examples of direct democracy Flashcards
give an example of direct democracy
referendums, e-petitions, consultative exercises
what is a referendum?
a majoritarian form of democracy in which the public vote on a single issue, the side which gains over 50%of the vote wins outright
give an example of a referendum
2016 EU referendum, 2014 Scottish independence referendum, 2011 AV referendum
what percentage turnout was there in the 2016 EU referendum?
72%
what percentage voted leave in the 2016 EU referendum?
52%
what percentage voted remain in the 2016 EU referendum?
48%
what percentage turnout was there in the 2011 AV referendum?
42%
give some positives of referendums
vote is final, usually good turnout
give some negatives of referendums
slightly over 50% isn’t a large majority so can be seen as unfair and not representative
how many signatures does an e-petition to be considered for debate in the house of commons?
100,000
give an example of an e-petition and how many signatures it got
the 2007 anti-road charging petition which read 1.8 million signatures
give some positives of e-petitions
it brings up for debate in parliament, lots of people can access them
give some negatives of e-petitions
not legally binding so not as strong as referendums, can be considered passive democracy as people sign it without knowing about the issue
what is a consultative exercise?
local councils and governments seek the views of people who could be affected by certain decisions
give some positives of consultative exercises
allows the government to listen to people who are directly affected
