time for greater use of direct democracy

Question 1

tyranny of the majority

Answer 1

-tyranny of the majority, is an inherent weakness of majority rule when the majority pushes its objective at the expense of the minority
-MPs who prefer legislative compromise,and prioritise the interests of the minority even if their stance is unpopular
-2016 EU referendum led to a reduction of the rights of British Citizens,namely freedom of movement
-to liberals only a society respecting individual rights is democratic

Question 2

active not passive citizens

Answer 2

-higher level of democratic engagement,under representative democracy electorate attend polling once a year then leave decision making up to trustees
-referendums and citizen’s assemblies hand the power to the citizens increasing political literacy and engagement
-2016 referendum debate large parts of the population became informed on trade,northern irish politics etc. so despite the divisions, britain emerged a more informed country

Question 3

better social representation

Answer 3

-issue with representative democracy is that institutions aren’t typically socially representative
-HOC, 34% of MPs are women compared to 50% of the population
-figures such as this matter as these suggest in a social justice sense as it suggests underrepresentation is at work
-2019 citizens assembly of climate change selected a near perfect socially representative sample of brits,this means decision making is more democratic

Question 4

population ill suited to law making

Answer 4

-public aren’t qualifies to make such big decisions,especially on a binary basis
-MPs are well educated and understand the consequences of decisions,the public often vote on issues irrelevant to the debate at hand e.g. 2011 AV referendum turned into a referendum on Clegg’s trustworthiness rather than the issue at hand
-referendums aren’t exactly an appropriate way to introduce a law, Brexit could have been implemented in much better way