Representative and Direct Democracy

Question 1

Give 2 pros and 2 cons of direct democracy:

Answer 1

pros:
-purest form of democracy
-will of people is clear and gives the govt a clear directive
-voters can be educated in key political ideas
-votes count equally
cons:
-can be manipulated through timing and wording
-voters may not be experts
-impractical, time consuming and expensive

Question 2

What is direct democracy?

Answer 2

citizens vote themselves on new policies and laws through referendums

Question 3

Give 2 pros and 2 cons of representative democracy:

Answer 3

pros:
-representatives can be held accountable
-Reps are more informed
-Reps can ensure everyone is accounted for
cons:
-Parliament may not have both descriptive and substantive reps
-Reps may not represent their voters’ wishes
-Reps may choose to act in their own wishes

Question 4

What is representative democracy?

Answer 4

Elected representatives from political parties make decisions for their voters

Question 5

What is a mandate?

Answer 5

When a party or decision-maker has the authority to make decisions or put policies in place

Question 6

What is democratic deficit?

Answer 6

The belief that democracy is not working as intended

Question 7

What are 2 indications of democracy deficit in the UK?

Answer 7

-House of Lords are not elected, which makes people want a reform
-‘safe seats’ are made, so a party is almost certain to win
-FPTP create a 2-party system which means 2 parties can win majority of seats even with less than 40% vote turnout.