types of democracy

Question 1

what is direct democracy

Answer 1

when each individual has the right to express their own views rather than through an MP
—> referendums, petitions

Question 2

what are three advantages of direct democracy

Answer 2

1) it is the PUREST FORM of democracy —> peoples voices are directly heard
2) it can AVOID DELAY and deadlock
3) high level of LEGITIMACY as the decision comes directly from the people

Question 3

what are three disadvantages of direct democracy

Answer 3

1) can lead to TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY
2) people may be too swayed by short term EMOTIONAL appeals
3) some issues may be TOO COMPLEX for the ordinary citizen to understand

Question 4

what is representative democracy

Answer 4

having equal proportions of representatives for each demographic ethnic group

Question 5

what are the 5 forms of representation
- SPOCC

Answer 5

• casual
• social
• constituency
• party
• occupational

Question 6

what are three parts of constituency representation

Answer 6

1) redress of grievences —> post office scandal
2) represent interests as a whole
3) listening to views of constituents when voting on national issues

Question 7

what is social representation for MPs

Answer 7

should be proportional representation

Question 8

what is party rep. for MPs

Answer 8

constituents vote for a party and their manifesto so MPs should vote in line with their party to rep. their constituents
—> whips used to maintain party loyalty

Question 9

what is casual rep. for MPs

Answer 9

representing ideas, concepts or causes rather than one person or party
representing a community
—> environment, war

Question 10

what are the strengths of elections in the UK

Answer 10

• free + fair voting
• weekly surgery in constituencies ideally
• majority government is garunteed due to FPTP so legislature can effectivly be passed
  —> Blair passed on average 2.5k laws a year when he was PM

Question 11

what are the weaknesses of elections in the UK

Answer 11

• people vote for party not person so they may be left with a strong majority gov but an inactive and useless MP
• people keep voting for the same party/MP so it can be difficult to vote someone out
  -massive amount of votes wasted
  —> 2019 election 68% of votes were wasted
• smaller parties recieve many votes but litte or no seats
• safe seats —> Jeremy Hunt SWSurrey since 2005