracy

• May distort peoples’ demands to suit their political preferences

• May not make themselves accountable enough between elections

• Mandates can be flawed, as voters have to accept or a reject a whole manifesto, they can not pick and choose what they agree with

• Reps have to decide between putting forward the view of the majority or the best judgment

What is a constituency?

• Group of voters in a specific area who elect a representative to a legislative body

• In the UK there are 650 constituencies

Levels of constituencies in the UK

• Parish Council, there are 10,000 of these in England

• Parliamentary Constituencies, there are 650 in the UK

• National Assembly constituencies, there are 40 in Wales and 73 in Scotland

• Metropolitan Authorities, this is like the Mayor of London and the London Assembly made up of 25 members

What is Pluralism?

This is the theory of the distribution of political power that holds that power is widely and evenly dispersed in society, rather than concentrated in the hands of an elite or ruling class

What is the Human Rights Act of 1998?

Aimed to incorporate into the UK the rights contained in the ECHR