examples - democracy and political participation Flashcards
disadvantages of direct democracy
scotland voted remain in EU, england left - divide community
what if winston churchill had to call a referendum every time he was going to send troops into battle in WWII - difficult for large pops
many people did not understand brexit - some decisions too complicated
minority of brexit was ignored (48%) - tyranny of majority
edmund burke said ‘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’ - undermines representative democracy
scottish government not accountable for results of 2014 independence referendum - lack of accountability for things that they should be deciding
advantages of direct democracy
country decided to not change the FPTP voting system (67.9% against, 32.1% in favour) - everyone gets a say
UK has free and fair elections by law - equal weight given to each vote
brexit vote saw one of highest voter turnouts in UK history (72.2%) - encourages political participation
advantages of representative democracy
gordon brown government voted out at next election after his handle of 2008 financial crisis - voted out if they do something wrong
Yvette Cooper has become expert after many years part of the home affairs department (home sec 2007-2008, developed knowledge since them)
all prime ministers are MPs and secretaries of state before they become prime ministers (tony blair, theresa may, rishi sunak) - better training for future leaders of country
