Democracy and Participation
Two democratic systems:
- Direct democracy - individuals would directly vote and express their opinions themselves - this
system would be impractical to use regularly in a large,modern state
- Representative democracy - People would elect representatives who take decisions on their behalf
- expected to exercise their judgement and can be held to account and be removed if they do not
satisfy the voters
Advantages and disadvantages of direct
democracy
Advantages and disadvantages of
representative democracy
Examples of direct democracy being used in the UK:
National referendums - A direct vote on a single issue, requiring a yes/no question - 3 national referendums
- British membership of the European Economic Community (1975 and 2016) + on whether to change the
system of voting for the Westminster parliament (2011)
The 2015 Recall of MPs Act - A petition is triggered if an MP is sentenced to be imprisoned or is suspended
from the House of Commons for more than 21 days, if the petition is signed by 10% of the constituency,
direct democracy is used to hold the representative to account - by-election is called
Two democratic systems:
- Direct democracy - individuals would directly vote and express their opinions themselves - this
system would be impractical to use regularly in a large,modern state
- Representative democracy - People would elect representatives who take decisions on their behalf
- expected to exercise their judgement and can be held to account and be removed if they do not
satisfy the voters
Advantages and disadvantages of direct
democracy
Advantages and disadvantages of
representative democracy
Examples of direct democracy being used in the UK:
National referendums - A direct vote on a single issue, requiring a yes/no question - 3 national referendums
- British membership of the European Economic Community (1975 and 2016) + on whether to change the
system of voting for the Westminster parliament (2011)
The 2015 Recall of MPs Act - A petition is triggered if an MP is sentenced to be imprisoned or is suspended
from the House of Commons for more than 21 days, if the petition is signed by 10% of the constituency,
direct democracy is used to hold the representative to account - by-election is called
