1.1 Representative + Direct Democracy Flashcards
How are decisions made in a direct democracy?
Majority citizen vote
Three methods of direct democracy?
- Referendums
- Online Petitions
- Protests
Three Examples of Referendums in The UK?
- 2011 AV Referendum
- 2016 Brexit Referendum
- 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum
Two examples of protests in the UK?
- 2012 - Occupy London
- 2003 - 2 Mil march against Iraq war
Two examples of an online petition?
- 2018 - stop Donald Trump’s state visit - 1.6 Mil
- 2022 - NB legally recognised gender - 140 K
Pros of direct democracy?
- High transparency - people make decisions
- all votes count equally
- Will of the people
- educate public
- encourage participation
- purest form of democracy
Cons of direct democracy?
- Voters do not have expert knowledge - Representatives debating
educates them - can be manipulated - not pure will of people
- impractical and time consuming
Who are the representatives in the UK parliament?
MPs
How many constituencies are there?
650
How do representatives represent their constituents?
- Vote on + debate bills that impact constituents
- hold surgeries
- question PM at PMQs
Pros of direct democracy?
- Representatives can be held accountable better than individuals
- Descriptive representation - represent different groups of society -
prevent tyranny of the majority - Have more expertise than the public
- Faster, cheaper, more practical
Cons of direct democracy?
- Can act as either a delegate or a trustee
- May not accurately represent society
- can act in their own self interest rather than for constituents
- Low participation levels as peoples choices do not seem to make as
much of a change
Similarities between direct + representative democracy
- allow voters to have a say in decisions
- use public mandates
Differences between direct + representative democracy
- vote for decisions v. vote for decision maker
- votes worth equal amount v. wasted votes
- mandate from public vote v. representative has mandate
Why should the UK have democratic reform?
- ‘democratic deficit’
- low voter turnout
- FPTP voting system - wasted votes - safe seats - favour parties with
concentrated support - HoL - unelected house
how can voter turnout be increased?
- compulsory voting
- online voting
- lowering voting age
- removing FPTP
Why does the UK not need democratic reform?
- Media scrutiny holds the government to account
- pressure groups can represent minority groups
- electoral participation is at a similar level throughout europe there is little demand for reform
What country has compulsory voting, and what is the turnout?
Australia, 95%
